From May 19 to 21, 2024, the celebratory conference marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) was successfully held at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence. This event was the first world congress of the IUSS to be held in Italy since its foundation in Rome in 1924. The event was jointly organized by the Italian Soil Science Society (SISS) and the IUSS and was sponsored by numerous institutions, scientific societies, and academies, both national and international, as well as various soil movements and associations. The congress saw the participation of nearly 1,500 experts from 73 countries (Figs. 4, 5, 6). The largest delegation, after the Italian one, was the Chinese delegation, followed by the United States, and then Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and Mexico. Among the participants were colleagues from Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Iran, highlighting how soil research unites all countries in the world and fosters dialogue between nations, as well as the advancement of knowledge.