University of Pisa

The University of Pisa (Italian Università di Pisa), located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343^[1] by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century. The University has Europe's oldest academic botanical garden (Orto botanico di Pisa), founded 1544.

The University of Pisa is part of the Pisa University System, together with the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. It offers a wide and renowned range of courses, but it is especially known for its science and engineering branches, which manage very good courses at the BSc, MSc and PhD level. The Computer Science course at University of Pisa was the first one in the area to be activated in the whole Italy, during the 1960s. The aerospace MSc courses (EuMAS, MSSE) are the first in Italy to be offered entirely in the English language. The university now has about 57,000 students (of which 53,000 in undergraduate and postgraduate studies and 3500 in doctoral and specialization studies). In the field of Italian philology, the University of Pisa leads the Consorzio ICoN, an interuniversity consortium of 21 Italian universities supported by the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research. It's also the only university in Italy which has become a member of Universities Research Association.

In 2011 the University of Pisa came in first place among the Italian universities, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.^{[2] [3] [4]}

History

The University of Pisa was officially established in 1343,^[1] although a number of scholars claim its origin dates back to the 11th century.

The first reliable data on the presence of secular and monastic schools of law in Pisa is from the eleventh and the second half of the twelfth century, when Pisa had already achieved a remarkable economic development. Further, the next century form the first documents that prove the presence of doctors of medicine and surgery.

The earliest evidence of a Pisan “Studium” dates to 1338, when the renowned jurist Ranieri Arsendi transferred to Pisa from Bologna. He along with Bartolo da Sassoferrato, a lecturer in Civil Law, were paid by the Municipality to teach public lessons.

The papal bull ‘In supremae dignitatis', granted by Pope Clement VI on September 3, 1343, recognized the ‘Studium' of Pisa as a ‘Studium Generale'; an institution of further education founded or confirmed by a universal authority, the Papacy or Empire. Pisa was one of the first European universities that could boast this papal attestation, which guaranteed the universal, legal value of its educational qualifications.

The first taught subjects were theology, civil law, canon law and medicine. In 1355 Francesco da Buti, the well-known commentator of Dante's Divine Comedy, began teaching at the “Studium”.

Pisa and its Studium underwent a period of crisis around the turn of the 15th century: the Florentines' conquest of the town led to the university's closure in 1403. In 1473, thanks to Lorenzo de Medici, the Pisan Studium resumed its systematic development and the construction of a building for holding lessons was provided for in 1486. The building – later known as Palazzo della Sapienza (The Building of Knowledge) – was located in the fourteenth-century Piazza del Grano. The image of a cherub was placed Above the Gate “Dell'Abbondanza” (the Gate of Abundance), leading to the Piazza, still today the symbol of the University.

Following the rebellion against Florence in 1494 and the war following, the Pisan Studium suffered a period of decline, and was transferred to Pistoia, Prato and Florence. The ceremonial re-opening of the University, on November 1, 1543, under rule by Duke Cosimo I de Medici, was considered as a second inauguration. The quality of the University was furthered by the statute of 1545 and the Pisan Athenaeum became one of the most significant in Europe for teaching and research. The chair of “Semplici” (botany) was held by Luca Ghini, founder of the world's first Botanical Gardens, succeeded by Andrea Cesalpino, who pioneered the first scientific methodology for the classification of plants and is considered a forerunner in the discovery of blood circulation. Gabriele Falloppio and Marcello Malpighi lectured in anatomy and medicine.

Galileo Galilei, who was born and studied in Pisa, became professor of mathematics at the Pisan Studium in 1589.

The University's role as a state institution became ever more accentuated during the Medici Grand Duchy period. A protectionist policy ensured a consistent nucleus of scholars and teachers: laws issued by Cosimo I, Ferdinando I and Ferdinando II obliged those who intended to obtain a degree to attend the Studium of Pisa. This period sees various illustrious figures lecture at Pisa, especially in the field of law and medicine.

The University's development continued under the Lorenas. They completed the construction of the astronomic observatory (a project initiated by the Medicis), as well as enriching the University Library with important publications, developing the Botanical Gardens and Natural Science Museum and they established new chairs, such as experimental physics and chemistry.

