The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuous operation in the world, and the first degree-awarding institution of higher learning. At its foundation, the word ''universitas'' was first coined.Hunt Janin: "The university in medieval life, 1179–1499", McFarland, 2008, , p. 55f.de Ridder-Symoens, Hilde
''A History of the University in Europe: Volume 1, Universities in the Middle Ages''
Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 47–55 With over 90,000 students, it is the second largest university in Italy after

La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

in Rome. It was the first place of study to use the term ''universitas'' for the corporations of students and masters, which came to define the institution (especially its law school) located in Bologna. The university's emblem carries the motto, ''Alma Mater Studiorum'' ("Nourishing mother of studies"), the date ''A.D. 1088''. It has campuses in

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and '' comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via E ...

, Ravenna and Rimini and a branch center abroad in

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South A ...

. It also has a school of excellence named ''Collegio Superiore di Bologna''. An associate publisher of the University of Bologna is the

Bononia University Press Fondazione Bologna University Press (BUP) is an associate publisher of the University of Bologna (Italy). The university is situated in the center of Bologna, where it was established in 1998 as an Italian University Press which was created as ...

. The university saw the first woman to earn a university degree and teach at a university,

Bettisia Gozzadini Bettisia Gozzadini (1209 – 2 November 1261) was a jurist who lectured at the University of Bologna from about 1239. She is thought to be the first woman to have taught at a university. Life Gozzadini was born in the commune of Bologna, in ...

, and the first woman to earn both a doctorate in science and a salaried position as a university professor, Laura Bassi. It is commonly ranked amongst the best universities in Italy, and is especially renowned for its studies in law, medicine, and the natural sciences.Dieci volte prima: l’Università di Bologna ancora al top in Italia tra i mega atenei
University of Bologna had a central role in the sciences during the Italian renaissance, where it housed and educated Nicholas Copernicus as well as numerous other renaissance mathematicians.

History

The date of the University of Bologna's founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088.
- Università di Bologna The university was granted a charter (''

Authentica habita ''Authentica habita'',"Authentica Habita."
''

'') by Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

in 1158, but in the 19th century, a committee of historians led by Giosuè Carducci traced the founding of the university back to 1088, which would make it the oldest continuously operating university in the world. However, the development of the institution at Bologna into a university was a gradual process. Paul Grendler writes that “it is not likely that enough instruction and organization existed to merit the term ''university'' before the 1150s, and it might not have happened before the 1180s.” The university arose around mutual aid societies (known as ''universitates scholarium'') of foreign students called " nations" (as they were grouped by nationality) for protection against city laws which imposed

collective punishment Collective punishment is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member of that group, which could be an ethnic or political group, or just the family, friends and neighbors of the perpetrator. Because ind ...

on foreigners for the crimes and debts of their countrymen. These students then hired scholars from the city's pre-existing lay and ecclesiastical schools to teach them subjects such as liberal arts, notarial law, theology, and ''ars dictaminis'' ( scrivenery). The lectures were given in informal schools called ''scholae''. In time the various ''universitates scholarium'' decided to form a larger association, or ''Studium''—thus, the university. The ''Studium'' grew to have a strong position of

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

with the city, since by then it derived significant revenue through visiting foreign students, who would depart if they were not well treated. The foreign students in Bologna received greater rights, and collective punishment was ended. There was also collective bargaining with the scholars who served as professors at the university. By the initiation or threat of a

student strike Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academi ...

, the students could enforce their demands as to the content of courses and the pay professors would receive. University professors were hired, fired, and had their pay determined by an elected council of two representatives from every student "nation" which governed the institution, with the most important decisions requiring a majority vote from all the students to ratify. The professors could also be fined if they failed to finish classes on time, or complete course material by the end of the semester. A student committee, the "Denouncers of Professors", kept tabs on them and reported any misbehavior. Professors themselves were not powerless, however, forming ''collegia doctorum'' (professors’ committees) in each faculty, and securing the rights to set examination fees and degree requirements. Eventually, the city ended this arrangement, paying professors from tax revenues and making it a chartered public university. 2017-03 Bologna Mattes Pana (105)

The university is historically notable for its teaching of

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

and civil law; indeed, it was set up in large part with the aim of studying the '' Digest,'' a central text in Roman law, which had been rediscovered in Italy in 1070, and the university was central in the development of medieval Roman law. Until modern times, the only degree granted at that university was the doctorate.

