Florestano Evangelisti is a retired professor of condensed matter physics. He taught at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" until 1992, when he moved to the University of Rome TRE, of which he was one of the founders. His research activity dealt with different topics of both basic and applied research, mainly devoted to electronic, optical and structural properties of semiconductors. He is co-author of more than 180 articles published in international physics journals.

• Chapter 1. Introduction.- PART I. Matter and Classical Science.- Chapter 2. The legacy of antiquity.- Chapter 3. Matter at the beginning of the scientific revolution.- Chapter 4. Matter in the seventeenth century.- Chapter 5. Matter in the eighteenth century.- Chapter 6. Matter and Electricity.- Chapter 7. Chemistry and matter in the nineteenth century.- Chapter 8. Physics and  matter in the nineteenth century.-  PART II: Matter and Old Quantum Theory.- Chapter 9. The Apperance of Quanta.- Chapter 10. Bohr' s atom.- Chapter 11. Electrons and atoms.-  PART III: Quantum Mechanical Representation of Matter.-  Chapter 12. Quantum atoms and molecules.- chapter 13. Solid matter.- Chapter 14. Semiconductors.- Appendix A. On Gases and water.- Appendix B. On nineteenth century Physics.- Appendix C. On old quantum theory.- Appendix D. On matter and quantum mechanics.-  Index.