This Milanese institution, which has been operating for over 40 years, bears the name of one of the leading personalities in technical and scientific progress and industrial development in 19th century Italy. Carlo Erba was not only an outstanding pioneer in the Italian chemical and pharmaceutical industry, but was active in the promotion of other important industrial, cultural and educational initiatives, such as the establishment of the Edison electrical company and the “Istituzione Elettrotecnica Carlo Erba“ at the Politecnico di Milano (1886), which he generously endowed. It was therefore natural to dedicate to Carlo Erba an initiative with cultural and scientific aims that was conceived and promoted in 1959 by the Carlo Erba company and its then Managing Director, Edoardo Visconti di Modrone Erba. By kind concession of the Visconti family the Foundation established its premises at the splendid Palazzo Visconti in Milan and was allowed to use the historic “Biscione” from the family’s coat of arms in its logo. The foundation, which had already been operating for a number of years, acquired independence in 1975 when Montedison s.p.a. and Carlo Erba s.p.a. formally founded the “Fondazione Carlo Erba”, which obtained legal recognition in 1982 (Decree of the President of the Republic No. 365, 23.3.1982). Later, both Montedison s.p.a. and Carlo Erba s.p.a merged with other companies. The Carlo Erba Foundation initially concentrated its activity in the various fields of the medical and pharmaceutical sciences. In this area, the Foundation was from the very beginning, and still is, a focal point for the Italian and international scientific community, providing stimulation and occasion for exchange of views and experience; this is achieved mainly through the organization of a large number of conferences and meetings, where leading experts in the various topics addressed share their knowledge and where participation is open and free to all.