The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

located in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is as such one of the world's oldest universities, and with 122,000 students, it is the largest university in Europe. Due to its size, funding, and numerous laboratories and libraries, Sapienza is a global major education and research centre. The university is located mainly in the ''Città Universitaria'' (University city), which covers near the monumental cemetery

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery covers a surface area of 83 hectares which is currently divided into several sections: the main Catholic ...

, with different campuses, libraries and laboratories in various locations in Rome. For the 14th year in a row it is ranked 1st university in Italy and in Southern Europe according t
CWUR
Sapienza was founded on 20 April 1303 by decree from

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...

as a ''Studium'' for ecclesiastical studies under more control than the free-standing universities of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. In 1431

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

completely reorganized the studium and decreed that the university should expand to include the four schools of Law, Medicine, Philosophy, in addition to the existing Theology. In the 1650s the university became known as ''Sapienza'', meaning "wisdom", a title it still retains. After the

capture of Rome The Capture of Rome () occurred on 20 September 1870, as forces of the Kingdom of Italy took control of the city and of the Papal States. After a plebiscite held on 2 October 1870, Rome was officially made capital of Italy on 3 February 1871, c ...

by the forces of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

in 1870, ''La Sapienza'' rapidly expanded as the chosen main university of the capital of the newly unified state. In 1935 the new university campus, planned by

Marcello Piacentini Marcello Piacentini (8 December 188119 May 1960) was an Italian people, Italian urban theorist and one of the main proponents of Italian Fascist architecture. Biography Early career Born in Rome, he was the son of architect Pio Piacentini. He ...

, was completed. Sapienza teaches and conducts research in all pure and applied sciences and humanities. Sapienza houses 50 libraries with over 2.7 million books, most notably the Alessandrina University Library, built in 1667 by

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander 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, and he held various d ...

, housing 1.5 million volumes. In addition it has 19 museums, a botanical garden, and three university hospitals. Sapienzas alumni includes 10

Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes (, ) 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 outstanding contributions in th ...

, Italian prime ministers, one pope,

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

and European Commissioners, as well as several notable religious figures, supreme court judges, and astronauts.

History

The Sapienza University of Rome was founded in 1303 with the

Papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''In Supremae praeminentia Dignitatis'', issued on 20 April 1303 by

, as a ''Studium'' for ecclesiastical studies more under his control than the universities of

and

, making it the first pontifical university. In 1431

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 Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (''lit.'' 'Saint Ivo at the Sapienza (University of Rome)') is a Catholic church in Rome. Built in 1642–1660 by the architect Francesco Borromini, the church is widely regarded a masterpiece of Roman Baroque architecture. ...

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 were killed and others dispersed.

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) 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 the papal throne in an era follo ...

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 (; ; ; 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 was a patron of the arts an ...

purchased some land on the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; ), occasionally known as the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the pro ...

, 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

, was completed. On 15 January 2008 the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

cancelled a planned visit to La Sapienza University by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

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), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

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. The university has satellite campuses outside Rome, the main one of which is in

Latina Latina or Latinas most often refers to: * Latinas, a demographic group in the United States * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America. *Latin Americans Latina and Latinas may also refer ...

. In 2011 a project was launched to build a campus with

residence halls A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

near Pietralata station, in collaboration with the

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

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

, 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 A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

San Pietro in Vincoli San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy. The church is on the Oppian Hill near Cavour metro station, a short distance from the Colosseum. The name alludes to the Bibl ...

: the cloister is part of the Engineering School * Villa Mirafiori: a

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

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 Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

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 Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. 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 Universi ...

'' (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 in Alumni Outcomes thanks to the number of university graduates employed in large companies and in managerial positions. In 2024, Sapienza University of Rome ranked 134th in the world in ''

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

''. Sapienza is ranked 1st in the world by ''QS World University Rankings'' in the subject of Classics and Ancient History. In the same ranking, Sapienza ranks 10th in the subject Archaeology. Sapienza is ranked 36th in the subject Physics & Astronomy, 39th in Arts and Humanities and 70th in Psychology.

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 means 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.

Publications

Archaeology

*''Vicino Oriente'' () journal

Notable people

Some of the notable alumni and professors

Selection of Alumni

Sapienza University can boast several illustrious professors and alumni from the past and the present. From

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( ; ; 31 August 1870 – 6 May 1952) was an Italians, Italian physician and educator best known for her philosophy of education (the Montessori method) and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early a ...

