  The axiomatic bases of Special Relativity Theory (SRT) are thoroughly
re-examined from an operational point of view, with particular emphasis on the
status of Einstein synchronization in the light of the possibility of arbitrary
synchronization procedures in inertial reference frames. Once correctly and
explicitly phrased, the principles of SRT allow for a wide range of `theories'
that differ from the standard SRT only for the difference in the chosen
synchronization procedures, but are wholly equivalent to SRT in predicting
empirical facts. This results in the introduction, in the full background of
SRT, of a suitable synchronization gauge. A complete hierarchy of
synchronization gauges is introduced and elucidated, ranging from the useful
Selleri synchronization gauge (which should lead, according to Selleri, to a
multiplicity of theories alternative to SRT) to the more general Mansouri-Sexl
synchronization gauge and, finally, to the even more general
Anderson-Vetharaniam-Stedman's synchronization gauge. It is showed that all
these gauges do not challenge the SRT, as claimed by Selleri, but simply lead
to a number of formalisms which leave the geometrical structure of Minkowski
spacetime unchanged. Several aspects of fundamental and applied interest
related to the conventional aspect of the synchronization choice are discussed,
encompassing the issue of the one-way velocity of light on inertial and
rotating reference frames, the GPS's working, and the recasting of Maxwell
equations in generic synchronizations. Finally, it is showed how the gauge
freedom introduced in SRT can be exploited in order to give a clear explanation
of the Sagnac effect for counter-propagating matter beams.
