Founded in Rome in 1603 by the naturalist prince Federico Cesi, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei is the oldest scientific academy in the world still in continuous activity.

Its name derives from the lynx, chosen as a symbol of the ability to observe nature with sharpness, curiosity and critical thinking-the same principles that inspired the birth of modern scientific research.

Among its earliest members was Galileo Galilei, who joined the Academy in 1611. With Galileo, the Lincei became one of Europe’s leading centres of the new science based on observation, experimentation and the exchange of ideas.

Over the centuries, the Academy has included some of the most influential figures in Italian science and culture, including Guglielmo Marconi, Tullio Levi-Civita, Enrico Fermi and numerous Nobel Prize winners. Today, the Lincei continues to bring together outstanding scholars in the natural science, physics and maths, as well as the humanities, history and philology, representing Italy’s highest scientific institution.

The Academy’s activities include international conferences, research programmes, scientific publications, awards, scholarships and public outreach initiatives. By law, it also serves as a scientific advisor to the main Italian institutions on matters of major importance for research and society.

This is the reason why opening its historic venues to the European Orchid Conference & Show 2027 carries particular significance. Palazzo Corsini and Villa Farnesina are not simply conference venues: they are places where the academic life of one of Europe’s most prestigious scientific institutions takes place every day.