, from

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

to Tullio De Mauro, from

Sergio Mattarella Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...

Mario Draghi Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, banker, statesman, and civil servant, who served as the prime minister of Italy from 13 February 2021 to 22 October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime mi ...

. Numerous Nobel Prize winners have been professors or have graduated from Sapienza:

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegraphy, wireless tel ...

Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian and naturalized American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project ...

Daniel Bovet Daniel Bovet (23 March 1907 – 8 April 1992) was a Swiss-born Italian pharmacologist who won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of drugs that block the actions of specific neurotransmitters. He is best known for hi ...

Emilio Segrè Emilio Gino Segrè ( ; ; 1 February 1905 – 22 April 1989) was an Italian-American nuclear physicist and radiochemist who discovered the elements technetium and astatine, and the antiproton, a subatomic antiparticle, for which he was award ...

Giulio Natta Giulio Natta (; 26 February 1903 – 2 May 1979) was an Italian chemical engineer and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high density polymers. He also received a Lomonosov Gold Medal in 19 ...

Carlo Rubbia Carlo Rubbia (born 31 March 1934) is an Italian 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. Early life and educatio ...

Franco Modigliani Franco Modigliani (; ; 18 June 1918 – 25 September 2003) was an Italian-American economist and the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. He was a professor at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Carnegie Mellon Uni ...

Nobel Prize Winners

– 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics; taught Electro-magnetic Waves - Physics at Sapienza 1935–1937. *

– 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics; Chair of Theoretical Physics at Sapienza 1926–1938. *

– 1957 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology, Chair of Psychobiology at Sapienza 1971–1982. *

– 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics; Chair of Physics at Sapienza 1928–1935. *

– 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Chair of Physical Chemistry at Sapienza 1935–1937. *

– 1984 Nobel Prize in Physics; Assistant Professor of Physics 1959–1960. *

– 1985 Nobel Prize in Economics; graduated in Law in 1939. *

Barry C. Barish Barry Clark Barish (born January 27, 1936) is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves. In 2017, Barish ...

– 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics; Fermi Chair of Physics at Sapienza 2019. *

Giorgio Parisi Giorgio Parisi (born 4 August 1948) is an Italian theoretical physicist, whose research has focused on quantum field theory, statistical mechanics In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods ...

– 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics; Chair of Theoretical Physics 1992–2018. *

Serge Haroche Serge Haroche (born 11 September 1944) is a French physicist who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics jointly with David J. Wineland for "ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum sy ...

– 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics; Fermi Chair of Physics at Sapienza 2022.

Politics & Administrators

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

(1919–2013), politician. *

, politician, 12th President of Italy. *

Gianni Letta Giovanni "Gianni" Letta (born 15 April 1935) is an Italian journalist and politician. He was a close advisor of Silvio Berlusconi and is a member of the advisory board of Goldman Sachs International. Biography After graduating in law, he star ...

, politician and journalist. *

, economist, politician. *

Antonio Tajani Antonio Tajani (; born 4 August 1953) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs since 22 October 2022. He served as President of the Europe ...

, politician. *

Francesco Rutelli Francesco Rutelli (born 14 June 1954) is an Italian journalist and former politician, who is the president of National Association of Film and Audiovisual Industry, since October 2016 and re-elected for the 2020–2022 term, plus ANICA Servizi. ...

, politician. *

Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...

, politician. *

Laura Boldrini Laura Boldrini, (; born 28 April 1961) is an Italian politician and former United Nations official, who served as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy. Previously she served as Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner fo ...

, politician. *

Giuseppe Conte Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) sin ...

, politician. *

Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. A member of the Democratic ...

, politician and rector of the

College of Europe The College of Europe (; ; ) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with three campuses in Bruges, Belgium; Warsaw, Poland; and Tirana, Albania. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 as a result of the 1948 Congress of ...

. *

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou Chrysoula Zacharopoulou (born 7 May 1976) is a Greek-French gynaecologist and politician who served as Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships in the governments of successive Prime Ministers Élisabeth Born ...

