The news of Giorgio Grisanti's death arrived suddenly and unexpectedly on 12 May 2011, and aroused strong pain and a feeling of disbelief, nostalgia and loss. It did not seem possible that I should no longer be able to share ideas and decisions with him, no longer be able to enjoy the daily exchange of opinions or our usual chats, which had been a part of my life for so long. That was the beginning of a feeling of solitude, which I feel even more today, at the loss of a great friend and colleague.
Giorgio Grisanti graduated in Medicine at the University of Palermo in 1952 and by 1964 he was already Professor of Audiology. In 1967 he became the first to hold the chair of Audiology at the University of Palermo where he worked until his retirement in 2007, holding several institutional posts, both as Director of the Audiology Service for over 30 years and Head of the University Department of Biocommunications.
Giorgio played a major role in policy making for the development of our discipline in Italy and in Europe, actively promoting, from the very early years of his career, the independence of medical audiology as a discipline within the health system and university.
He was a point of reference and an example for me and for many of our colleagues and always a beacon, irreplaceable, for those who, like him, had chosen to have faith in this young discipline. He believed that audiology should have its place in the health system, along the lines of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian systems then developing in Europe, whose content and social experiences Giorgio espoused above all.
His scholarly interests encompassed a wide range of issues, several attracting significant national and international attention for the originality and modernity of the issues addressed: his research, for instance, was on embryonic development of the cochlea, pitch discrimination and auto-immune disorders. In recent years, working with the Department of Informatics of the University of Palermo, he dedicated himself to IT applications in clinical audiology and artificial intelligence to aid the disabled.
A constant reference point in the Italian Audiology Society, he served three times on the Council and as Chairman. He practised medicine at a time when role, position and professional competence could have presented a significant financial advantage for himself and his family, but, speaking for those of us who were close to him at these times, I can confirm that he never considered his role or his profession as a means by which he could earn easy money or advantage of any kind.
Those of us who had the chance to know him will certainly remember his breadth of culture, the subtle fascination of his conversation, his liveliness of spirit and youthful enthusiasm.
Giorgio had many pupils and each received as much as they were willing to receive. He had a remarkable capacity for listening, which made his associates like a large family. Anyone could turn to him in difficult times and would always find him completely and unconditionally happy to help.
For me he was first a teacher then a colleague, and we enjoyed a close friendship which has lasted 30 years. He was a learned, refined man and we shared a love of classical music.
Giorgio Grisanti was IAPA President from 1989 to 1993 and I will mention a brief reminiscence of a journey we made from Italy to Hungary for the IAPA Conference in Pècs. We drove via Vienna and naturally stopped off to hear a wonderful concert by the Wiener Philharmoniker. Giorgio loved above all the music of the 18th century while I prefer 19th century music and modern music. We heard a Mahler symphony in Vienna and spent the rest of the journey to Pècs arguing over “What if the Philharmoniker had been playing Mozart instead of Mahler!”
He was a good friend and esteemed colleague and will be sadly missed.