OOrganized by the Sipes association, the event will be held on the sea on Thursday 5 June.
Author meetings for the book “I misteri del Chimico dei Fantasmi” by Salvatore Biazzo published by Giannini Editore, in the series Romanzi dai Cinque Continenti; the appointment is scheduled for Thursday 5 June at 18 pm at the Varca d'Oro beach, Marina di Varcaturo, Giugliano in Campania. The event is organized by the Sipes cultural association, admission is free. Dialogue with the author: the journalist and director of the Terra Mia newspaper Antonella Fabbricatore.
The book
“The Mysteries of the Ghost Chemist”, a historical novel full of suspense and scientific information in which the characters live fascinating and paradoxical events taken from the true news of the Second World War period with its anti-Semitic laws. The main protagonist is Oscar D'Agostino. Among the boys of Via Panisperna, he was the chemist whose contribution was crucial in nuclear research and, in particular, in what was confirmed to be the first nuclear fission. In short, he was one of the signatories of a patent that constituted the birth certificate of the atomic bomb. His name remained little known to the general public, overshadowed by the Nobel Prize winners Fermi and Segrè and by the mysterious events involving Pontecorvo, expatriated to Russia, perhaps a spy, and Majorana, who disappeared into thin air. D'Agostino himself was an enigmatic figure. His work as a chemist was fundamental in the experiments that led to the discovery of slow neutrons, the basis of nuclear fission. The boy scout of the Atomic Age never obtained the right scientific recognition, and the merit of having facilitated, by foiling an operation of the secret political police of the Regime, the escape of Enrico Fermi and his Jewish wife Laura Capon to the USA due to the racial laws. The Chemist of Ghosts, almost a code name, of cover, was turned to by the English secret services that were investigating Bruno Pontecorvo. And Mussolini himself, in '43, to have the Secret Weapon that would have changed the outcome of the War. Like a Ghost D'Agostino moves in the shadows of history.
The author
Salvatore Biazzo worked five years at Roma and over thirty years at Rai, as a special correspondent and editor-in-chief. He collaborated with Tutto il Calcio…, 90° Minuto, Domenica Sportiva, Uno Mattina, Cronache Italiane, Tg1 Speciale, Tg2 Dossier, Mediterraneo, and Neapolis on Tg3, of which he was a co-founder. His books include Il mio Napoli (Rai Eri), La lingua Trasmessa e Telecomunicare (Ferraro Editore), Il Dizionario del Giornalista (Rubbettino – Collana Scientifica Università di Salerno), Come suscitato al concorso Rai e Diego 60 dD (Guida Editori) and Biagio Agnes, un giornalisti al Potere (Rai Eri). He was a contract professor at the School of Journalism at the University of Salerno. He is still a commentator on Radio and TV.
Article published by Gustavo Gentile on June 3, 2025, at 16:58 PM
Comments (1)
The event about the book seems interesting and D'Agostino's figure is little known. I hope that there will be many people interested in finding out more about his life and work, but also about the history of the period.