earned a law degree in 1237, being one of the first women in history to obtain a university degree. She taught law from her own home for two years, and in 1239 she taught at the university, becoming the first woman in history to teach at a university. In 1477, when Pope Sixtus IV issued a papal bull, authorizing the creation of

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

in Sweden, the bull specified that the new university would have the same freedoms and privileges as the University of Bologna - a highly desirable situation for the Swedish scholars. This included the right of Uppsala to establish the four traditional faculties of theology, law (

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

and Roman law), medicine, and philosophy, and to award the bachelor's, master's, licentiate, and doctoral degrees. Laura Bassi was born into a prosperous family of Bologna and was privately educated from the age of five.Laura Bassi
at Encyclopedia.com Bassi's education and intellect was noticed by Prospero Lorenzini Lambertini, who became the Archbishop of Bologna in 1731 (later Pope Benedict XIV). Lambertini became the official patron of Bassi. He arranged for a public debate between Bassi and four professors from the University of Bologna on 17 April 1732. In 1732, Bassi, aged twenty, publicly defended her forty-nine theses on ''Philosophica Studia'' at the Sala degli Anziani of the

Palazzo Pubblico The Palazzo Pubblico (''town hall'') is a palace in Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. Construction began in 1297 to serve as the seat of the Republic of Siena's government, which consisted of the Podestà and Council of Nine, the elected off ...

. The University of Bologna awarded her a doctorate degree on 12 May. She became the first woman to receive a doctorate in science, and the second woman in the world to earn a philosophy doctorate after

Elena Cornaro Piscopia Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (, ; 5 June 1646 – 26 July 1684) or Elena Lucrezia Corner (), also known in English as Helen Cornaro, was a Venetian philosopher of noble descent who in 1678 became one of the first women to receive an academic ...

in 1678, fifty-four years prior. She was by then popularly known as Bolognese

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Ro ...

. On 29 October 1732, the Senate and the University of Bologna granted Bassi's candidature, and in December she was appointed professor of natural philosophy to teach physics. She became the first salaried woman lecturer in the world, thus beginning her academic career. She was also the first woman member of any scientific establishment, when she was elected to the

Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna The Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna (''Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna'') is an academic society in Bologna, Italy, that was founded in 1690 and prospered in the Age of Enlightenment. Today it is closely associated ...

in 1732. Bassi became the most important populariser of Newtonian mechanics in Italy. In 1971, the Graecist Benedetto Marzullo in company with Umberto Eco, Renato Barilli, Adelio Ferrero. instituted within the Faculty of Letters and Arts the DAMS (

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

of ''discipline delle arti, della musica e dello spettacolo'', "Dicipline of

Arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

, Musics and Performance"). It was the first degree course of this type to be opened in Italy. Between December 26, 1982, and November 29, 1983, there occurred the DAMS murders (in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

: ''Delitti del DAMS''), dealing with four victims who were students or professors of the DAMS: Angelo Fabbri (a brilliant student of Umberto Eco), Liviana Rossi, the dancer Francesca Alinovi (who was stabbed for 47 times), and Leonarda Polvani.

Organization

Higher education processes are being harmonised across the European Community. Nowadays the university offers 101 different "'' Laurea''" or "''Laurea breve''" first-level degrees (three years of courses), followed by 108 "''Laurea specialistica''" or "''Laurea magistrale''" second-level degrees (two years). However, 11 other courses have maintained preceding rules of "''Laurea specialistica a ciclo unico''" or "''Laurea magistrale a ciclo unico''", with only one cycle of study of five years, except for medicine and dentistry which requires six years of courses. After the "''Laurea''" one may attain first level Master (one-year diploma, similar to a Postgraduate diploma). After second-level degrees are attained, one may proceed to second level Master, specialisation schools (residency), or doctorates of research (PhD). The 11 Schools (which replace the preexisting 23 faculties) are: * School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine * School of Economics, Management and Statistics * School of Engineering and Architecture * School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Interpretation and Translation * School of Law * School of Arts, Humanities, and

Cultural Heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...

* School of Medicine and Surgery * School of Pharmacy,

Biotechnologies Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used by ...

and Sport Sciences * School of Political Sciences * School of Psychology and Education Sciences * School of Sciences The university is structured in 33 departments (there were 66 until 2012), organized by homogeneous research domains that integrate activities related to one or more faculty. A new department of Latin history was added in 2015. The 33 departments are: * Architecture - DA * Cultural Heritage - DBC * Chemistry "

Giacomo Ciamician Giacomo Luigi Ciamician (; hy, Հակոբ (Ջակոմո) Լուիջի Չամիչյան; 27 August 1857 – 2 January 1922) was an Italian chemist and senator of Armenian descent. He was a pioneer in photochemistry and green chemistry. E ...

