On 8 March 2013, at a ceremony in the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Dr Maria Giovanna Dainotti, received The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana).

The Order recognizes Dr Dainotti's outstanding achievements in the research on the significance of gamma rays in the studies on the beginning of the Universe (Per i suoi studi sul possibile utilizzo delle esplorazioni di raggi gamma per indagare sulle origini dell'universo).
Dr Dainotti is a researcher in the Astronomical Observatory at the Jagiellonian University.

Dr Maria Giovanna Dainotti – first from the left