The annexation of Tuscany to the Napoleonic Empire resulted in the transformation of the Studium into an Imperial Academy: the Athenaeum became a branch of the University of Paris and the courses and study programs were structured following the French public education model. Five new faculties were established (Theology, Law, Medicine, Science and Literature), along with examinations, different qualification titles and graduation theses. In 1813 ‘La Scuola Normale Superiore' was established, as a branch of the 'École Normale Supérieure' in Paris.

The Restoration wasn't able to cancel the effects of the Napoleonic experience. The first Congress of Italian Scientists was held in Pisa in 1839. 421 scientists and over 300 experts of various disciplines discussed zoology, comparative anatomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, agronomy, technology, botany, vegetation physiology, geology, mineralogy, geography and medicine.

In 1839–1840 the Director of Education, Gaetano Giorgini, brought about the most important reform in the University of Pisa by raising the number of faculties to six (Theology, Law, Literature, Medicine, Mathematics and Natural Sciences) and created the world's first chair of Agriculture and sheep farming.

In 1846 the Scuola Normale was re-opened. Meanwhile, liberal and patriotic ideals were spreading at Athenaeum and a battalion of the University – composed of lecturers and students – distinguished itself in the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara in 1848.

During the ‘Second Restoration', in 1851, Leopoldo II united the universities of Pisa and of Siena in a unique Etruscan Athenaeum motivated partly by economic reasons, but primarily for political control. The faculties of Theology and Law rested at Siena; while those of Literature, Medicine, Mathematics and Natural Sciences remained at Pisa. Following the Florentine insurrection and the fleeing of the Grand Duke in 1859, one of the initial measures imposed by the Provisory Government was the restitution to the city of Pisa of its Studium with all six of its faculties.

With the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, the University of Pisa became one of the new state's most prestigious cultural institutions. Between the second half of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries the following prestigious lecturers taught at Pisa: the lawyers Francesco Carrara and Francesco Buonamici, philologists Domenico Comparetti and Giovanni D'Ancona, historians Pasquale Villari, Gioacchino Volpe and Luigi Russo, philosopher Giovanni Gentile, economist Giuseppe Toniolo and mathematicians Ulisse Dini and Antonio Pacinotti. The first European institute of Historical Linguistics was founded in Pisa in 1890.

During the years of fascism the Pisa Athenaeum was an active centre for political debate and antifascist organisation.

After the second world war the University of Pisa returned to the avant-garde in many fields of knowledge. To the faculties of engineering and pharmacy, established pre-war, were added economics, foreign languages and literature and politics. In 1967 the ‘Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e Perfezionamento S. Anna' was founded which, together with ‘La Scuola Normale', formed a highly prestigious learning and teaching centre.

Today the University of Pisa boasts eleven faculties and fifty-seven departments, with high level research centres in the sectors of agriculture, astrophysics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, medicine and veterinary medicine. Furthermore the University has close relations with the Pisan Institutes of the National Research Council, with many cultural institutions of national and international importance, and with industry, especially that of information technology, which went through a phase of rapid expansion in Pisa during the nineteen sixties and seventies.

Organization of the university

Nowadays the University of Pisa consists of 11 faculties and 56 departments. These faculties offers a notable amount of courses in their related field of studies:

• Agriculture
• Economics
• Engineering
• Foreign Languages and Literature
• Law
• Letters and Philosophy
• Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science & Natural Sciences
• Medicine and Surgery
• Pharmacy
• Political Sciences
• Veterinary Medicine

PhD studies are instead usually offered and arranged by the departments themselves. The lectures are mostly given in Italian, except for a number of courses at the faculty of foreign languages and literatures and some scientific programmes, such as the international MSc in aerospace engineering (EuMAS), the Master of Science in Space Engineering (MSSE) and the Master in Computer Science and Networking (MCSN), jointly offered with Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. The 51,000 students who study at the UniPi have at their disposal also a Linguistical Centre, where they can attend to many courses of foreign languages, a Sports Centre (Cus Pisa), who also arrange for many Sports Intramural Leagues and allows to make the sports practice in almost all the disciplines available in Italy, and three University Refectories (Mense universitarie).

The University of Pisa is not organized in the form of one unique campus, but its many buildings are scattered in the whole Pisa area, especially in the city centre.