" - CHIM *

Industrial Chemistry The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials (oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. The pl ...

"Toso Montanari" - CHIMIND * Arts - DARvipem * Pharmacy and Biotechnology - FaBiT *

Classical Philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and Italian Studies - FICLIT * Philosophy and

Communication Studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in different ...

- FILCOM * Physics and Astronomy - DIFA * Computer Science and Engineering - DISI * Civil, Chemical,

Environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...

, and Materials Engineering - DICAM *

Electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

Electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

, and

Information Engineering Information engineering is the engineering discipline that deals with the generation, distribution, analysis, and use of information, data, and knowledge in systems. The field first became identifiable in the early 21st century. The component ...

"Guglielmo Marconi" - DEI *

Industrial Engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...

- DIN * Interpreting and Translation - DIT * Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures - LILEC * Mathematics - MAT *

Experimental Medicine An experimental drug is a medicinal product (a drug or vaccine) that has not yet received approval from governmental regulatory authorities for routine use in human or veterinary medicine. A medicinal product may be approved for use in one diseas ...

Diagnostic Medicine Medical diagnosis (abbreviated Dx, Dx, or Ds) is the process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs. It is most often referred to as diagnosis with the medical context being implicit. The information re ...

and Specialty Medicine - DIMES * Psychology - PSI * Agricultural Sciences - DipSA * Management - DiSA *

Biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

, Geological, and

Environmental Science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

s - BiGeA *

Biomedical Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

and Neuromotor Sciences - DIBINEM *

Education Studies Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken a ...

"Giovanni Maria Bertin" - EDU *

Agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

and

Food Sciences Food science is the basic science and applied science of food; its scope starts at overlap with agricultural science and nutritional science and leads through the scientific aspects of food safety and food processing, informing the development ...

- DISTAL * Economics - DSE * Legal Studies - DSG * Medical and Surgical Sciences - DIMEC * Veterinary Medical Sciences - DIMEVET * Department for Life Quality Studies - QUVI * Political and Social Sciences - SPS * Statistical Sciences "

Paolo Fortunati Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter * Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-Americ ...

" - STAT * Sociology and Business Law - SDE * History and Cultures - DiSCi

Affiliates and other institutions

Il Mulino

In the early 1950s, some students of the University of Bologna were among the founders of the review "il Mulino". On 25 April 1951 the first issue of the review was published in Bologna. In a short time, "il Mulino" became one of the most interesting reference points in Italy for the political and cultural debate and established important editorial relationships in Italy and abroad. Editorial activities evolved along with the review. In 1954, the il Mulino publishing house (It. ''Società editrice il Mulino'') was founded, which today represents one of the most relevant Italian publishers. In addition to this were initiated research projects (focusing mostly on the educational institutions and the political system in Italy), that eventually led, in 1964, to the establishment of the Istituto Carlo Cattaneo.

Collegio Superiore

The ''Collegio Superiore'' is an excellence institution inside the University of Bologna, aimed at promoting students' merit through dedicated learning programmes. The institution was founded in 1998 as ''Collegio d'Eccellenza''. Together with the Institute for Advanced Study it is part of the Institute for Higher Study. The Collegio Superiore offers an additional educational path to students enrolled in a degree programme at the University of Bologna, providing specialized courses as part of an interdisciplinary framework. All students of the Collegio Superiore are granted a full-ride scholarship and additional benefits such as the assistance of a personal tutor and free accommodation at the Residence for Higher Study. In order to remain members of the Collegio Superiore students are required to maintain high marks in both their degree programme and the additional courses. Beatrice Fraboni, professor of Physics of Matter, has been head of Collegio Superiore since 2019.

Notable people

Altichiero, ritratto di Francesco Petrarca

Alumni

Adone Zoli Adone Zoli (16 December 1887 – 20 February 1960) was an Italian politician who served as the 35th prime minister of Italy from May 1957 to July 1958; he was the first senator to have ever held the office. A member of the Christian Democrac ...

