Peter of Abano is not only the most renowned figure of the spa town, but also one of the most conspicuous ambassadors of medieval Veneto. While all experts agree on 1315 as the date of his death, there is no agreement on his date of birth. Most scholars believe it was in 1257, others anticipate it to be 1250. Therefore, for the majority of scholars, 2007 represents the 750th anniversary of the birth of Peter of Abano.
Why celebrate this anniversary? Because Peter of Abano is a particularly complex and fascinating figure. He was a Professor of medicine, philosophy and astronomy, first at the University of Paris and since 1307 at the University of Padua. On the subject of the history of ideas, he contributed with his translations works, to the diffusion of knowledge of texts written by Greek and Arabic authors, languages he acquired during his stay in Constantinople.
In fact, according to the unanimous opinion of scholars, Petrus Aponensis is a central figure in the history of medieval science, as he provided an impressive acceleration to the latent trend in the Aristotelian medieval tradition, giving priority to scientific research (in particular to the pre-Galileian) over  philosophical speculation.
Furthermore, the fortune of this academic has always been linked to the trivial aspects of his work: there are many incunabula and cinquecentina published throughout Europe which diffused his writings, but his most prevailing work is his treaty of poisons, which certainly does not constitute his most important one. Similarly, research of printed works published around the world in recent years, as well as a web search in different language sites show a deep interest from esoteric authors and associations, particularly those related to magic.
The Municipality of Abano Terme, by initiative of its Civic Library, intends to commemorate the figure of Peter of Abano with a high-level scientific conference  in order to restore the importance of this academic and to gather the latest studies published on specialized magazines, after almost twenty-five years from the last international conference held in his honor.

Livio Pezzato - Councilor for Culture