Lauro Chiaraluce

Identity card

"What's going on?"..."Where's Lauro?"

In the long list of "characters" present in the Rome headquarters of INGV, he, our "Morgan", ladies and gentlemen Lauro Chiaraluce could not be missing! I really adore Lauro, I like his personality that travels to the limit between self-idolatry and extreme humility. We could stay here and talk about how good he is and how much he really is a spearhead of the institution. But Life as a researcher, you know, is a real gossip column that exposes, without filters, our dear research artisans. But returning to our Lauro, as already mentioned, you will find a very interesting portrait of a man with strong sensitivity and attention to others. A dreamer who has never given up on his ideas, on his ideal of the “world” and who would like a return, in some ways, to his origins… to contact with nature, with the earth and that simplicity that is too often forgotten by now.

What or who introduced you to the world of seismology? 

A professor, who later became a friend, took me to Stromboli. From there everything became clearer to me.

As a child, what did you dream of becoming when you grew up?

A cook on a Russian cruise ship or one of Bob Marley's backing vocalists.

What is special about Russian cruise ships?

It was a joke from a friend…Russian cruises in the pre-revolution period were super luxurious, they were mythological places.

What subjects were you passionate about at school? 

Music history and education.

Do you think music education is important? Like some kind of civic education?

I think it's very important. I was lucky enough to have a middle school teacher who made me discover classical music… at home we listened to something else.

What teenager were you?

Cheerful, participatory and fashionable.

Rumor has it that at parties you go wild and give your best…

Yes, I enjoy it a lot (laughs).

Was there a reference "myth" that inspired you? 

In my room there were photos of Totò, Che and Patty Smith.

You are therefore a fan of the "aware" Che and not a fan of "wearing a shirt is cool" ... because with you both statements could be valid ... 

As Joe Strummer said at the time we were all rebel chic…we bragged about this revolutionary iconography but at least we were very politically aware. We studied alone outside of school that historical period and beyond.

Where did you graduate and what memories do you have of your university career? 

I graduated in geology at the University of Camerino, a country symbol of the counter-reformation, therefore in some ways the perfect place to do university. As far as my academic career is concerned, I would say that everything was linked to circumstances. Including the decision to change thesis, after having already finished one, to write a thesis in seismology. This was just twenty days after the 1997 Colfiorito earthquake. And Camerino is located less than 10 kilometers from Colfiorito.

The most exciting moment of your career? 

Honestly, I've never felt up to the job I do; perhaps because I have an idealized vision of the "scientist". But starting from that, for me every working day is somehow an incredible day.

But the most emotional moment in your private life? 

Well, having a daughter.

What do you think you would have become if you hadn't been a researcher?

I don't know, but I like to think of something like the farmer or carpenter, plumber, bricklayer; a job in which there is the need to use the hands and make physical effort.

You give the idea of ​​being more a man of thought than of effort… am I wrong?

My mother was a seamstress, my father a plumber, my grandfather a carpenter. I grew up in the countryside where "hands" were used. 

How long have you been at INGV?

For a long time, since 1998.

What's the first thing you do when you get home? 

I take off my shoes and kiss everyone there.

How did you experience this lock-down period?

In the first phase I was very frightened by something I didn't know, but at the same time I think I was also serene. In this second and long phase, I am certainly less afraid but undoubtedly much more restless than before.

Do you think we will ever go back to the previous life?

I hope so, with the vaccine I think we will return to a "normal" phase 

A figure you would see well at the top of this country?

Aboubakar Soumahoro as Labor Minister.

What is, in your opinion, the scientific discovery that would change the history of seismology? 

I have never either believed or counted on this kind of thing. But I believe that technology, especially understood as the ability to monitor deformations, will soon make us take very important steps.

A city you've visited that has remained in your heart and one you've always dreamed of moving to? 

In order: Venice and the place where I was born.

What have been your best trips? 

If I have to name one, I like to say the first car trip made at nineteen with two friends of the time, through Spain and Portugal.

What would you have liked to discover, among the discoveries of the past? 

Something very practical anyway, like the printing press or the locomotive. 

What is your main concern?

How long do I have to reply?

The conversation you've never had and would have liked to have…with whom?

Hard to say. Apart from those with loved ones, I would say the one with a person of great power. Not so much to understand the truth of a certain fact, but to understand how many possibilities there were to make other choices.

As a researcher, is everything always explicable?

I would say no.

Your promise kept and the one you failed to keep…

That maintained to become an independent person. That not maintained to change lives. Both made by myself.

What life would you like?

I'd like to live outside the city, more in contact with nature… a return to nature. 

Your love at first sight?

Laura.

What's your X-Factor? 

I believe in being a sociable and reliable person.

You like sport? 

Yes a lot.

Have you ever practiced any? 

I supported myself at university, in the years that weren't really necessary, by playing football. I was a good midfielder.

Listen to the music? 

Very.

What's your favorite genre? 

I listen to everything; in this period many madrigals and Chet Baker.

Favourite book? 

This is also a difficult question. Some books that marked me: A private matter (Fenoglio), The golden pavilion (Mishima) Letter to Berlin (McEwan) and Bella mia (Di Pietrantonio).

If you had to remember one of your "first days" which one would you remember? 

An unauthorized eating of tortellini in broth taken directly from the fridge.

What do you do when you are not at work?

I think.

What are you thinking about?

At the end of the day…I'm with myself.

Do you have a place of the heart?

A pond near the house where I grew up.

Your best luck? 

My family.

Can it never be missing in your suitcase? 

Money and toilet paper (laughing). My grandfather always told me this and I think it's an excellent opportunity to remember him and this sentence, at least a little out of time.

Are you more sweet or savory in the kitchen? 

Savory.

Favorite dish? 

Spaghetti with tomato, onion, capers, breadcrumbs and abundant chilli.

Do you like cooking? 

Yes.

One thing you understood “when you grew up”? 

That it is difficult to live coherently with one's ideas. 

Do you think in any way that you have given up on your ideas to get something else?

No, never did. I would have liked to do more political activity and militancy but today I can't do what I would like to do. I think ideas should be consistent with actions and all in all I think I respect this concept. 

What do you keep from your childhood?

Happiness and education from the Marche region.

Last question: what is the song that you would never stop listening to? 

This is easy: Bella hello!