Pisa university system

The Pisa University system (Italian: Sistema Universitario Pisano) is a network of higher education institutions in Pisa. The following three schools and universities belong to the system:^[5]

• University of Pisa
• Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
• Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies

Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies are officially sanctioned as special-statute universities in Italy i.e. it has 'university status', being part of the process of Superior Graduate Schools in Italy (Grandes écoles)^[6] or Scuola Superiore Universitaria.^[7]

The undergraduate students that undergo a rigorous public examination and are admitted at Scuola Normale Superiore and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in essence attend University of Pisa studies with the extra options available at Scuola Normale Superiore and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, thus these students are called Honors College Students(allievi). Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies is also integrated with the Scuola Normale Superiore and Honors College Students are free to attend courses provided by departments of any of the three institutions.^[8]

While attending the University of Pisa courses, the Honors College Students (allievi) live in the schools' colleges. Students have to achieve a high average grade in university exams and attend internal courses taught by professors and researchers working at Scuola Normale Superiore, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies and University of Pisa.^[9]

Rankings

University of Pisa rankings:

• In 2011 the University of Pisa came in first place among the Italian universities (National Rank # 1), according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities and within the best 30 universities in Europe.^{[10] [11] [12]}
• Times Higher Education World University Rankings rank University of Pisa among 300 best world universities ^[13]
• QS World University Rankings has particular rankings on Natural Sciences(115), Arts & Humanities (148), Engineering & IT (168), Life Sciences (298) ^[14]
• The U.S. News & World Report places University of Pisa among world's 300 best universities. ^[15]
• The European Research Ranking, a ranking based on publicly available data from the European Commission database puts University of Pisa among the best in Italy and best performing European research institutions .^[16]

Pisa University System rankings :

• The Academic Ranking of World Universities puts Pisa University System at the first place in Italy (National Rank # 1) and within the best 30 universities in Europe.^[17]
• Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies has also been mapped by Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings as one of the most important educational institutions in Italy (section on Italy i.e. Top universities and specialisms ),^[18][19] having its Graduate/Postgraduate Profile.^[20]
• Also, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies together with Scuola Normale Superiore are named as leading institutions in Italy's six top higher education institutes by Times Higher Education World University Rankings.^[7]
• According to QS World University Rankings, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies is part of the initiative Invest Your Talent in Italy^[21] which puts Italian graduate programmes on the world's stage.^[22]
• The European Research Ranking, a ranking based on publicly available data from the European Commission database puts Pisa University System among the best in Italy and best performing European research institutions .^[23]
• La Voce, published a ranking of Italian universities by h-index, where Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies acquires the first (#1) place in Italy.^[24]

