University of Bologna

The University of Bologna, or the Alma Mater Studorium (“nourishing mother of students”) is the oldest continuously operating university in the world. After undergoing periods of both growth and decline, the University of Bologna exists as one of the top universities in the world today. Let's find out about its origins, famed alumni, and development.

Figure 1: The official seal of the University of Bologna. Source: Wikimedia Commons

University of Bologna History

The University of Bologna is the oldest continuously running university in the world. It was known for its teaching of civics and law and for creating the foundation for medieval Roman law.

Consistent with the time, students were almost entirely men who were already pursuing careers in the church or state. Similarly, the first offerings of the university were in civics or law. In the early 13th century, medicine and philosophy were added as subjects. Science was added in the 17th century.

Foundation of the University of Bologna

The University of Bologna is believed to have been founded in the year 1088 AD by a group of students who formed a group to study together. It was most likely not a full-fledged university as we understand it today until the late 12th century. In 1158, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa granted a charter to the university.

The University of Bologna initially had no central location, but was instead made up of guilds of students who grouped together based on nationality. The foreign students established the nationales guild to defend themselves, since they were not protected as citizens.

The 14th century saw an increase in supervision and oversight from the church over the University of Bologna. It wasn't until the 15th century that professors became publicly employed, with their salaries paid by taxes (rather than directly by students). Unfortunately, this also led to some highly qualified foreign teachers being sent away. The professors who remained were local and sometimes not up to par, which led to some deterioration in the quality of the teachings. Nobles were also granted the right to teach by virtue of their social class.

The 16th Century and the Decline of the University of Bologna

In the middle of the 16th century, the growth of the University of Bologna as a bastion of free-thinking and knowledge came to a halt. Pope Paul III brought the Council of Trent to Bologna to get some distance from the hostile imperial territories. As a result, the University of Bologna became more focused on the Counter-Reformation and reorganized around strict principles under the church.

The University of Bologna experienced a continued decline throughout the 17th and 18th century. While the population of Bologna boomed during the 16th century, they were met with plagues and famine in the 17th century.

The quality of the education at the university had also deteriorated because of the less-qualified teachers (mainly nobles, who could easily become professors with no qualifications besides their social status). Despite this, the university hired more professors–at its peak, there were four professors to every student. By 1668, to address the growing crisis, the university made the decision not to hire any new professors for twenty years. At the end of the twenty years, the professors and the supervisory board bitterly opposed any major reforms.

18th Century Re-Emergence of the University of Bologna

A small group of dedicated scholars met in private and established the Accademia degli Inquieti (the Academy of the Restless) to discuss possible improvements to the university's decline. Luigi Ferdinando Marsili, a noble and a scholar, invited the group to meet in his palace. Together, they created the Academy of Sciences of the University of Bologna in 1711. Marsili purchased the Palazzo Poggi for laboratories, libraries, and lectures to help open the doors of the university to modernity.

The Academy of Sciences marked a new era of growth for the university as new subjects such as physics, mechanics, optics, obstetrics, electrochemistry, and chemistry were added to the curriculum. Women were also included as students at this time, including Laura Bassi (see below) and many others.

The university gained cultural significance in the 19th century with the unification of Italy. A celebration of the University of Bologna's 8th centenary in 1888 marked its revival and importance in the modern era. The number of students doubled over the next decade, and it grew into one of the largest universities in the modern world.

Twentieth Century

The university survived through the fascist regime of Mussolini, when the faculty and administrators swore allegiance to the regime. Fascist reforms backtrack free thought, as racial laws were passed in 1938. These reforms prohibited Jewish people from teaching (even though the university was one of the first in Europe to establish a department dedicated to researching the Jewish language, culture, and religion).

After those dark times, the fall of the regime in 1945 brought a celebration and renewed energy around the institute. Women grew to make up 26% of the student body and a thriving student life evolved. Students became active members of protests in the 1970s and 1980s and ushered the university into the modern era.

Importance of the University of Bologna

The University of Bologna is important in history not only because of its influence during medieval and Renaissance times, but for the scholars and famous works that have formed the basis for knowledge today.

Famous Work and Achievements of the University of Bologna

Scholars at the University of Bologna made strides in many areas. Highlighted below are members of the university who made contributions to mathematics, medicine, law, astronomy, physics, and obstetrics.

Math

It was at the University of Bologna in the 16th century that Gerolamo Cardano along with Luca Pacioli, Scipione del Ferro, Niccolò Tartaglia and Lodovico Ferrari expanded the world of mathematics into modernity. Cardano discovered the algebraic solutions to third and fourth-degree equations. He also developed the new discipline of axonometry.

Medicine

The University of Bologna is well-known for its expansions in the field of medicine. In particular, it is known for the practice of studying anatomy through human dissection.

Notable Scholars

Hundreds of historically important members of the clergy, doctors, scientists, and politicians graduated from the University of Bologna.

Irnerius

Irnerius was a judge and professor of liberal arts and Roman law at the end of the 11th century through the early 12th century. He is often viewed as the founder of the University of Bologna, as he helped mediate the uprising between King Henry V and the people of Bologna to negotiate Bologna becoming a commune under the king.

Bettisia Gozzadini

Bettisia Gozzadini was one of the first women to obtain a university when she graduated from the University of Bologna in 1237 with a law degree. She also became the first woman to teach law when she became a professor at the university in 1239.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus is most known for his model that placed the sun at the center of the solar system, rather than the earth. Born in Poland, his first education was at the University of Kraków. In 1496, he studied canon law at the University of Bologna, and became the assistant to the famous astronomer Domenico Maria Novara da Ferrara.

Figure 5: A bust of Nicolaus Copernicus at the University of Bologna. Source: StudySmarter Originals, Rebekah Glick

Laura Bassi

Laura Bassi was another woman who worked at the university. Born in 1711, she had been privately educated in philosophy, metaphysics, logic, and science. She was awarded a doctorate degree after impressing the university with her forty-nine theses on Philosophica Studia.

The University of Bologna Today

Today, the university offers 101 different Laurae, or first-level degrees (which take about three years), and 108 Laurea specialistica (which take two years). Students can go on to pursue a Masters, then on to a specialized school (such as medicine) or a doctorate.

The university has a full-fledged campus made up of several buildings. There are satellite campuses in places like Argentina, Brussels, New York, and Shanghai. It continues to be regarded as one of the top universities in the world.