After a brief description of what is nanotechnology (a triple definition will be attempted) and of its importance for the society, this first lecture manly aims at showing how nanoscience makes various nanotechnologies possible. The surprising story of direct imaging and manipulation of atoms (scanning probe microscopies will be the specific subject of the third lecture by prof. Andrea Li Bassi) is told to naturally introduce the crucial role of quantum confinement and surface defects. The electronic and vibrational properties of nanostructures are then discussed to understand the connection between the deeply modified (with respect to the bulk) quantum spectra and the physico-chemical properties of nanoscopic objects. In this context the concept of superatom (and its generalizations) is stressed. The essential role of both size and size control is finally emphasized discussing some significant applications in the fields of materials, devices and medicine. To this last argument (nanomedicine) the second lecture (by prof. Mauro Ferrari) is entirely devoted.