, former Prime Minister of Italy. * Cardinal

Alberto Bolognetti Alberto Bolognetti (1538–1585) was an Italian law professor, bishop, diplomat, and cardinal. He was appointed by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal nuncio to Florence, Venice, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In that last appointment, he persu ...

* Pope

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Chur ...

* Álvaro de Figueroa, former Prime Minister of Spain. * Anna M. Borghi, Italian cognitive psychologist *

Augusto Righi Augusto Righi (27 August 1850 – 8 June 1920) was an Italian physicist and a pioneer in the study of electromagnetism. He was born and died in Bologna. Biography Born in Bologna, Righi was educated in his home town, taught physics at Bologna ...

, pioneer in the study of

electromagnetism In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of ...

* Carlo Goldoni, Italian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Carlo Rovelli Carlo Rovelli (born May 3, 1956) is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer who has worked in Italy, the United States and, since 2000, in France. He is also currently a Distinguished Visiting Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute, and ...

, Italian theoretical physicist *

Carlo Severini Carlo Severini (10 March 1872 – 11 May 1951) was an Italian mathematician: he was born in Arcevia (Province of Ancona) and died in Pesaro. Severini, independently from Dmitri Fyodorovich Egorov, proved and published earlier a proof of the the ...

* Saint

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat a ...

archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lo ...

Corrado Gini Corrado Gini (23 May 1884 – 13 March 1965) was an Italian statistician, demographer and sociologist who developed the Gini coefficient, a measure of the income inequality in a society. Gini was a proponent of organicism and applied it to natio ...

, Italian statistician, demographer and sociologist who developed the Gini coefficient/ratio. * Dante Alighieri, Italian poet, writer and philosopher *

Daria de Pretis ''Daria'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, an intelligent, cynical high ...

, Italian jurist, Constitutional Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy. *

Diego Della Valle Diego Della Valle (born 30 December 1953) is the chairman of the Italian leather goods company ''Tod's''. Biography Family, youth and studies Diego Della Valle is the elder son of Dorino Della Valle and grandson of Filippo Della Valle. Filip ...

, chairman of the Italian leather goods company ''

Tod's Tod's S.p.A., also known as Tod's Group, is an Italian company which produces luxury shoes and other leather goods. The company is majority controlled by the founding family Della Valle Family and is listed on the Italy's Milan Stock Exchange bei ...

'' * Enzo Ferrari, Italian racing driver, engineer and entrepreneur * Erasmus of Rotterdam *

Fabrizio Zilibotti Fabrizio Zilibotti (born September 7, 1964) is an Italian economist. He is the Tuntex Professor of International and Development Economics at Yale University. Zilibotti was previously Professor of Economics at University College London, the Univ ...

, Italian economist and Professor of International and Development Economics at Yale University. * Fawziya Abikar Nur, Minister for Health and Social Care - Somalia. *

Gabriele Paleotti Gabriele Paleotti (4 October 1522 – 22 July 1597) was an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna. He was a significant figure in, and source about, the later sessions of the Council of Trent, and much later a candidate for the papacy in 1590, ...

Gasparo Tagliacozzi Gaspare Tagliacozzi (his last name has also been spelled Taliacotius, Tagliacoze or Tagliacozzio; Bologna, March 1545 – Bologna, 7 November 1599) was an Italian surgeon, pioneer of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Biography Tagliacozzi w ...

, pioneer of plastic and reconstructive surgery *

Giacomo Matteotti Giacomo Matteotti (; 22 May 1885 – 10 June 1924) was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections, and denounced the violenc ...

Giovanni Pascoli Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli (; 31 December 1855 – 6 April 1912) was an Italian poet, classical scholar and an emblematic figure of Italian literature in the late nineteenth century. Alongside Gabriele D'Annunzio, he was one of the gre ...

* Pope Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni); * Pope Gregory XV *

Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro (; 12January 1925) was an Italian mathematician. He is most famous as the discoverer of tensor calculus. With his former student Tullio Levi-Civita, he wrote his most famous single publication, a pioneering work on the ...

, Italian mathematician and the inventor of tensor calculus. *

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This led to Marconi bei ...

, Italian inventor and radio pioneer *

Henry of Susa Henry of Segusio, usually called Hostiensis, (c. 1200 – 6 or 7 November 1271) was an Italian canonist of the thirteenth century, born at Susa (Segusio), in the ancient Diocese of Turin. He died at Lyon. Life He undertook the study of Roman law ...

