Ducati and Chora Media: the MARGA podcast dedicated to Margherita Hack presented

The streets of Margherita Hack e Ducati they crossed paths on more than one occasion throughout the life of the famous Florentine scientist. Astrophysics is remembered through LOAM, a series podcast di middle chora created in collaboration with Ducati, written by Federico Taddia and Silvia Righini, with the editorial care of Francesca Milano, which celebrates the uniqueness of the Hack on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his birth, which took place on 12nd June of the 1922.

The podcast

The new podcast series is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Google Podcasts.
Among the anecdotes narrated there are also those with Ducati, because the paths of Margherita Hack and the Borgo Panigale brand have crossed paths on several occasions, as mentioned. Their first meeting took place in 1947, when the scientist worked on the creation of the instruction booklet of Dream camera, back when Ducati still made radio equipment, transmission components, antennas and cameras.

It was an innovative camera for the period, designed for quick, quick reportage shots. A compact camera, approximately 10x5cm, capable of shooting in small format using 18x24 film. High-quality optics and a rangefinder viewfinder are also among the interesting aspects.
Margherita Hack, as she herself narrated in her autobiography entitled “Something unexpected”, came across a Ducati product again when her husband Aldo De Rosa gave her one Ducati 60 Sports. In the book, the scientist talked about her first time on a motorbike and how, in a short time, she became passionate about it in the Florentine countryside of the 50s.

The Ducati 60 was the first complete two-wheeled example made by the Borgo Panigale company, starting in July 1949. Ducati had already entered the two-wheel scene in that period with the Cucciolo auxiliary micro engine. The great response to the Cucciolo pushed the company to think about developing an entire motorcycle.
Returning to the podcast, the Tuscan astrophysicist is remembered as a scientist and scientific communicator of international level, given that she was the first woman to direct an astronomical observatory in Italy, in Trieste, leaving great memories not only for the scientific community.
The podcast is a testament to this. Federico Taddia, collaborator of Margherita Hack in the last years of her life, as an author and journalist, is the narrator who tells the story of her friend “Marga” in the podcast of the same name produced by Chora Media, in which Ducati collaborated.

Starting with one of their last chats, over a plate of spaghetti; the journalist talks about Margherita Hack, ranging from her childhood through interesting moments such as running through the corridors of the Uffizi where she often accompanied her mother who worked there as a copyist, also moving on to her lifelong loves and multiple interests, also considering her passion for Fiorentina and for cycling.

Images and photos: Ducati