Turinese stereochemistry: Eligio Perucca's enantioselectivity and Primo Levi's asymmetry.

A reputation restored: Eligio Perucca (see photo) first observed the enantioselective adsorption of a racemic mixture to a chiral crystal (NaClO(3)) in Turin in 1919. However, this milestone in enantioselective chemistry and chiroptics went unnoticed. Identified previously as a coward who refused in 1941 to supervise the research of the budding stereochemist Primo Levi because of the race laws, Perucca was opposed to the fascist regime.