Detailed experimental investigation with large \gamma -ray arrays have recently extended the knowledge of many nuclei filling the 1f_7/2-shell nuclei. It was shown that these nuclei are characterized by a large variety of phenomena that originate in their particular location in a mass region between light and heavy nuclei having still a low number of valence particles to allow for full shell model description but already large enough to develop collective behavior with all its consequences. The evolution of their structure with spin and excitation energy is marked by the interplay between the single particle and collective degrees of freedom. Nuclei with N \sim Z are of special interest as they provide valuable information on the proton--neutron interaction and the interplay between the T=0 and T=1 pairing modes. Isospin symmetry studies in T_z = \pm 1/2 mirror nuclei and T_z=0, \pm 1 isospin multiplets were facilitated by the experimental identification of states in many of the nuclei filling the 1f_7/2-shell allowing for a systematic study on the origin of the charge symmetry breaking effects. The comparison with accurate large scale shell model calculations leads towards a quantitative understanding of the various contributions to these effects. To illustrate some of the properties that make so appealing these nuclei I discuss in the present paper the N=Z nucleus ⁵²Fe and the A=54 T=1 multiplet.

PACS numbers: 21.10.--k, 21.60.Cs, 23.20.Lv, 27.40.+z