In the present paper, a rational report on Euromech 563, Generalized continua and their applications to the design of composites and metamaterials (Cisterna di Latina 17–21 March 2014), is provided.

The frank and constructive spirit which animated the workshop by Dell’Isola et al. (ZAMM 2014; 94(5): 367–372) also characterized Euromech Colloquium 563. All presentations were video-recorded and are freely available online at the address http://www.memocsevents.eu/euromech563/?page_id=1013. The topics treated were selected by the organizers in order to allow a comparison of the available experimental evidence with the predictive capability of current theoretical models. The numerical investigations selected and presented aimed to make more effective the aforementioned comparison. The interested reader will find more details about the colloquium at the dedicated webpage http://www.memocsevents.eu/euromech563. The design and use of advanced materials and structural elements requires an extensive and rigorous process of mathematical modeling. The organizers of Euromech 563, being aware of this need, have chosen as participants renowned and reputed scientists (and some promising young researchers) who all agree on recognizing to mathematical sciences their role of unifying and coordinating tool in the effort for the advance of technology. The Colloquium has indeed surely contributed to the development of more advanced technological possibilities and to the theoretical conception of completely new ones.