Zichichi was born in Trapani, Sicily, in 1929. He has collaborated on several discoveries in the field of sub-nuclear physics and has worked in numerous research laboratories such as Fermilab in Chicago and CERN in Geneva. In 1963, he founded the Centro Ettore Majorana of Erice, dedicated to scientific culture. The Ettore Majorana centre sponsors the International School of Subnuclear Physics, where Zichichi serves as director.