(Hostiensis); * Pope

Innocent IX Pope Innocent IX ( la, Innocentius IX; it, Innocenzo IX; 20 July 1519 – 30 December 1591), born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591. Prior to h ...

* Irnerius, founder of the School of Glossators * Joaquín Chapaprieta, former Prime Minister of Spain. *

Juan Fernando López Aguilar Juan Fernando López Aguilar (born 10 June 1961) is a Spanish jurist and politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament since 2009. He served as Minister of Justice in the gov ...

, former

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in ...

- Spain. *

Julius Caesar Aranzi Julius Caesar Aranzi (Giulio Cesare Aranzio, Arantius) (1529/1530 – April 7, 1589) was a leading figure in the history of the science of human anatomy. He was born in Bologna, the son of Ottaviano di Jacopo and Maria Maggi. Owing to the poverty o ...

, the pioneer human anatomists and surgeons. * Laura Bassi, the world's first woman to earn a university chair in a scientific field of studies *

Lazzaro Spallanzani Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...

, Italian priest, biologist and physiologist * Leon Battista Alberti; *

Luigi Galvani Luigi Galvani (, also ; ; la, Aloysius Galvanus; 9 September 1737 – 4 December 1798) was an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who studied animal electricity. In 1780, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs ...

; * Manuel Olivencia, lawyer and academic; *

Mauro Moretti Mauro Moretti (born 29 October 1953) is an Italian executive and former CEO and general manager of Leonardo S.p.A. (formerly Finmeccanica), from May 2014 to May 2017. He is also president of the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of ...

, former CEO and general manager of Leonardo S.p.A. *

Marcello Malpighi Marcello Malpighi (10 March 1628 – 30 November 1694) was an Italian biologist and physician, who is referred to as the "Founder of microscopical anatomy, histology & Father of physiology and embryology". Malpighi's name is borne by several ph ...

; * Michelangelo Antonioni; * Nicolaus Copernicus, formulator of the heliocentric universal model; * Cardinal

Paolo Burali d'Arezzo Paolo Burali d'Arezzo (1511 – 17 June 1578) was an Italian priest of the Theatine Order, a bishop, and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. His legal skills made him a prominent figure in the law courts of Naples, and then in the councils of ...

; *

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

, founder of the discipline of

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating exp ...

; *

Patrizio Bianchi Patrizio Bianchi (born 28 May 1952) is an Italian economist and academic, current chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Education, Growth and Equality. He served as minister of education in the Draghi Cabinet from 2021 to 2022. Biography Early ...

, Minister of Public Education in the

Draghi Cabinet The Draghi government was the 67th government of the Italian Republic, led by former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi. It was in office between 13 February 2021 and 22 October 2022. The Draghi government was formed followi ...

* Petrarch; * Pico della Mirandola; * Pier Luigi Nervi, Italian Structural engineer and architect of

UNESCO Headquarters UNESCO Headquarters, or Maison de l'UNESCO, is a building inaugurated on 3 November 1958 at number 7 Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France, to serve as the headquarters for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESC ...

Paris (1950). *

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

; *

Pierluigi Collina Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998-2003. Collina is still ...

, Chairman of the FIFA referees committee *

Piero Gnudi Piero Gnudi (born 17 May 1938) is an Italian tax advisor, manager and politician. He served as Italy's minister of tourism and sport in Monti Cabinet, the Monti cabinet from 16 November 2011 to April 2013. Early life and education Piero Gnudi ...

, Minister of Tourism and Sports in the Monti cabinet. * Pietro Mengoli; *

Remo Gaspari Remo Gaspari (10 July 1921 – 19 July 2011) was an Italian politician, who was several times minister of the Italian Republic. Biography Gaspari was born in Gissi, in Abruzzo, a region which would be his main electoral basin during his politica ...

, Minister of Relationships with the Parliament and Minister of Public Function in the Bettino Craxi and

Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democrac ...

Cabinet. *

Stefano Domenicali Stefano Domenicali (born 11 May 1965) is an Italian manager and the current CEO of Formula One Group, replacing Chase Carey. He was the CEO of Italian sports car manufacturer Lamborghini from 2016 to 2020. He was the team principal of the Scude ...

, CEO of

Formula One Group The Formula One Group is a group of companies responsible for the promotion of the FIA Formula One World Championship, and the exercising of the sport's commercial rights. The Group was previously owned by Delta Topco, a Jersey-based company ...

