October 2016
Antonio Chiesa was born in Thiene, Italy, in 1937. He entered medical school at the University of Padua in 1955 and graduated in 1961. He started his residency at the Department of Radiology of the University of Padua in 1962, and was later promoted to Assistant Professor. In 1969 he was appointed Associate Professor of Radiology, and from 1970 to 1982 he served as Assistant Chief of Radiology at the Verona branch of Padua University. In 1982 he was transferred to the University of Brescia where he served as Chairman of the Department of Radiology and Director of the Postgraduate School of Radiology. Two years later, he obtained full professorship, and taught diagnostic imaging at the Schools of Medicine and Odontology of the University of Brescia since then. He was Director of the Radiology Department at Brescia University until November 2007, when he retired.
His main interest was head and neck radiology, and he dramatically improved the discipline both in his country and abroad, notably while being President of the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology from 1994 to 1996.
An exceptional researcher, Prof. Chiesa is credited with transforming Italian radiology into an efficiently functioning discipline, and he served on the board of the Italian Society of Radiology, the Italian Health Council at the Ministry of Health, and the Committee for the International Symposium for the Planning of Radiological Departments.
His dedication to the development of the specialty extended far beyond his country and he served as ECR President in 2005, Chairman of the ECR executive committee and Vice-President of the European Society of Radiology.
Prof. Chiesa's leadership abilities and enthusiasm have been duly acknowledged by his peers, and he notably received Honorary Membership of the RSNA in 2005. He was an active international speaker, and has presented in more than 22 countries, mostly on aspects of general and head and neck radiology.
In addition to his clinical work and speaking engagements, Prof. Chiesa served on the editorial boards of European Radiology, Journal of Digital Imaging, La Radiologia Medica, and other Italian and European journals. He authored more than 150 publications on general and head and neck radiology, radiological planning, and computer applications. He was also the editor of the text book 'Diagnostic Imaging: a clinical guide to the request for examinations', published in 1994 (in Italian).
Prof. Chiesa married Anna Paola in 1964. They have 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren.
In recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of head and neck radiology and his significant contribution to the development of European radiology, Professor Antonio Chiesa was awarded the Gold Medal of the European Society of Radiology at ECR 2009.
Professor Chiesa sadly passed away on April 26, 2009. He will be dearly missed.
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