The Italian Society of Physiology (SIF) has been in existence since 1947, journeying through more than half of the twentieth century and already two decades of the current one. SIF has a rich history of individuals, visions, disappointments, tensions, successes and errors which need to be talked about so that the distinctive mark they have made can provoke thought (and pride) in young people joining our family.
The article provides an analysis of the people involved and the historical context in which a group of visionaries decided to form a scientific society at a time when the country was on its knees after the Second World War and was making every effort to lay the foundations for its future. Another feature of the article is that it imagines and then describes a hypothetical dinner between the founders of SIF the day before signing the memorandum of association.