L’AQUILA – Sala Ipogea del Consiglio Regionale d’Abruzzo
4 – 8 maggio 2026
The past decade has been marked by decisive progress (such as the commencement of operations for JWST and EUCLID, the first light of Rubin LSST, and the various data releases of the Gaia mission, to name a few) and by revolutionary discoveries—foremost among them, gravitational waves—which have opened a new window into the study of the Cosmos and its history.
Building on these achievements, with the upcoming activation of new large facilities (such as SKAO, CTAO, ELT, ET…) and observation and analysis techniques whose power is growing at a dizzying speed, the new decade appears just as prosperous, if not even more rich in scientific breakthroughs and new, major challenges.
The entire landscape of astrophysics is set to be involved: from the formation and evolution of structures across various cosmic epochs to the physics of compact objects and processes of accretion and feedback in galaxies; from the study of exoplanets and their habitability conditions to the search for biosignatures around other stars or within our own solar system; from galactic archaeology to the study of the first stars; from the nature of dark matter and dark energy to the history of the Universe's expansion and increasingly refined tests of General Relativity.
Set in the city of L’Aquila, the 2026 Italian Capital of Culture, the 67th Annual Congress of the Italian Astronomical Society (SAIt) aims to be an opportunity to initiate a discussion on the prospects of astrophysical research—specifically within the Italian community—leading up to the mid-2030s.
With the advent of multi-messenger astronomy, how are our capabilities to observe and understand the Universe in ever greater detail and depth evolving? With new facilities beginning or about to begin operations and making discoveries in the coming years, how will the great questions of modern astrophysics change? What new challenges await us?
The congress includes scientific contributions in the form of oral presentations and posters; the official language of the congress is Italian, although presentation slides may be in English.
During the Congress, the Annual Members' Meeting will also be held, serving as a fundamental point for the exchange of ideas and comparison between the different entities that distinguish the association. The SAIt awards will also be presented. We will dedicate to the Congress a volume of the SAIt Video Memoirs , which is edited by the Editorial Board.
The 67th Annual Congress of the Italian Astronomical Society (SAIt) is organized in collaboration with the Astronomical Observatory of Abruzzo of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), with the support of the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) and the Gran Sasso National Laboratories of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN).
The event has received the patronage of the Presidency of the Abruzzo Regional Council and the Municipality of L’Aquila – 2026 Italian Capital of Culture.
Acknowledgements:
COSPAR 2026 – comitato organizzatore per Firenze 2026
Club Alpino Italiano – Sezione dell’Aquila, La Lampara Eventi