Almost a year had gone by since the tragic death of Professor Antonio Spadaro (Figure 1), and the emotion and grief were still strong among colleagues and students who participated in the scientific meeting that was dedicated to the memory of Professor Spadaro on May 13, 2015, at the Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, La Sapienza, Università di Roma.
Professor Antonio Spadaro.
During the meeting the young researchers and students presented results of studies just completed that had begun under the leadership of Professor Spadaro.
Antonio Spadaro was born in 1958 and graduated in 1983; he then specialized in rheumatology at the University La Sapienza and received his PhD in experimental rheumatology at the University of Padua, Padua, Italy. In 2005 he became an Associate Professor of Rheumatology, and until the day of his tragic death he devoted himself with enthusiasm and competence to teaching rheumatology to the students of medicine and at the postgraduate school of rheumatology. In addition to teaching, Spadaro played an important role in clinical and research activities; in this respect he was instrumental in starting Italian study groups on spondyloarthritis, which quickly took a leading role and achieved important results.
Professor Spadaro, with his great human qualities and his outstanding clinical and scientific capacity, has left a great legacy, and his loss is felt deeply by patients, students, and all his colleagues.