, former CEO of Italian sports car manufacturer

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

and Team Principal of Formula One team

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. () is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "The Prancing Horse", in reference to their logo. I ...

. * Archbishop

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

; *

Tommaso Perelli Tommaso Perelli (1704–1783) was an Italian astronomer. Born into a noble family of Arezzo, Perelli was encouraged by his father to study law at the University of Pisa, but Guido Grandi (1671–1742), an abbot who was teaching mathematic ...

, Italian astronomer * Torquato Tasso; *

Ulisse Aldrovandi Ulisse Aldrovandi (11 September 1522 – 4 May 1605) was an Italian naturalist, the moving force behind Bologna's botanical garden, one of the first in Europe. Carl Linnaeus and the comte de Buffon reckoned him the father of natural history ...

; * Umberto Eco, Italian semiotician, philosopher and writer

Faculty and staff

Notable former faculty include: * 11th century ** Irnerius * 12th century ** Bulgarus ** Gratian ** Martinus Gosia ** Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem **

William of Tyre William of Tyre ( la, Willelmus Tyrensis; 113029 September 1186) was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from his predecessor, William I, the Englishman, a form ...

* 13th century **

Benvenutus Scotivoli Benvenutus Scotivoli (died 22 March 1282) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Osimo from 1264 until his death. Pope Martin IV canonized him as a saint in 1284. Life Benvenutus Scotivoli was born sometime in the 1 ...

Guido Guinizelli Guido Guinizelli (ca. 1225–1276) was an esteemed Italian love poet and is considered the "father" of the Dolce Stil Novo. He was the first to write in this new style of poetry writing, and thus is held to be the ''ipso facto'' founder. He was bo ...

(''Hostiensis'') **

Paul Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

, Dominican martyr **

Sylvester Gozzolini Silvestro Guzzolini (1177 – 26 November 1267) was an Italian Catholic priest and the founder of the Silvestrini. He served as a canon in Osimo but respectful rebukes of his bishop's inappropriate conduct led him to leave for a hermitage b ...

William of Saliceto William of Salicet (1210–1277) ( Italian: ''Guglielmo da Saliceto'';Plinio Prioreschi ''A History of Medicine: Medieval Medicine'' 1996 - Page 453 "Guglielmo da Saliceto" French: ''Guillaume de Salicet''; Latin: ''Guilielmus de Salicetum'') was ...

* 14th century ** Manuel Chrysoloras ** Giovanni de' Marignolli ** Francesco Petrarca (also known as ''Petrarch'') **

Coluccio Salutati Coluccio Salutati (16 February 1331 – 4 May 1406) was an Italian humanist and notary, and one of the most important political and cultural leaders of Renaissance Florence; as chancellor of the Republic and its most prominent voice, he was effec ...

* 15th century ** Leon Battista Alberti ** Nicolaus Copernicus ** Lippo Bartolomeo Dardi **

Yuriy Drohobych Yuriy Drohobych or Yuriy Kotermak, uk, Юрій Дрогобич, pl , Jerzy Drohobycz, Jerzy Kotermak Drusianus, Georgius Drohobicz, by birthname Yuriy Kotermak, Giorgio da Leopoli (1450 in Drohobych – 4 February 1494 in Kraków) was a Ukra ...

(also known as ''Georgius de Drohobycz'') ** Giovanni Pico della Mirandola * 16th century **

Giovanni Antonio Magini Giovanni Antonio Magini (in Latin, Maginus) (13 June 1555 – 11 February 1617) was an Italian astronomer, astrologer, cartographer, and mathematician. His Life He was born in Padua, and completed studies in philosophy in Bologna in 1579. Hi ...

Camillo Baldi Camillo Baldi (1550 – 24 March 1637), also known as Camillus Baldus and Camillo Baldo, was an Italian philosopher. Life He was born into a family of minor Bolognese nobility. In 1572 he graduated in Philosophy and Medicine (what would now ...

Girolamo Cardano Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; french: link=no, Jérôme Cardan; la, Hieronymus Cardanus; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath, whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, ...

Ignazio Danti Ignazio (Egnation or Egnazio) Danti, O.P. (April 1536 – 10 October 1586), born Pellegrino Rainaldi Danti, was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate, mathematician, astronomer, and cosmographer, who served as Bishop of Alatri (1583–1586). ''(i ...

