Proceedings of conference organized by Gruppo Nazionale di Strutture della Materia del CNR, Gruppo Nazionale de Storia della Fisica del CNR, Centro Interuniversitario di Struttura della Materia del MPI, and dipartimento di Fisica "Volta" dell'Universit ̉di Pavia and held at Collegia Chislieri. Speakers include Fausto Fumi, Giuseppe Giuliani, Giorgia Montalenti, Piero G. Bordoni, Gianni Bonera, Adriano Gozzini, Franco Scaramuzzi, Gianfranco Chiarotti, Franco Bassani, Hugo Palma, Paolo Camagni, Giovanni Boato, Roberto Fieschi, Fabio Bevilacqua, Nevill Mott, Andr ̌Guinier, Frederick Seitz, Pierre Quedec, Helmut Schubert, J rgen Teichman, and Ernst Braun. Topics addressed include the early history of solid state physics research; ferromagnetic research at the National Institute of Electro Technics of Galileo Ferraris; internal friction; the experiments of Luigi Guilotto; the evolution of microwave spectroscopy in Pisa; the evolution of low temperature physics in Frascati, Padua, and Rome; spectroscopy; the development of a laboratory at Padua after World War II which carried out research in electromagnetic resonance; work involving liquid and solid rare gases and superconductivity; the treatment of Italian physics in international studies; the history of magnetic properties of solids in France; the development of superconductivity; the work of Richard Pohl; and the history of dislocation theory.