, French Minister. *

Antonio Rodotà Antonio Rodotà (24 December 1935–23 February 2006) was the fifth Director General of the European Space Agency ( ESA), serving from 1997 until 2003. He died in Rome on February 23, 2006, aged 70. He was the brother of Stefano Rodotà, a form ...

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

Director General. *

Tiziano Peccia Tiziano Peccia is a French-Italian academic, international manager, and expert in capacity-building strategies, development strategies, human capital management, organizational transformation, and innovation. He is an adjunct professor at the I ...

, manager and academic.

Journalism

Paolo Mieli Paolo Mieli (born 25 February 1949) is an Italian journalist who has been editor of Italy's leading newspaper, ''Corriere della Sera''. Born in Milan, Mieli debuted as journalist at 18 for ''L'Espresso'', where he remained for some 20 years. As ...

, journalist.

Economics

, economist, politician. *

Ignazio Visco Ignazio Visco (; born 21 November 1949) is an Italian economist and central banker and Governor of the Bank of Italy from 2011 to 2023. Early life and education Visco was born in Naples on 21 November 1949. He obtained a ''summa cum laude'' d ...

, economist. *

Enrico Giovannini Enrico Giovannini (born 6 June 1957) is an Italian economist, statistician and academic, member of the Club of Rome. Since February 2021, he has been serving as Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility in the Draghi Government. From ...

, statistician.

Literature and Arts

Barbara Jatta Barbara Jatta (born 6 October 1962) is an Italian art historian who has been the director of the Vatican Museums since June 2016. Early life and education Jatta has joked that she was born among the smell of solvents. Her mother was a painter an ...

, historian of art. *

Alberto Angela Alberto Angela (; born 8 April 1962) is an Italian paleontologist, television host, journalist, and writer. Angela is a famous history and science communicator in Italy. Biography Angela was born in Paris, France, where his father worked as ...

, paleontologist. * Emma Castelnuovo (1913–2014), mathematician. *

Porpora Marcasciano Porpora Marcasciano (San Bartolomeo in Galdo, 15 September 1957) is an Italian activist, sociologist, and writer, known for her militantism for LGBT+ and transgender rights and internationally recognized books, including AntoloGaia. Sesso, genere ...

, sociologist and LGBT activist.

Business

* Luca Montezemolo, entrepreneur.

Entertainment

Luca Guadagnino Luca Guadagnino (; born 10 August 1971) is an Italian film director and producer. His films are characterized by their emotional complexity, eroticism, and lavish visuals. Guadagnino has received numerous accolades, including a Silver Lion, alon ...

, director. *

Antonello Venditti Antonio "Antonello" Venditti (born 8 March 1949) is an Italian singer-songwriter and pianist who became popular in the 1970s for the social themes addressed in his songs. Biography Antonello Venditti was born in Rome, the son of Vincenzino Ita ...

, singer-songwriter. *

Carlo Verdone Carlo Gregorio Verdone (born 17 November 1950) is an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. Best known for his comedic roles in Italian classics which he also wrote and directed such as ''Fun Is Beautiful'' and ''Bianco, rosso e Verdone ...

, actor, director. *

Claudio Baglioni Claudio Baglioni (; born 16 May 1951) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer-songwriter and musician. His career has been going on for over 50 years. Considered one of the most successful pop rock singer-songwriters in the history of Italian mu ...

, musician. *

Edoardo Leo Edoardo Leo (born 21 April 1972) is an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Rome, Leo, a graduate in Literature and Philosophy from the Sapienza University of Rome, started attending acting courses at young age and ...

, actor. *

Cristiana Capotondi Cristiana Capotondi (born 13 September 1980) is an Italian actress. Early life and career Capotondi was born in Rome to an Italian family of mixed Italian Catholic and Italian Jewish background (her maternal grandfather was Jewish). Growing ...

, actor.

Science and Academia

(1870–1952), physician and pedagogue. *

Eugenio Pacelli Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

(1876–1958), Pope. *

Cesare Bazzani Cesare Bazzani (1873–1939) was a prominent and prolific Italian architect and engineer. Active from 1911 until his death in 1939, Bazzani designed major municipal works in several cities. Works * National Central Library (Florence), Bibli ...

(1873–1939), architect. *

, historian of art. *

, paleontologist.

Sports

* Caterina Banti, sailor, Olympic champion. * Andrea Stella,

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

engineer and executive.

