Boll. Malacol., 58 pp I-IV

In 2022, the 58th volume of Bollettino Malacologico will be published. In these 58 years, natural sciences – and malacology too – as well as the editorial world of scientific journals experienced major changes. In the natural sciences, new methods to explore Nature have changed completely our view of the natural world. For example, molecular biology enables phylogenetic studies that allow building new classifications that follow the evolutionary history of organisms. Integrative approaches considering morphology, ecology and genetics to describe biodiversity are powerful in delimiting species, including the new species that are still described from the Mediterranean Sea and continental Europe, notwithstanding they are among the best explored areas of the planet. Moreover, the understanding of how species interact at the community level or of the origins of biogeographic patterns has been greatly improved by the development of mathematical models able to consider the many variables that explain these complex processes. In this scientific turmoil, natural history societies and the communities of amateurs play a fundamental role. Naturalists, collectors, amateurs continue to observe Nature with a frequency and commitment that is less and less common among professional scientists. At the same time, these individuals have developed expertise – and often private collections – of international relevance. Scientific societies like the Italian Malacological Society play a key role in facilitating communication and collaboration between these two fundamental components of the naturalists’ world, in the context of what is now called Citizen Science.