About Carlo Maurilio Lerici
Carlo Maurilio Lerici was born in 1890 in Verona, Italy. He studied engineering at the Regio Politecnico di Torino, graduating in 1913.
During World War I, Lerici served in the Italian Air Force and co-designed the SIA 7 reconnaissance-bomber aircraft in 1917. After the war, he became an industrialist, specializing in importing high-grade stainless steel from Sweden. He also founded a publishing house in 1927.
In the 1930s, Lerici became interested in geophysical prospecting techniques developed in Sweden. He established a Geomineral Prospecting Center in Milan, introducing advanced geophysical methods such as electrical resistivity and magnetometry into Italy.
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In 1946, Lerici founded the Fondazione Ing. C. M. Lerici in Milan, affiliated with the Politecnico di Milano. He donated his geophysical instruments to the Polytechnic's Institute of Applied Geophysics. The foundation engaged in mineral prospecting, groundwater surveys, oil and gas exploration, and geothermal studies, using a wide range of geophysical techniques. It also published the Rivista di Geofisica Applicata from 1956 to 1963. The foundation conducted surveys across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas and contributed to large international research projects such as studies on the Earth's crust in the Alpine-Mediterranean region.
Lerici sponsored the development of non-invasive archaeological prospecting methods using geophysical instruments and optical devices. In collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano, he introduced techniques for detecting underground tombs, notably applying them at the Monterozzi necropolis in Tarquinia. The invention of the Nistri periscope enabled preliminary inspection of tombs before excavation. This method led to the discovery of several Etruscan painted tombs, including the Tomb of the Whipping in 1960.
Lerici developed strong ties with Sweden through his industrial activities. In 1941, he contributed to the establishment of the Italian Cultural Institute in Stockholm, initially securing a site on Linnégatan. He later facilitated the construction of a new building in Gärdet, inaugurated in 1958, designed by Gio Ponti and Ture Wennerholm, under a bilateral agreement between Italy and Sweden.
In 1957, Lerici founded the Stiftelsen C. M. Lerici in Sweden to promote educational and scientific exchange between Italian and Swedish students and young researchers. The foundation continues to offer scholarships supporting academic and cultural collaboration.
Carlo Maurilio Lerici died in 1981 in Rome at the age of 91. In Italy, he is remembered for advancing applied geophysics and for innovating techniques that protected and revealed archaeological treasures. In Sweden, he is celebrated as a benefactor of cultural institutions and as a champion of educational exchange.