`Passion for Earth': A New Beginning

Abstract

In this essay, I discuss an interdisciplinary science that is just blossoming: that of geo-neutrinos. I begin with a couple of episodes from the history of thought, showing the deep roots of Earth science and its many connections with microphysics. I then recall the stage of full maturity reached in the knowledge of neutrinos, which allows one to argue the full reliability of recent measurements. I conclude with a discussion of the state of the field and its prospects for the near future, and with a dedication to the memory of a colleague and friend, Giovanni Fiorentini, a pioneer of these studies.