The Legnaro francium magneto-optical trap

Laser cooling and trapping of radioactive atoms represent the new frontier in atomic physics and a new powerful tool in nuclear physics. We are setting up at the INFN-Legnaro National Laboratories a laser cooling facility that has as a first goal the realization of a Fr-210 magneto-optical trap. The general outline of the experiment and the improvements of the final trap efficiency are discussed. Some preliminary results are presented.