A Thousand Years of Science in Italy (Mille anni di scienza in Italia) is both a virtual exhibition (available only in Italian) and an actual show organised across all of Italy and promoted by the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica. The unprecedented development of scientific research and subsequent applications represent one of the distinctive characteristics of the last millennium. No other milieu or field of human activity has known such a radical transformation as natural sciences and technology had during the last thousand years. It seemed then appropriate, on the occasion of the transition to the new millennium, to propose a reflection on this exceptional journey and the contributions made by Italian institutions and researchers, as well as on the present state and the prospects of scientific research and its cultural, social and economic implications. A Thousand Years of Science is the first “multicentral” exhibition to be produced in Italy, consisting in a simultaneous and coordinated display of thirteen exhibitions regarding fundamental aspects of Italian history of science and technology held in twelve cities, and a central exhibition in Rome.