Faculty and staff

Among the prominent scholars who have taught at the Sapienza University of Rome are architects Ernesto Basile 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; jurists

Antonio Salandra Antonio Salandra (; 13 August 1853 – 9 December 1931) was a conservative Italian politician, journalist, and writer who served as the 21st prime minister of Italy between 1914 and 1916. He ensured the entry of Italy in World War I on the side o ...

Sabino Cassese Sabino Cassese (born 20 October 1935) is an Italian jurist, former minister for the public function in the Ciampi government (1993–1994), and judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy (2005–2014). Education and career Justice Emeritus ...

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. Upon Arnaldo Forlani's death in July 2023, Amato became the country's earliest-servin ...

; mathematician

Vito Volterra Vito Volterra (, ; 3 May 1860 – 11 October 1940) was an Italian mathematician and physicist, known for his contributions to Mathematical and theoretical biology, mathematical biology and Integral equation, integral equations, being one of the ...

; pharmacologist and Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine

; chemist and Nobel Laureate

; 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 Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Derived from Augustus, meaning in Latin "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", it is notable as being the name of the first emperor of Ancient Rome. The Greek translation ...

; physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics

; political scientist

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

. * Carlo Costamagna *

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

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 Ro ...

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 nat ...

, statistician *

Lucio Bini Lucio Bini (18 September 1908 – 15 August 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 met ...

and

Ugo Cerletti Ugo Cerletti (26 September 1877 – 25 July 1963) was an Italian neurology, neurologist who discovered the method of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) used in psychiatry. Electroconvulsive therapy is a therapy in which electric current is used to pro ...

, psychiatrists *

Corrado Böhm Corrado Böhm (17 January 1923 – 23 October 2017) was an Italian computer scientist and Professor Emeritus at the Sapienza University of Rome, University of Rome "La Sapienza", known especially for his contributions to the theory of structured ...

, computer scientist *

Benedetto Castelli Benedetto Castelli (1578 – 9 April 1643), born Antonio Castelli, was an Italians, Italian mathematician. Benedetto was his name in religion on entering the Benedictine Order in 1595. Life Born in Brescia, Castelli studied at the University of ...

, mathematician *

Andrea Cesalpino Andrea Cesalpino ( Latinized as Andreas Cæsalpinus) (1524/1525 – 23 February 1603) was a Florentine physician, philosopher and botanist. In his works he classified plants according to their fruits and seeds, rather than alphabetically or ...

, physician and botanist *

Federigo Enriques Abramo Giulio Umberto Federigo Enriques (5 January 1871 – 14 June 1946) was an Italian mathematician, now known principally as the first to give a classification of algebraic surfaces in birational geometry, and other contributions in algebrai ...

, mathematician *

, physician and pedagogist * Paola S. Timiras, biologist *

Barnaba Tortolini Barnaba Tortolini (19 November 1808 – 24 August 1874) was a 19th-century Italian priest and mathematician who played an early active role in advancing the scientific unification of the Italian states. He founded the first Italian scientific ...

, mathematician *

Andrea Zitolo Andrea Zitolo OMRI (Pescina, born 1980) is an Italian French scientist (with habilitation - full professor status) and academic specialized in physical chemistry and material science. Life and career Zitolo, who was born in the Province of L'A ...

, physical-chemist *

Edoardo Amaldi Edoardo Amaldi (5 September 1908 – 5 December 1989) was an Italian physicist. He coined the term "neutrino" in conversations with Enrico Fermi distinguishing it from the heavier "neutron". He has been described as "one of the leading nuclear p ...

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 Ettore Majorana ( ,, uploaded 19 April 2013, retrieved 14 December 2019 ; 5 August 1906 – disappeared 25 March 1938) was an Italian theoretical physicist who worked on neutrino masses. Majorana was a supporter of Italian Fascism and a member of ...

Bruno Pontecorvo Bruno Pontecorvo (; , ''Bruno Maksimovich Pontecorvo''; 22 August 1913 – 24 September 1993) was an Italian–Russian nuclear physicist, an early assistant of Enrico Fermi and the author of numerous studies in high energy physics, especially o ...

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) was an Italian physicist. A fellow of the Royal Society, he published several papers on electrical subjects in the '' Phil. Trans.'' Beccaria was one of Benjamin Franklin's more conspi ...

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 t ...

