A brief portrait of Fabiola Gianotti and the historic discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN, a fundamental particle for understanding the origin of matter and the universe.

Fabiola Gianotti retraces her childhood among nature, family and music: the mountain walks with her geologist father, her mother's love for Sicily and the piano, initially hated but fundamental for learning rigor and creativity. An intimate account that shows how science, art and culture have contributed to shaping the physicist she is today.

In this part, Fabiola Gianotti retraces a moment from her childhood when she discovers the world of entertainment between singing festivals and voice acting. She thus learns discipline and commits herself with passion without neglecting school.

A dive into memories of school years, between strikes, private schools, years of lead and friendships that left their mark. Between graduation grades, ski weeks, memorable quarrels and yellowed photos, the portrait of a group of very different girls takes shape, united by strong bonds, heated confrontations and that continuous need to prove something, especially to themselves.

Fabiola Gianotti here tells the story of how her passion for physics was born: from the influence of a great teacher and from reading Marie Curie's biography, to choosing physics as a fundamental discipline and arriving at CERN, experienced as an extraordinary place for scientific research.

Fabiola Gianotti describes CERN as a place of encounter, growth and international cooperation; a young and multicultural environment where science is experienced in a democratic way. The archival images celebrate the original spirit of CERN: an extraordinary adventure.

In the video Renzo Piano and Fabiola tell about CERN as a symbol of the cultural and scientific rebirth of the post-war period. Through personal memories and everyday dialogues, CERN emerges as a place of human and international encounter, founded on curiosity, peaceful collaboration and love for knowledge.

In this part, the encounter with physicist Fabiola Gianotti at CERN is retraced, highlighting her scientific talent, humanity and prominent role in international research. Between personal memories and reflections on theoretical and experimental physics, the importance of collaboration between the two fields emerges, recalled by the example of the discovery of the Higgs boson.

Fabiola and her colleagues retrace the long journey toward the discovery of the Higgs boson: from Peter Higgs' theoretical intuition to the difficult meetings at CERN, up to the realization of the Large Hadron Collider, initially considered almost impossible.

The physicists describe their amazement at the grandeur of the detector, a symbol of collective scientific effort that unites different cultures to understand the universe. A work compared to a cathedral, an expression of science as part of civilization's progress.

In this part Fabiola Gianotti talks about the connection between science and creativity, combining physics and music as universal forms of expression. She also explains the work of the Large Hadron Collider, where proton beams are made to collide to study the universe right after the Big Bang.

Here is the account of the startup of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN on September 10, 2008, when for the first time proton beams began to circulate in the accelerator ring. The event, followed live by the media, is presented as a historic moment for science, despite the fears and catastrophic news spread in those days.

Fabiola Gianotti's account retraces a serious technical incident that affects a major scientific experiment, the initial shock and the subsequent recovery. In parallel, her personal reflections and the strong emotions linked to the responsibility of leading the project emerge.

The world of research can also be told with lightness and self-irony: through traditions like an annual play, scientists transform discoveries and great protagonists into opportunities for joking and sharing, revealing the more human and fun side of theoretical physics.

On March 30th, 2010, the first proton collisions took place in the Large Hadron Collider, a historic moment for physics. After 20 years of work, the scientists celebrated the success of the event, marking the beginning of a new era in scientific discoveries.