Three Great Mathematicians Rome 1921–1926

In the fall of 1921 the University of Rome was the most important center of algebraic geometry in the world. What is now known as “the Italian School” had been started by Luigi Cremona soon after the unification of the Kingdom of Italy, a generation before Zariski's arrival in Rome. It was only after 1900, however, as a result of the combined efforts of three great Italian mathematicians—Guido Castelnuovo, Federigo Enriques, and Francesco Severi—that the Italians had carried algebraic geometry off in a startling new direction.

Speaking of “geometric intuition,” they pushed their way into the gray area between “proof” and “rigorous proof,” on what would turn out to be an exciting but perilous journey. They used “whatever tools were at hand, whether algebro-geomet ric, transcendental or topological, coupled with a geometrical imagination that gave the subject a beauty to match that of the Italian scene.”⁸