Luciano Maiani Luciano Maiani (born 16 July 1941) is a Sammarinese physicist. He is best known for his prediction of the charm quark with Sheldon Glashow and John Iliopoulos (the "GIM mechanism"). Academic history In 1964 Luciano Maiani received his degree in ...

* Domenico Pacini * Antonio Signorini *

Nicola Cabibbo Nicola Cabibbo (10 April 1935 – 16 August 2010) was an Italian physicist best known for his work on the weak interaction, particularly his introduction of the Cabibbo angle. Interested in science from a young age, he studied physics at the Sap ...

, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences * Cora Sternberg * Carlo Franzinetti, 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 The Humboldt Research Award (), also known informally as the Humboldt Prize, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany in recognition of ...

in Chemistry * Salvatore Dierna, architect, professor of environmental design

Humanities

* Anna Maria Bisi, archaeologist *

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

, Cardinal, ''

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

'' and politician of the 15th century * Piero Boitani, 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. He was the adoptive father of the poet Metastasio. Biography ...

, jurisconsult *

Silvia Berti Silvia Berti is a history professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza. Her fields of interest are the relationship between Jewish and Christian culture in the Moderna era, issues of history of historiography, European anti-Christian attitudes, ...

, historian * Lazarus Buonamici, renaissance humanist *

Umberto Cassuto Umberto Cassuto, also known as Moshe David Cassuto (16 September 1883 – 19 December 1951), was an Italian historian, a rabbi, and a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Ugaritic literature, in the University of Florence, then at the University ...

, Hebrew language and Bible scholar * Marcel Danesi, language scientist * Ernesto de Martino, anthropologist and ethnologist * Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, poet * Count Angelo de Gubernatis, orientalist *

Predrag Matvejević Predrag Matvejević (7 October 1932 – 2 February 2017) was a Bosnian and Croatian writer and scholar. A literature scholar who taught at universities in Zagreb, Paris and Rome, he is best known for his 1987 non-fiction book ''Mediterranean: A ...

, writer and academic * Santo Mazzarino, 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 Sc ...

, orientalist *

Paolo Matthiae Paolo Matthiae (born 1940) is an Italian archaeologist. He is a professor of History of Art of the Ancient Near East in the University of Rome La Sapienza; he has been Director of the Ebla Expedition since 1963—in fact, its discoverer— ...

, director of the archeological expedition of

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

Antonio Nibby Antonio Nibby (October 4, 1792 at Rome – December 29, 1839 at Rome) was an Italian archaeologist and topographer. Nibby was a critic of the history of ancient art and from 1812 in service to the Vatican worked to excavate the monuments of R ...

, archaeologist *

Diego Laynez Diego Laynez, S.J. (1512 – 19 January 1565; first name sometimes translated James, Jacob; surname also spelled Laines, Lainez, Laínez) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and theologian, a New Christian (of converted Jewish descent), and the second ...

, second general of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

* Giulio Mazzarino, politician and cardinal * Mauro Olivieri, professor of electronics * 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 G ...

, literary critic and poet * Giuseppe Scaraffia, literary critic *

Ugo Spirito Ugo Spirito (September 9, 1896, Arezzo – April 28, 1979, Rome) was an Italian philosopher. At first a fascist political philosopher and subsequently an idealist thinker, he was also an academic and a university teacher. Early life Spirito ...

, philosopher *

Giuseppe Ungaretti Giuseppe Ungaretti (; 8 February 1888 – 2 June 1970) was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic, academic, and recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. A leading representative of the experi ...

, 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 Ch ...

, philosopher *

Musine Kokalari Musine Kokalari (10 February 1917 – 13 August 1983) was an Albanians, Albanian prose writer and politician in Albania's pre-communist period. She was the founder of the Social Democratic Party of Albania (1943), Social-Democratic Party of Alban ...

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

writer

Notes

References

External links

Sapienza University of Rome Italian Website

Sapienza University of Rome English Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rome Sapienza 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

History

Campuses

Points of interest

Academics

Ranking

Admission

Publications

Archaeology

Notable people

Some of the notable alumni and professors

Selection of Alumni

Nobel Prize Winners

Politics & Administrators

Journalism

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Literature and Arts

Business

Entertainment

Science and Academia

Sports

Faculty and staff

Humanities

See also

Notes

References

External links