The University of Pisa
As early as the year 1000, Pisa's
cultural vitality is attested by its relationships with the
Islamic and Byzantine worlds and by personalities of the level of
Buscheto, Burgundio and Leonardo Fibonacci.
The University of Pisa was founded in 1334 by a papal edict. The
Faculties initially established were Theology, Civil and Canon
Law and Medicine. The life of the University has always been
closely linked to that of the town. In the 15th century, for
instance, when Florence subjugated Pisa, the University underwent
a period of decline.
The advent of Lorenzo de' Medici witnessed a revival of interest,
but the subsequent rebellion and seige of 1509 stripped the
University of all its resources. Only under Grand Duke Cosimo I
did the University, restored and reorganized, finally attain its
status as one of the pre-eminent cultural and teaching centres in
all Europe, a position it held for at least the following
century: many of the greatest minds of the time worked alongside
the universally renowned figure of Gaileo Galilei. During this
period, the botanist Luca Ghini established what are now the
world's oldest botanical gardens (a distinction Pisa shares with
Padua).
After the splendid progress of these years, the University
underwent a few decades of relative quiescence, and then, in the
second half of the 18th century, there was a revival of interest
on the part of the new Grand Dukes of Hapsburg-Lorraine, who
expanded the University's libraries and museums, created an
Observatory, institued chairs in Physics and Chemistry, and
re-established the previously suspended teaching of Surgery.
The subsequent Napoleonic period saw the further addition of new
Chairs, and the foundation of the Scuola Normale Superiore. The
early 1800s also witnessed the birth of the new Faculties of
Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. In 1848, a battalion of
university volunteers took part in the battle of Curtatone. This
episode of the Austro-Hungarian war lies at the origin of the
traditional "goliardi", or caps with the peak cut off,
worn by university students.
The University has continued to maintain a high reputation in the
world of studies, and boasts two Nobel prize-winners, Fermi and
Rubbia, among its former students. In the sixties, a new
university institution, the Scuola Superiore di Studi
"Sant'Anna" was established, and during the same
period, the University strengthened its ties with the National
Research Council (CNR), whose Pisa branch is among the nation's
most important. The years of student unrest, which so deeply
affected the Universities and societies of many countries of the
world, saw a clear confirmation of the vitality and the spirit of
renewal of the University population of Pisa. Since 1984, Pisa
has been able to boast the only university-run Conference Hall in
Italy.
Today there are 11 Faculties, 44 departments which offer degrees
in 33 different subjects. The students, nearly forty thousand
strong in a city of only one hundred thousand inhabitants, are
drawn to Pisa, not only from the nearby Tuscan and Ligurian
coasts, but from many other regions, especially the South of
Italy. A growing number arrive from other European, American and
Afro-Asian nations as well.
Since medieval times, when the bell-tower near the Sapienza
building rang out the early-morning start of classes, academic
life has made up an integral part of city life. The university
buildings are located in every corner of the town, particularly
in the old city centre. Good relations between students and their
host town are ensured by the "Diritto allo Studio
Universitario" (D.S.U., Student Services Organization),
which runs the Refectory, provides limited accomodation, and
grants scolarships.
Traditionally, Pisa has devoted much attention to sport, often
with shining results. Co-ordinating these activities is the duty
of the C.U.S. (Centro Universitario Sportivo, University Sporting
Centre), which places at the disposal of the student body three
different structures equipped with gymnasiums and playing fields,
and organizes competitions in various disciplines.
Extracurricular activities, organized mostly by the students
themselves under the co-ordination of the D.S.U., range from
cinema and theatre, to music and dance.
Thus, the presence of the University and its students affects
town life in all its institutional, political and social aspects,
providing a rich and irreplaceable source of new ideas and
vitality for the entire population.
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