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, Italy. It is one of the largest European universities by enrollments and one of the oldest in history, founded in 1303. The university is one of the most prestigious Italian universities in the world, commonly ranking first in national rankings and in Southern Europe. In 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 it ranked first in the world for classics and ancient history. Most of the Italian ruling class studied at the Sapienza. The Sapienza has educated numerous notable alumni, including many

Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make ou ...

Presidents of the European Parliament President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

s, heads of several nations, notable religious figures, scientists and astronauts. In September 2018, it was included in the top 100 of the QS World University Rankings Graduate Employability Ranking and in 2022 it was ranked best Italian University according to

ARWU The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

History

The Sapienza University of Rome was founded in 1303 with the Papal bull ''In Supremae praeminentia Dignitatis'', issued on 20 April 1303 by

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...

, as a ''Studium'' for ecclesiastical studies more under his control than the universities of Bologna and Padua, making it the first pontifical university. In 1431 Pope Eugene IV completely reorganized the studium with the bull ''In supremae'', in which he granted masters and students alike the broadest possible privileges and decreed that the university should include the four schools of Law, Medicine, Philosophy and Theology. He introduced a new tax on wine to raise funds for the university; the money was used to buy a palace which later housed the Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza church. However, the university's days of splendour came to an end during the sack of Rome in 1527, when the studium was closed, some of the professors having been killed and others dispersed.

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

restored the university shortly after his election to the pontificate in 1534. In the 1650s the university became known as Sapienza, meaning wisdom, a title it retains. In 1703, with his private funds,

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI w ...

purchased some land on the Janiculum, where he created a botanical garden, which soon became the most celebrated in Europe through the labours of the Trionfetti brothers. The first complete history of the Sapienza University was written in 1803–1806 by Filippo Maria Renazzi. University students were newly animated during the 19th-century Italian revival. In 1870, ''La Sapienza'' stopped being the papal university and became the university of the capital of Italy. In 1935 the new university campus, planned by Marcello Piacentini, was completed. On 15 January 2008 the Vatican cancelled a planned visit to La Sapienza University by Pope Benedict XVI who was to speak at the university ceremony launching the 2008 academic yearBBC NEWS , World , Europe , Papal visit scuppered by scholars
15 January 2008 due to protests by some students and professors. The title of the speech would have been 'The Truth Makes Us Good and Goodness is Truth'. Some students and professors protested in reaction to a 1990 speech that Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) gave in which he, in their opinion, endorsed the actions of the church against

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

in 1633.

Campuses

Sapienza University has many campuses in Rome, but its main campus is the ''Città Universitaria'' (University city), which covers near the

Roma Tiburtina Station Roma Tiburtina is the second largest railway station in Rome, after Roma Termini. Located in the north-eastern part of the city, it was originally constructed during the 1860s as a terminal station. In recent years, the station has been redevelop ...

. The university has satellite campuses outside Rome, the main one of which is in Latina. In 2011 a project was launched to build a campus with residence halls near

Pietralata station Pietralata is a station on Line B (Rome Metro), Line B of the Rome Metro. It is located on Via di Pietralata, after which it is named, in the Pietralata quarter, the 21st quarter of Rome, near the Forte Tiburtino and the Autostrada A24 (Italy), Au ...

, in collaboration with the Lazio region. To cope with the ever-increasing number of applicants, the Rector also approved a new plan to expand the ''Città Universitaria'', reallocate offices and enlarge faculties, as well as create new campuses for hosting local and foreign students. The Alessandrina University Library (''Biblioteca Universitaria Alessandrina''), built in 1667 by

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

, is the main library housing 1.5 million volumes; it has some important collections including ''collezione ciceroniana'' and ''Fondo Festa''.

Points of interest

Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" (12 hectares), also known as the Orto Botanico di Roma, is a botanical garden operated by the Sapienza University of Rome and located at Largo Cristina di Svezia 24, Rome, Italy. It is open ...

, a botanical garden * Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza * San Pietro in Vincoli: the cloister is part of the Engineering School *

Villa Mirafiori A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became ...

: a Neo-Renaissance palace built during the 19th century, some rooms are decorated with fine frescoes. The Department of Philosophy is located in this building.

Academics

Since the 2011 reform, Sapienza University of Rome has eleven faculties and 65 departments. Today Sapienza, with 140,000 students and 8,000 among academic and technical and administrative staff, is the largest university in Italy. The university has significant research programmes in the fields of engineering, natural sciences,

biomedical sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbio ...

and humanities. It offers 10 Masters Programmes taught entirely in English.

