On Friday 25 September, the European Researchers’ Night returns, offering the public an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of science and research and discover the work of those who strive every day to find solutions to the challenges of today and tomorrow. Promoted annually by the European Commission to foster scientific culture, the initiative takes place simultaneously across Europe. In Tuscany, the event is known as BRIGHT-NIGHT, a name that perfectly reflects its mission: illuminating the night with the talent of researchers. BRIGHT stands for “Brilliant Researchers Impact on Growth Health and Trust in Research” and BRIGHT-NIGHT features a rich programme of events, presented at a press conference on Tuesday 15 September.
BRIGHT-NIGHT brings together the entire research community in Tuscany. It is promoted by the region’s universities and higher education institutions—the Universities of Florence, Pisa and Siena, the University for Foreigners of Siena, the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, the Scuola Normale Superiore and the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca—and by a broad network of research organisations: the Pisa Research Area of the National Research Council (CNR), the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), and the National Institute for Astrophysics – Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory (INAF-OAA). The initiative is supported by the Regione Toscana as part of Giovanisì, the regional project supporting young people’s independence, and by the European Commission (grant agreement No. 101304737).
This year, around 1,000 researchers will once again take part in the event, bringing research to public squares in cities across the region—Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Lucca, Pisa, Prato, Livorno, Pontedera, San Giovanni Valdarno, Siena and San Casciano dei Bagni—and taking part in hundreds of activities. Workshops, demonstrations, experiments, exhibitions, guided tours and science walks will take the public on an engaging journey through an exceptionally wide range of research topics.
As in previous editions, particular attention will be devoted to children, families and schools, with activities designed to bring younger generations closer to the world of research and knowledge.
The 2026 edition will focus on the theme of “caring”, understood as a responsibility towards people, communities, relationships and the environment. At a time marked by profound social, environmental and technological transformations, research is called upon to make a tangible contribution to collective well-being by promoting a responsible, ethical and accessible approach to knowledge.
BRIGHT-NIGHT 2026 will invite the public to discover how science can become a form of care from multiple perspectives: from health and people’s well-being to environmental sustainability, from community participation to the dissemination of knowledge and the responsible development of new technologies, with particular attention to the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
The regional preview, “BRIGHT-NIGHT 2026: research that cares”, was held today, 15 September, in the Sala Pegaso at Palazzo Strozzi Sacrati in Florence.
“Research is one of the driving forces behind Tuscany’s future, and BRIGHT-NIGHT has the great merit of bringing it into public squares, among people and especially among young people,” said Cristina Manetti, Regione Toscana Councillor for Universities and Research. “Tuscany can rely on universities, higher education institutions and research centres of the highest calibre, and as a Region we want to continue supporting and promoting them. ‘Caring’, the theme of this year’s edition, means putting knowledge, innovation and expertise at the service of people, communities and the environment. But it also means investing in younger generations, nurturing their curiosity and showing them that they can find opportunities, inspiration and tools in research to build their future.”
“BRIGHT-NIGHT is a great celebration of science and a valuable opportunity to bring research closer to people’s everyday lives,” said Riccardo Zucchi, Rector of the University of Pisa, which coordinates the event at regional level. “The theme chosen for this edition, ‘caring’, reminds us of a responsibility we all share. Faced with the profound social, environmental and technological transformations of our time, research can provide practical tools to improve collective well-being and build a fairer and more sustainable future. We therefore invite everyone, especially younger people, to meet researchers, learn about their projects and discover a form of science that is open and attentive to the needs of society.”
Here are some highlights from the programme.
The full programme is available at www.bright-night.it.
Pisa
At the heart of the event in Pisa will be the Research Squares—Innovation (Logge dei Banchi), Health (Largo Ciro Menotti), Community (Piazza dei Cavalieri) and Planet (Piazza Santa Caterina)—where the theme of “caring” will be explored in terms of responsibility towards people, communities, relationships and the environment.
Workshops, live experiments and activities for children will introduce the public to the work of researchers from the three universities and higher education institutions—the University of Pisa, the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna—and the research centres promoting the event (CNR, INGV, INFN and EGO), under the patronage of the Municipality of Pisa.
University buildings, research centres, museums and libraries will also host hands-on activities, workshops, conferences and games open to all visitors, bringing the total to more than 200 events across the city: 80 events in the Research Squares and more than 50 at research institutions. More than 70 activities will be dedicated to schools on the morning of Friday 25 September.
A new feature in Pisa for 2026 is Bright Urban Science – Pisa City of Science, a city-wide photographic installation by photographer Irene Taddei, which will be inaugurated on Friday 18 September in Piazza Cavallotti. The three installations will be on display in Piazza Cavallotti, Via Oberdan and Piazza Chiara Gambacorti until 25 September.
Two events will precede the European Researchers’ Night in Pisa: on 20 September, “Il violino magico” will be held at the Church of Sant’Anna at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, while on 23 September the Scuola Normale Superiore will host “C’era una volta… un pezzo di legno”, a multimedia performance marking the bicentenary of Carlo Collodi’s birth.
On the afternoon of 25 September, guided tours of University of Pisa museums and the historical archive of the Scuola Normale will offer an insight into the challenges of daily life at the institution from the final years of the Second World War through to the 1950s.
The Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna has two new initiatives this year and will also organise events and meetings at its sites in Pontedera and Livorno. BRIGHT-NIGHT 2026 will also provide an opportunity to attend “Stroncate Scientifiche Live”, the live version of the Stroncate Scientifiche podcast, created to debunk fake news, common misconceptions and misleading information.
As is tradition, the CNR Pisa Research Area will host a rich programme of events at its premises, devoted to exploring art, the seabed and neuroscience.
The event will conclude with “Taking care Pisa. Pisa, City of Science”, an architectural video-mapping show created by Davide Giannoni and Francesca Pasquinucci of Imaginarium, transforming the Logge dei Banchi through images, light and original music. The faces of University of Pisa researchers will merge with scientific elements and organic forms to portray research as an act of care towards people, the environment, communities and the future.
Florence
BRIGHT-NIGHT 2026 in Florence will run from 22 to 27 September, beginning with a preview event on 22 September at Palazzo degli Affari featuring the talk “L’economia della luce”, followed by the official opening on Wednesday 23 September with “Noi siamo il suolo, noi siamo la Terra”, a performance by science communicator Roberto Mercadini.
This year, the event’s main programme will take place over two days—Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September—when Piazza Santissima Annunziata will be filled with stands, experiments and activities devoted to science and its impact on society.
Among the scheduled events, on Thursday 24 September the INAF Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory will open its doors to the public for a special evening devoted to astronomical research. From 24 to 27 September, themed walks led by researchers will also take place.
The event will conclude on Sunday 27 September with “Creatura. Il respiro dell’Universo”, a performance exploring the evolution of the Universe, and the Italian premiere of “The Librarians”, a documentary about the battle waged by Texas libraries against censorship.
The Florence programme will also place particular emphasis on inclusion: the events in the square will be fully accessible to people with reduced mobility, with guided tours available for people with visual and hearing impairments.
Siena
In Siena, BRIGHT-NIGHT 2026 will feature initiatives organised by the University of Siena and the University for Foreigners of Siena. The University of Siena will concentrate its activities within the monumental complex of Santa Maria della Scala, while those of the University for Foreigners will take place around Porta Camollia, Galleria Porta Siena, the railway station and the Bagno Grande excavations at San Casciano dei Bagni.
The common thread running through the events organised by the University of Siena will be “Caring”, with a particular focus on the theme of “Courage”. The mornings of Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September will be dedicated to lower and upper secondary schools, with around 40 stations at Santa Maria della Scala offering students interactive activities, small experiments and games. In the afternoon, the traditional BRIGHT-NIGHT programme for the wider public will follow, with 50 multidisciplinary stands, small exhibitions and displays, meetings and debates.
Alongside the now traditional research walks and guided tours, around ten “AperiTalks” will be held in venues around Santa Maria della Scala, where researchers will discuss topical issues and subjects of general interest with the public over an aperitif provided by the University.
The afternoon programme will open with the Large Street Band, which will set off from the Rectorate and make its way through the city-centre streets, leading the public to Santa Maria della Scala. The finale inside the SMS complex will feature a multimedia performance by Ottodix, combining electro-pop/art-rock music, visual arts, science communication and environmental themes.
Initiatives and activities will also take place in Arezzo, Grosseto and San Giovanni Valdarno.
The University for Foreigners of Siena will begin its BRIGHT-NIGHT events with a new initiative in San Casciano dei Bagni on 24 September, featuring a live broadcast with the international community involved in the project and a guided tour of the Bagno Grande area highlighting the results of the excavation campaigns conducted from 2022 to 2026.
On the morning of Friday 25 September, the teaching facilities in Piazza Rosselli will open their doors to the public and schools for the third edition of the European Day of Languages, organised by the CLASS Foreign Languages Centre. Lecturers and language experts will offer a range of educational and cultural activities in an interactive and engaging “language village” featuring 16 languages. New additions this year include performances of Japanese dance, Capoeira, K-pop and flamenco.
In the afternoon, the University for Foreigners of Siena will bring its activities to an area historically shaped by departures, arrivals and encounters, presenting itself as a true “Gateway to Siena”: a place open to the city and the world, where people, languages and cultures meet. Guided tours, workshops, a treasure hunt, walks and readings will take place between the Antiporto and Porta Camollia and towards the historic centre, from the Piazza Rosselli teaching facilities and the spaces of Galleria Porta Siena to the Centoporte carriages of the historic train on the station tracks, for an evening devoted to research, knowledge and sharing.
Lucca
From 22 to 26 September, the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca will also celebrate BRIGHT-NIGHT with a series of events for adults and children. Almost 30 initiatives are planned, including research stands, games, workshops, conferences, talks, guided tours and events for schools.
Thanks to the involvement of the entire academic community, the IMT School campus will become an open-air laboratory in which scientific research takes centre stage.
The grand finale will feature a major concert, preceded by a talk, in Piazza San Francesco on Saturday 26 September. The event is organised in collaboration with the Lucca Film Festival, the main event of Lucca Effetto Cinema.
The BRIGHT-NIGHT project is funded by the European Commission under the HORIZON-MSCA-2023-CITIZENS-01 programme.
