The Unknown: Science and the Importance of Not Knowing is the theme of the tenth edition of Rome’s Festival of Science.

The concept of the unknown in science is viewed as the first step in the adventure of gaining knowledge, and raises a number of intriguing questions such as what is science if not a challenge through the door of the unknown? What is the relationship between uncertainty and vagueness? Between uncertainty and chance? What about black holes and dark matter? The concept of infinity?

The festival will attempt to answer these questions through its line-up of debates, performances and readings by scientists and philosophers including Britain's mathematician Marcus du Sautoy and cosmologist John Barrow, and Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli.