This is a collection of essays delivered by participants of the First Congress on Mathematics and Culture held in Venice in 1997. The volume consists of 14 contributions, all being written in Italian, with the following headings (authors in parentheses): Philosophy of mathematics (P. Odifreddi); Tautology and information in mathematics (G. O. Longo); Mathematics and ethics (P. Zellini); Mathematics, logic, and truth – towards a recovery (G. Sambin); Renato Caccioppoli, a mathematician from Naples (E. De Giorgi); Homo Mathematicus (M. Emmer); The nightingale of Montebello and the Signor Notanuova (T. M. Tonietti); Mathematics in exhibitions (C. Sbordone); Elegant polyhedra (L. Saffaro); Musical counterpoint and geometric transforms (B.Scimemi); The policy of mathematicians (A. Guerraggio); Mathematicians (M. Emmer).
All contributions are both deep and interesting throughout, and the editor should be congratulated for having organized this conference and published these proceedings.
{The articles of this volume will not be indexed individually.}