Italy to host botanical congress and philosophy festival

The Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria will host the 121st congress of the Società Botanica Italiana and the XII International Plant Science Conference (Ipsc) from September 2 to 5, 2026. The event will feature five scientific symposia and various parallel sessions focusing on biodiversity conservation, climate change impacts, ecological restoration, and monumental trees. The congress will also include a commemoration of the late botanist Professor Sandro Pignatti.

Separately, the 12th edition of the Festival della Filosofia will take place throughout September on the islands of Ischia and Procida. Centered on the theme of freedom, the festival will feature over eighty events, including lectures, workshops, and concerts involving more than one hundred scholars from Italian and international universities. The program aims to explore freedom through the lenses of political philosophy, technology, education, and psychology.