Alessandro Terracini (1889–1968): Teaching and Research from the University Years to the Racial Laws

Alessandro Terracini’s life is divided into three main phases; each of them has different characteristics and is framed in different historical and social scenarios. He was trained in the School of Corrado Segre in Turin, and from the time of his degree dissertation, he was directed by him towards differential projective geometry, the field in which he would make the most significant contributions. In this essay, the scientific biography of Terracini during the first phase of his life is reconstructed, based on extensive unpublished documentation: scientific results and contacts, his participation in World War I, his teaching experiences in Modena and Catania, his return to Turin, and, finally, the dramatic experience of racial laws and the consequent decision to emigrate to Argentina with his family.