Notable alumni and faculty

• Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy",^[25] the "father of modern physics",^[26] the "father of science",^[26] and "the Father of Modern Science".^[27] According to Stephen Hawking, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science".^[28]
• Enrico Fermi, physicist, 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity, particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. Fermi is widely regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, highly accomplished in both theory and experiment.^[29] Along with J. Robert Oppenheimer,^[30] he is frequently referred to as "the father of the atomic bomb".^[31][32] , also studied at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore i.e. Pisa University System
• Carlo Rubbia, Knight Grand Cross particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN, also studied at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore i.e. Pisa University System
• Francesco Accarigi, professor of civil law
• Giuliano Amato, politician and former Prime Minister of Italy, also studied at the prestigious Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies i.e. Pisa University System
• Andrea Bocelli, tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist
• Andrea Camilleri, writer (ad honorem)
• Giosuè Carducci, poet, 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Bonaventura Cavalieri, mathematician, known for his work on the problems of optics and motion, work on the precursors of infinitesimal calculus, and the introduction of logarithms to Italy. Cavalieri's principle in geometry partially anticipated integral calculus
• Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006. He is currently a Senator for life in the Italian Senate, also studied at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore i.e. Pisa University System
• Pope Clement XII, 17th century Pope i.e. Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church (which is composed of the Latin Rite and the Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the see of Rome), regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle
• Massimo D'Alema, politician and former 77th Prime Minister from 1998 to 2000, and later he was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2008, also studied at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore i.e. Pisa University System
• Giovanni Gentile, minister and neo-Hegelian Idealist philosopher, a peer of Benedetto Croce, described himself as 'the philosopher of Fascism', and ghostwrote A Doctrine of Fascism (1932) for Benito Mussolini, also devised his own system of philosophy, Actual Idealism, and Professor at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore i.e. Pisa University System
• Giovanni Gronchi, former President of the Italian Republic
• Girolamo Maggi, 16th century scholar
• Guido Fubini, mathematician
• Mario Monicelli, movie director
• Alessandro Natta, former secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI)
• René Préval, President of Haiti
• Carlo Sforza, President of the Italian National Consult, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Adriano Sofri, writer
• Tiziano Terzani, journalist and writer
• Elio Toaff, former Chief Rabbi of Rome
• Andrea Vaccá Berlinghieri, 19th century surgeon
• Vito Volterra, mathematician and physicist, known for his contributions to mathematical biology and integral equations.^[33][34]
• François Carlo Antommarchi, Napoleon's physician from 1818 to his death in 1821.
• Stefano Arduini, scholar of linguistics, rhetoric, semiotics and translation
• Adolfo Bartoli, physicist, who is best known for introducing the concept of radiation pressure from thermodynamical considerations
• Enrico Betti, mathematician, now remembered mostly for his 1871 paper on topology that led to the later naming after him of the Betti numbers
• Luciano Bianciardi, journalist, translator and writer of short stories and novels
• Emilio Bizzi, neuroscientist and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Sandro Bondi, politician, Culture Minister in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet
• Cesare Borgia, Duke of Romagna, Prince of Andria and Venafro, Count of Dyois, Lord of Piombino, Camerino and Urbino, Gonfalonier and Captain General of the Church, an Italian^[35][36][37] condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei
• Philippe Buonarroti, 18th century egalitarian and utopian socialist, revolutionary, journalist, writer, agitator, and freemason; he was mainly active in France
• Piero Calamandrei, author, jurist, soldier, university professor and politician, one of Italy's leading authorities on the law of civil procedure
• Francesco Cappè, United Nations official and Head, Security Governance/Counter-Terrorism for the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).^[38], a member of the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) of the UN General Assembly.^[39]
• Adán Cárdenas, President of Nicaragua between March 1, 1883 and March 1, 1887.^[40]
• Antonio Cassese, jurist who specialized in public international law, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, also studied at the prestigious Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies i.e. Pisa University System
• Sabino Cassese, Professor of Administrative Law and a judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy, also studied at the prestigious Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies i.e. Pisa University System
• Benedetto Castelli, mathematician
• Carlo Chiti, Italian racing car and engine designer, best known for his long association with Alfa Romeo's racing department
• Mauro Cristofani, linguist and researcher in Etruscan studies
• Luigi Fantappiè, mathematician, known for work in mathematical analysis and for creating the theory of analytic functionals: he was a student and follower of Vito Volterra, also proposed scientific theories of sweeping scope
• Lando Ferretti, journalist, politician and sports administrator
• Clara Franzini-Armstrong, FMRS an American electron microscopist,^[41] and Professor Emeritus of Cell and Developmental Biology at University of Pennsylvania.^[42][43]
• Luca Gammaitoni, scientist in the area of noise and nonlinear dynamics
• David Levi (Italy), Italian-Jewish poet and patriot
• Lorenzo Magalotti, philosopher, author, diplomat and poet
• Paolo Malanima, Italian economic historian
• Alessandro Natta, politician and secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from 1984 to 1988
• Jože Pirjevec, Slovene historian from Italy, one of the most prominent diplomatic historians of the west Balkans region, and member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
• Francesco Redi, 17th century physician, naturalist, and poet
• Giovanni Battista Rinuccini, Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid-17th century
• Luigi Rizzi (linguist), linguist
• Giovanni Salvemini, FRS, 18th-century mathematician and astronomer
• Atto Tigri, 19th century anatomist

See also

• Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
• Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies
• Pisa University System
• École Normale Supérieure
• Superior Graduate Schools in Italy
• List of Italian universities
• List of medieval universities
• Pisa
• ICoN Interuniversity Consortium for Italian Studies

References

External links

• University of Pisa Website (Italian) (English) (Chinese)
• MSSE – Master of Science in Space Engineering (English)
•  "University of Pisa". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.