Ranking

As of the 2016 ''

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ...

'' (ARWU), Sapienza is positioned within the 151–200 group of universities and among the top 3% of universities in the world. In 2016, the Center for World University Rankings ranked the Sapienza University of Rome as the 90th in the world and the top in Italy in its ''World University Rankings''. According to the QS Graduate Employability Ranking 2020, Sapienza places first amongst Italian universities for the indicator on Alumni Outcomes thanks to the number of university graduates employed in large companies and in managerial positions. In 2022, Sapienza University of Rome ranked 177th in the world in '' QS World University Rankings''. The subject Classics and Ancient history of Sapienza is ranked the 1st in the world by ''QS World University Rankings'' by subject. As the same ranking, the subject Archaeology ranks the 10th. The subject Physics & Astronomy of Sapienza is ranked 36th, Arts and Humanities is ranked 39th, and Psychology is ranked 70th.

Admission

To cope with the large demand for admission to the university courses, some faculties hold a series of entrance examinations. The entrance test often decides which candidates will have access to the undergraduate course. For some faculties, the entrance test is only a mean through which the administration acknowledges the students' level of preparation. Students that do not pass the test can still enroll in their chosen degree courses but have to pass an additional exam during their first year.

Notable people

Some of the notable alumni and professors

Faculty and staff

Among the prominent scholars who have taught at the Sapienza University of Rome are architects

Ernesto Basile Ernesto Basile (31 January 1857 – 26 August 1932, in Palermo) was an Italian architect and an exponent of modernisme and Liberty style, the Italian variant of Art Nouveau. His style was known for its eclectic fusion of ancient, medieval and m ...

and

Bruno Zevi Bruno Zevi (22 January 1918 – 9 January 2000) was an Italian architect, historian, professor, curator, author, and editor. Zevi was a vocal critic of "classicizing" modern architecture and postmodernism. Early life Zevi was born and died in ...

; chemist

Emanuele Paternò Emanuele Paternò, 9th Marquess of Sessa was an Italian chemist and is credited with the discovery of the Paternò–Büchi reaction. Biography He was born in Palermo in 1847 as the Marquess of Sessa, in a branch of the House of Paternò. He stu ...

; jurists Antonio Salandra, Sabino Cassese and

Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Later, he was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted t ...

; mathematician Vito Volterra; pharmacologist and Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Daniel Bovet; chemist and Nobel Laureate Giulio Natta; philosophers

Luigi Ferri Luigi Ferri (June 15, 1826 – 1895) was an Italian philosopher born in Bologna. His education was obtained mainly at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where his father, a painter and architect, was engaged in the construction of the Théâ ...

and Augusto Del Noce; physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics

Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist and the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" and ...

; political scientist

Roberto Forges Davanzati Roberto Forges Davanzati (23 February 1880, Naples1 June 1936, Rome) was an Italian journalist, academic and politician. Initially a syndicalism, syndicalist, he later became a nationalism, nationalist and fascism, fascist. Life and career After ...

. *

Carlo Costamagna Carlo Costamagna (21 September 1881, in Quiliano – 1 March 1965, in Pietra Ligure) was an Italian lawyer and academic noted as a theorist of corporatism. He worked closely with Benito Mussolini and his fascist movement. Path to fascism After ...

* Cardinal Mazarin *

Mario Oriani-Ambrosini Mario Gaspare R. Oriani-Ambrosini (26 October 1960 – 16 August 2014) was an Italian constitutional lawyer and politician who was a Member of Parliament in South Africa with the Inkatha Freedom Party. Early life Oriani-Ambrosini was born in Rom ...

* Corrado Gini, statistician *

Lucio Bini Lucio Bini (1908 – 1964) was an Italian psychiatrist and professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. Together with Ugo Cerletti, a neurophysiologist and a psychiatrist, he researched and discovered the method of electroconvuls ...

and Ugo Cerletti, psychiatrists * Corrado Böhm, computer scientist * Benedetto Castelli, mathematician * Andrea Cesalpino, physician and botanist * Federigo Enriques, mathematician * Maria Montessori, physician and paedagogist *

Paola S. Timiras Paola S. Timiras, born Paola Silvestri, (July 21, 1923, Rome – September 12, 2008, Berkeley, California) was an endocrinologist studying stress. Background and education Paola Silvestri was born on July 21, 1923, in Rome, Italy, just after ...

