  The Palatini formulation is used to develop a genuine connection theory for
general relativity, in which the gravitational field is represented by a
Lorentz-valued spin connection. The existence of a tetrad field, given by the
Fock-Ivanenko covariant derivative of the tangent-space coordinates, implies a
coupling between the spin connection and the coordinate vector-field, which
turns out to be the responsible for the onset of curvature. This
connection-coordinate coupling can thus be considered as the very foundation of
the gravitational interaction. The peculiar form of the tetrad field is shown
to reduce both Bianchi identities of general relativity to a single one, which
brings this theory closer to the gauge theories describing the other
fundamental interactions of Nature. Some further properties of this approach
are also examined.

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology