Luigi Aloe, 81 years old, died today in Rome: former director of the research center of the Iret foundation – the result of the work that earned Rita Levi-Montalcini the Nobel – he was a luminary of Italian scientific research. Born in Amantea, Calabria, Aloe established himself in the academic world, becoming a trusted collaborator of Levi-Montalcini and a point of reference in research on the nervous system and nerve growth factor (NGF), research that earned the Italian scientist the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1986.
The former Calabrian bricklayer who became an internationally renowned scientist passed away, leaving behind a unique testimony of how determination can change the course of life.
Luigi Aloe, the scientist who started from a construction site
Luigi Aloe’s story seems to come out of a novel. After leaving school in the fourth grade, he emigrated to Germany at just 17, working as a bricklayer. Here was the crucial meeting with the philosopher Armando Rigobello who – having noticed the individual’s wit – suggested him to undertake his studies. Back in Italy, Aloe worked, studied, and obtained first a master’s degree and then a scientific one.
Aloe found employment at the University of Perugia as a laboratory technician and attracted the attention of Rita Levi-Montalcini, who wanted him in her research group at Washington University in St. Louis. “In May 1967 in Rome at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità he told me: ‘I need a person capable of breeding cockroaches; I know from Professor Giuseppe Colombo, professor at the University of Perugia, that you are good at maintaining the colony of locusts; you will certainly be able to raise cockroaches too.’ Then he added: ‘I offer you 350 dollars a month to come and work with me for six months in St. Louis.’ And so I left for the States United”.
“When I accepted the offer, I didn’t imagine that those six months would become eight years and would shape my entire career”
Luigi Aloe, Symposium for Rita Levi-Montalcini, 23 April 2013
In St. Louis, Aloe contributed to the pioneering studies on nerve growth factor (NGF) that would lead Levi-Montalcini to win the Nobel.
He always maintained a close collaboration with her, signing over 60% of her works. In 1972, in a dedication to one of his publications on the nervous system of cockroaches, Levi-Montalcini wrote: “To Luigi Aloe, the first scientist of Amantea”.
In the following years, Aloe dedicated himself to innovative research on the nervous system and on the therapeutic role of NGF in ocular and neurodegenerative diseases.
In 1989, the University of Bologna awarded Luigi Aloe an honorary degree in Biological Sciences. The ceremony, presided over by the rector Fabio Roversi Monaco and with Levi-Montalcini as godmother, celebrated an example of personal and social redemption.
His dedication not only contributed to scientific progress, but also inspired generations of young researchers. In her book In Praise of Imperfection, Levi-Montalcini dedicated a touching passage to him, praising his scientific intuition and dedication, qualities that she defined as “essential for the success of research”.
With the passing of Luigi Aloe, the world loses a great scientist and a symbol of hope for all those who, with sacrifice and passion, try to improve their own lives and that of others.
Aloe leaves behind his wife, three children and many grandchildren. The funeral will be held on Tuesday 21 January at 10:00 in Rome in the church of Sant’Ippolito Martire.