Despite its importance, geophysics has been, and still is, insufficiently developed in Italy. Some Italian universities still lack geophysics departments. Compared to other developed nations, the number of specialists is very small and certainly not able to meet the country’s needs. For these reasons, it was deemed necessary to establish the Advanced School of Geophysics at the Ettore Majorana Centre. The school was designed to compensate, as far as possible, for the shortage of geophysics in Italy. It will provide young physicists with a broad but precise overview of current developments in geophysics and its problems, ranging from the physics of the oceans to that of the solid earth and the physics of the atmosphere. The first courses will have an introductory and interdisciplinary character. Lectures will cover, among other topics, the physics of the Earth’s interior, seismology, geodesy, gravimetry and its applications, geomagnetism, the physics of the neutral and ionised atmosphere, meteorology, modern geophysical techniques (e.g., the application of lasers and remote sensing), physical oceanography, solar-terrestrial physics, geochronology, prospecting methods, geothermic and cosmic rays. The school will organise further courses to address those disciplines that are developing rapidly and are important for the country’s needs.