, biologist * Barnaba Tortolini, mathematician * Andrea Zitolo, physical-chemist * Edoardo Amaldi *

Oscar D'Agostino Oscar D'Agostino (29 August 1901 – 16 March 1975) was an Italian chemist and one of the so-called ''Via Panisperna boys'', the group of young scientists led by Enrico Fermi: all of them were physicists, except for D'Agostino, who was a chemist. ...

* Ettore Majorana * Bruno Pontecorvo *

Franco Rasetti Franco Dino Rasetti (August 10, 1901 – December 5, 2001) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist, paleontologist and botanist. Together with Enrico Fermi, he discovered key processes leading to nuclear fission. Rasetti refused ...

Giovanni Battista Beccaria Giovanni Battista Beccaria (; 3 October 1716 – 27 May 1781), Italian physicist, was born at Mondovì, and entered the religious Order of the Pious Schools or Piarists, in 1732, where he studied, and afterward taught, grammar and rhetoric. At t ...

Giovanni Jona-Lasinio Giovanni Jona-Lasinio (born 1932), sometimes called Gianni Jona, is an Italian theoretical physicist, best known for his works on quantum field theory and statistical mechanics. He pioneered research concerning spontaneous symmetry breaking, and ...

* Luciano Maiani *

Domenico Pacini Domenico Pacini ( Marino, February 20, 1878 – Rome, May 23, 1934) was an Italian physicist noted for his contributions to the discovery of cosmic rays. Biography He graduated in Physics at the University of Rome in 1902. Assistant at the "''Re ...

Antonio Signorini Antonio Signorini may refer to: * Antonio Signorini (physicist) Antonio Signorini (2 April 1888 – 23 February 1963) was an influential Italian mathematical physicist and civil engineer of the 20th century.Nicola Cabibbo, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences *

Cora Sternberg Cora Sternberg (born 1951) is an American medical oncologist aWeill Cornell Medicineand NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, serving as a member of thGenitourinary (GU) Oncology Program

Carlo Franzinetti Carlo Franzinetti (March 31, 1923 in Rome – November 28, 1980 in Llantwit Major) was an Italian experimental physicist.Verde, Mario. ''Atti dell' Accademia delle Scienze di Torino. ''Torino: L' Accademia, 1980-81. Print. (With Thanks to Maria ...

, physicist *

Alessandro Piccolo (agricultural scientist) Alessandro Piccolo (born 7 July 1951 in Rome) is an Italian chemist and agricultural scientist, with particular expertise in soil science. He is a professor at the University of Naples Federico II and has been honoured by the prize for chemistry i ...

, Professor at University of Naples Federico II, Humboldt Prize in Chemistry *

Bruno Luiselli Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

, professor emeritus of Latin literature, studied the Barbarian. *

Salvatore Dierna Salvatore Dierna (18 November 1934 – 18 April 2016) was an Italian architect, professor in Environmental Design since 1977 at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” dean of the Architecture School at its university (2000–2003), and presid ...

, architect, professor of environmental design

Humanities

Glauco Benigni Glauco Tadeu Passos Chaves (born 11 February 1995), commonly known as Glauco, is a Brazilian association football, footballer who currently plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Oeste Futebol Clube, Oeste. Career statistic ...

, Author, journalist *

Anna Maria Bisi Anna Maria Bisi (1938–1988), known as A. M. Bisi, was an Italian archaeologist and academic, specialising in the Phoenicians and Punics. Life Bisi had a single minded career. She was supported by S.Moscati when she obtained her doctorate and ...

, archaeologist *

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

, Cardinal, condottiero and politician of the 15th century *

Piero Boitani Piero Boitani (born 1947) is an Italian literary critic. Life Born in Rome, Boitani received his Ph.D. from Cambridge while teaching there and has taught in the University of Pescara and University of Perugia. He is Professor Emeritus of Compar ...

, literary critic, writer and academic *

Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina (20 January 1664 – 6 January 1718) was an Italian man of letters and jurist. He was born at Roggiano Gravina, a small town near Cosenza, in Calabria. Biography Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina was descended from a dist ...