Giovanni Della Casa Giovanni della Casa (28 June 1503 – 14 November 1556), was a Florentine poet, writer on etiquette and society, diplomat, and inquisitor. He is celebrated for his famous treatise on polite behavior, '' Il Galateo overo de’ costumi'' (1558). Fr ...

Girolamo Maggi Girolamo Maggi (1523, in Anghiari – 27 March 1572 in Constantinople), also known by his Latin name Hieronymus Magius, was an Italian scholar, jurist, poet, military engineer, urban planner, philologist, archaeologist, mathematician, and ...

Virgilio Malvezzi Virgilio Malvezzi, Marchese ( Marquis) di Castel Guelfo (; 8 September 1595 – 11 August 1654) was an Italian historian, essayist, soldier and diplomat. Born in Bologna, he became court historian to Philip IV of Spain. His work was hugely influe ...

* 17th century **

Giovanni Cassini Giovanni Domenico Cassini, also known as Jean-Dominique Cassini (8 June 1625 – 14 September 1712) was an Italian (naturalised French) mathematician, astronomer and engineer. Cassini was born in Perinaldo, near Imperia, at that time in the ...

** Niall Ó Glacáin **

** Pietro Mengoli * 18th century ** Laura Bassi **

Maria Gaetana Agnesi Maria Gaetana Agnesi ( , , ; 16 May 1718 – 9 January 1799) was an Italian mathematician, philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian. She was the first woman to write a mathematics handbook and the first woman appointed as a mathematics prof ...

** Carlo Goldoni * 19th century **

** Giosuè Carducci **

Pellegrino Rossi Pellegrino Luigi Odoardo Rossi (13 July 1787 – 15 November 1848) was an Italian economist, politician and jurist. He was an important figure of the July Monarchy in France, and the minister of justice in the government of the Papal States, und ...

** Francesco Selmi * 20th century ** Umberto Eco **

Beppo Levi Beppo Levi (14 May 1875 – 28 August 1961) was an Italian mathematician. He published high-level academic articles and books, not only on mathematics, but also on physics, history, philosophy, and pedagogy. Levi was a member of the Bologna Ac ...

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prime ...

* 21st century **

Hamida Barmaki Hamida Barmaki (4 January 1970 – 28 January 2011) was a renowned Afghan law professor and human rights activist. She was killed together with her family in a suicide attack. Academic career Hamida Barmaki was born in Kabul on 4 January 1970. ...

** Özalp Babaoğlu ** Gabriella Campadelli-Fiume **

Pier Cesare Bori Pier Cesare Bori (Casale Monferrato, 3 February 1937 - Bologna, 4 November 2012) was a professor of religious history, moral philosophy, and multiculturalism at the University of Bologna. He was also a leading Italian Quaker and Tolstoy scholar. F ...

Augusto Barbera Augusto Antonio Barbera (born 25 June 1938) is an Italian judge and former constitutional law professor at the University of Bologna. In his political career he was member of the Chamber of Deputies between 1976 and 1994 for the Italian Communist ...

Gualtiero Calboli Gualtiero Calboli (born 3 January 1932) is an Italian classicist and linguist. He is Emeritus Chair of Latin Language and Literature at the University of Bologna, in Italy. He was appointed to a chair in 1973. From 1982 to 2000 he was head of the ...

** Ivano Dionigi ** Luciano Floridi

Rankings and reputation

The 2022 QS World University Rankings ranked the University of Bologna 166th in the world and 71st (first in Italy) with reference to academic reputation. In another measurement by the same company, it was positioned among the world's top 100 universities for graduate employability (84th). In the 2021

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...

, it claimed the 167th place globally. In the

THE Impact Rankings ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

of the same year, measuring the universities' commitment to sustainable development in compliance with the UN 2030 Agenda, Bologna took first place in Europe and sixth in the world. Nationally, in 2020 Bologna topped Italy's main ranking of large public universities (> 40,000 students) for the eleventh year in a row, produced by the Italian Center for Social Investment Studies.

Points of interest

Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna, also known as the Orto Botanico di Bologna, is a botanical garden operated by the University of Bologna. It is located at Via Irnerio, 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy, and open daily except Mondays. Establ ...

References

External links

University of Bologna Website
** (also has a Chinese version) *
Scholars and Literati at the University of Bologna (1088–1800)
i
Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae/RETE
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Bologna 1088 establishments in Europe 11th-century establishments in Italy Buildings and structures in Bologna Education in Bologna Bologna, University of Medical schools in Italy