Francesco Antonini is the Italian doctor who introduced during the 60s a completely new vision of geriatrics: the focus of interest is the elderly person as a whole, who has to be healed quickly and intensively in case of a severe event (generally a stroke or a heart attack), working at a later stage on his remaining capacities. The key factor is maintaining autonomy, the only thing that can guarantee freedom of thought and movement, together with the confidence in one s own ability. Appointed at the University of Florence to the fist chair of Gerontology and Geriatrics in the world, Antonini has realized his ideas in many projects: hospitals where patients, relatives and doctors work in synergy, a great commitment to training specialized doctors, the creation of a school for physical therapists. A man of deep culture (not only medical), passionate and tenacious, he instilled in his students the enthusiasm they needed to implement and carry out his innovations."