Mario Torquato Passerini

The Passerini synthesis is one of the oldest and most important multicomponent reactions (chronologically preceded by the reaction of Biginelli [1] and followed by the equally well-known Ugi four-component condensation reaction [2], currently widely studied for its originality in terms of application and mechanism). Surprisingly, little information is available regarding its discoverer, the Florentine chemist Mario Passerini. The reasons for the lack of a biography of this scientist can be traced, in part, to Passerini s reserved nature, reserved to the point of erroneously being perceived as shadowy.  

This complexity of things, combined with a research area low in popularity and of no apparent use in biochemical or synthetic chemistry, led to Passerini s slide into oblivion. Taking advantage of the original documentation recovered in the university archives and of material kindly provided by his family, it is finally possible to present a biographical sketch of this outstanding chemist within the context of contemporary chemical research. 

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Mario Torquato Passerini was bom on 29 August 1891 in the municipality of Casellina and Torri, presently, Scandicci, a huge Florentine suburb. He was the third son of the five children of Count Napoleone Pio Passerini (1862-1951) and his first wife, Vittoria Matilde Ghetti (1865-1908). Napoleone Passerini was the only son of the wealthy Count Pietro da Cortona Passerini, a relative of the famous Cardinal Silvio Passerini (1469-1529), a patron of the Renaissance in Florence. 

Eontani M, Selleri S (2013) Mario Torquato Passerini I uomo dietro la reazione. Accademia delle Scienze detta dei XL. Atti del XV Congresso Nazionale di Storia e Fondamenti della Chimica, pp 85-97... 

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