Fabio Piccoli

F. PICCOLI, Achille Ardigò and «elderly condition», between sociological analysis and perspectives of social innovation. Ardigò’s contribution for the development of a full sociological knowledge about elderly condition has been very important. It has embraced several subject areas, often combining theoretical elaboration with field research and even field-testing. The aim of my paper is to provide a synthetic representation of Ardigò’s contribution, by following some guidelines: the analysis of senescence differentiation processes in relation to the broader process of social differentiation; studies and experiments on elderly home care and, more generally, I.C.T.; the exhortation of elderly to a greater civic and political engagement for the construction of our future society. Key words: elderly condition, social differentiation, senescence processes, elderly services, elderly partecipation.