THE COMPANY

The founder, Mr. Leonardo Priami, is an aerospace engineer and has been an amateur astronomer since 1982, when he began using his first telescope, a Vixen R100-L, with which he captured his first images of the major Solar System objects and prominent deep-sky fields. In 1986 he photographed Halley’s Comet with an 80–200 mm zoom lens—an experience that few amateur astronomers today can claim. In 1995 he founded a local Amateur Astronomers Group and began the construction of a 300 mm f/5.4 Newtonian telescope and its equatorial mount, one of the first GOTO-equipped systems in Italy.

In 2000 he graduated in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Pisa and began working within ESA programs at Alta SpA, a European leader in space electric propulsion, where he remained until 2012. Between 2002 and 2004 he developed his first CCD systems by modifying webcams, replacing sensors, integrating Peltier cooling, and designing new enclosures, achieving his first deep-sky images. Over 13 years of experience in the aerospace sector, he acquired extensive expertise in mechanical engineering, materials, optics, micro-controls, and advanced technologies.

The founder, Claudio Dandolo, developed an interest in astronomy from a very young age, starting with an old pair of binoculars and soon replacing them with an 80 mm refractor telescope. As early as 1971, he used it to photograph the Moon, the Sun, and several deep-sky objects.

After completing his studies in mining engineering at La Sapienza University of Rome, he joined the Navy, attending the Livorno Military Academy and later serving as an officer with the Port Authority of Venice and Rome.

Driven by curiosity and a constant desire to learn, he went on to work in various fields: he opened a nautical agency in Rome, became a diving instructor, worked as an event photographer, was involved in construction and renovation, industrial refrigeration, and catering, opened a campsite in Tuscany, and traveled the world during his twenty-five-year career with Alitalia.

A new huge technical leap forward for our team with the arrival of engineer Antonino Previti. A degree in electronic engineering and a doctorate in robotics from the University of Pisa, but above all an infinite curiosity that pushes Antonino’s preparation to the highest levels in many technological fields. In fact, he boasts thirty years of experience in the conception and design of innovative optomechanical measurement instruments with essential contributions both on the optical and mechanical side, and on the electronic and software side. Antonino is an expert in motion control and robotics technologies, in acquisition and sensor systems, in computer systems for image analysis.  Thanks to his valuable contribution, we have been able, since our very first telescope, to achieve the high standards of quality and innovation that have always set us apart.