, jurisconsult * Silvia Berti, historian *

Lazarus Buonamici Lazarus (or Lázaro) Buonamici (1479–1552) was an Italian Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Biography Buonamici was born in Bassano del Grappa, Bassano, and studied at the University of Padua. He tutored for the Campeggi family for ...

, renaissance humanist * Umberto Cassuto, Hebrew language and Bible scholar *

Marcel Danesi Marcel Danesi (born 1946) is Professor of Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto. He is known for his work in language, communications and semiotics and is Director of the program in semiotics and communication theory. H ...

, language scientist *

Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni (21 November 1692 – 20 December 1768) was an Italian poet and librettist. As a poet Frugoni was one of the best of the school of the Arcadian Academy, and his lyrics and pastorals had great facility and elegance. His coll ...

, poet *

Count Angelo de Gubernatis Count Angelo De Gubernatis (1840–26 February 1913), Italy, Italian man of letters, was born in Turin and educated there and at Berlin, where he studied philology. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature fourteen times. Life In 186 ...

, orientalist * Predrag Matvejević, writer and academic *

Santo Mazzarino Santo Mazzarino (27 January 1916 – 18 May 1987) was an Italian historian considered to be a leading 20th-century historian of ancient Rome. He was a member of the Accademia dei Lincei. Mazzarino was born in Catania. As a scholar and faculty mem ...

, leading historian of ancient Rome and ancient Greece *

Giuseppe Tucci Giuseppe Tucci (; 5 June 1894 – 5 April 1984) was an Italian orientalist, Indologist and scholar of East Asian studies, specializing in Tibetan culture and the history of Buddhism. During its zenith, Tucci was a supporter of Italian fascism ...

, orientalist *

Mario Liverani Mario Liverani (born 10 January 1939 in Rome), is an Italian historian and Professor of Ancient Near East History at the University of Rome La Sapienza. He is a member of many institutions, such as the American Oriental Society, Accademia delle Sci ...

, orientalist * Paolo Matthiae, director of the archeological expedition of Ebla * Antonio Nibby, archaeologist *

Diego Laynez ''Several spellings of his names (James, Jacob; Laines, Laynez, Lainez) are in use and some of them can be found in other Wikipedia articles'' Diego Laynez, S.J. (sometimes spelled Laínez) (Spanish: ''Diego Laynez''), born in 1512 (Almazán, Sp ...

, second general of the Society of Jesus; *

Giulio Mazzarino Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italy, Italian cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the Chief minister of France, c ...

, politician and cardinal * Alessandro Roncaglia, economist *

Giulio Salvadori Giulio Salvadori (; 14 September 1862 in Monte San Savino, Tuscany – 7 October 1928 in Rome, Lazio) was an Italian poet, literary critic and educator. Life Salvadori was educated at the Sapienza University of Rome, where he became a friend of ...

, literary critic and poet *

Giuseppe Scaraffia Giuseppe Scaraffia is an Italian writer and professor. Biography Giuseppe Scaraffia was born in Turin, Italy, in 1950. He graduated in Philosophy at the University of Milan with a thesis on the idea of happiness in Diderot. He has taught French Li ...

, literary critic * Ugo Spirito, philosopher * Giuseppe Ungaretti, poet *

Bernardino Varisco Bernardino Varisco (April 20, 1850 – October 21, 1933), was an Italian philosopher and a Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Rome La Sapienza from 1905 to 1925. Life Bernardino Varisco was born on April 20, 1850 in Chiari ...

, philosopher * Musine Kokalari, Albanians, Albanian writer

Collaboration

The university entered into a collaboration with the Bahraini government and established the King Hamad Chair in Interfaith Dialogue and Peaceful co-existence in November 2018. The chair was established for entailing direct funding from the Bahraini government to La Sapienza. In July 2021 Italian MP Laura Boldrini and chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Human Rights wrote a letter criticizing the collaboration. In her letter, Boldrini stressed the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The letter was a follow-up to a hearing that took place on 14 June 2021, addressing the systematic violation of human rights, the death penalty, and the condition of detention of the prisoners of conscience in the country. Boldrini drew a contrast between the values of Bahrain and that of a democracy, like Italy.

Notes

References

External links

*
Sapienza University of Rome Italian Website

Sapienza University of Rome English Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rome Sapienza Sapienza University of Rome, 1303 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in the Papal States Educational institutions established in the 14th century Universities and colleges in Rome Rome Q. VI Tiburtino