Sapienza University of Rome

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, as a Studium for ecclesiastical studies more under his control than the universities of Bologna and Padua,^[18] making it the first pontifical university.^[12]

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.^[19] Pope Paul III 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 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.^[20]

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 year^[21] due to protests by some students and professors.^[22] The title of the speech would have been 'The Truth Makes Us Good and Goodness is Truth'.^[23] 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 in 1633.^[12][21]

Sapienza University has many campuses in Rome, but its main campus is the Città Universitaria (University city), which covers 44 ha (110 acres) near the Roma Tiburtina Station. 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, in collaboration with the Lazio region.^[24] 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^[25] (Biblioteca Universitaria Alessandrina), built in 1667 by Pope Alexander VII, 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", a botanical garden
• Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza
• San Pietro in Vincoli: the cloister is part of the Engineering School
• Villa Mirafiori: 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.

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 and humanities. It offers 10 Masters Programmes taught entirely in English.^{[citation needed]}

As of the 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Sapienza is positioned within the 151–200 group of universities and among the top 3% of universities in the world.^[32][33]

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.^[34]

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.^[35]

In 2024, Sapienza University of Rome ranked 134th in the world in QS World University Rankings.^[36] The subject Classics and Ancient history of Sapienza is ranked the 1st in the world by QS World University Rankings by subject.^[37] As the same ranking, the subject Archaeology ranks the 10th.^[38] The subject Physics & Astronomy of Sapienza is ranked 36th,^[39] Arts and Humanities is ranked 39th,^[40] and Psychology is ranked 70th.^[41]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Publications

Archaeology

• Vicino Oriente (lit. 'Near East') journal

Some of the notable alumni and professors

Picture	Alumni and professors	Academic degree	Note	Awards
	Maria Montessori	Natural sciences	Founder of the Montessori method of education, regarded to be one of the most influential female physicians
	Federico Fellini	Law	One of the most important filmmakers of the 20th century	Academy Honorary Award, European Film Awards
	Evangelista Torricelli	Physics	Inventor of the barometer. He made significant contributions in optics and on the method of indivisibles.
	Enrico Fermi	Physics	Physicist, colleague and close friend of Ettore Majorana. A key figure in the creation of the atomic bomb, he discovered: new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, controlled nuclear chain reaction. He is also known for the Fermi–Dirac statistics and the theory of beta decay	Nobel Prize in Physics (1938)[42]
	Emilio Gino Segrè	Physics	Physicist, colleague and close friend of Ettore Majorana. A key figure in the creation of the atomic bomb, he helped discover the antiproton and the elements astatine, and technetium	Nobel Prize in Physics (1959)
	Daniel Bovet	Psychobiology	Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1957) for his discovery of drugs that block the actions of specific neurotransmitters. He is best known for his discovery in 1937 of antihistamines, which block the neurotransmitter histamine and are used in allergy medication	Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1957)
	Ennio De Giorgi	Mathematics	Mathematician, who worked on partial differential equations. He solved Bernstein's problem about minimal surfaces. He solved Hilbert's nineteenth problem on the regularity of solutions of elliptic partial differential equation.	Caccioppoli Prize (1960), Wolf Prize (1990)
	Umberto Guidoni	Astrophysics	European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency astronaut (ESA/ASI) and a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions
	Mario Draghi	Economics	Prime Minister of Italy (2021–2022). President of the European Central Bank. Governor for Italy on the Boards of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank. Ex governor of the Bank of Italy. Ex Italian Executive Director at the World Bank. Ex director general of the Italian Treasury. Ex vice chairman and managing director of Goldman Sachs International
	Sergio Balanzino	Law	Deputy Secretary General of NATO. Two times NATO General Secretary
	Antonio Tajani	Law	President of the European Parliament. Former European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship
	Federica Mogherini	Political Science	High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Rector of the College of Europe.
	Sergio Mattarella	Law	12th President of Italy
	Vito Volterra	Mathematical physics	Mathematician and physicist, known for the theory of integral equations and the Lotka–Volterra equations
	Gabriele d'Annunzio	Literature	Poet, journalist, playwright, soldier, politician. He was part of the literary movement called the Decadent movement.
	Bernardo Bertolucci	Modern literature	Film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky and The Dreamers	2 Nastro d'Argento Best Director, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Golden Globe Award for Best Director, Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay, David di Donatello for Best Director, David di Donatello for Best Script, Golden Lion for his career at the Venice Film Festival, Honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival
	Charles Ponzi	Business (not completed)	Known for the fraudulent business scheme named after him, the Ponzi scheme
	Enrico Giovannini	Economics, Statistics	Italian Minister of Labor and Social Policies, President of the Italian Statistical Institute (Istat). Chief Statistician and Director of the Statistics Directorate of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Professor of Economic Statistics.
	Abdirashid Ali Shermarke	Political Science	first Prime Minister of Somalia and second President of Somalia
	Luca Cordero di Montezemolo	Accounting	Chairman of Ferrari, president of Confindustria, president of Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV). He was also the Chairman of Fiat S.p.A. from 2004 to 2010.
	Ignazio Visco	Economics	Governor of the Banca d'Italia (Bank of Italy)
	Massimiliano Fuksas	Architecture	Architect	Grand Prix d'Architecture Française (1999), Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française (2000), Honorary Fellowship of the American Institute of Architects (2002), Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2006)
	Carlo Verdone	Modern literature	Prominent actor, screenwriter and film director.
	Paolo Gentiloni	Political Science	European Commissioner in the Von der Leyen Commission since September 2019 and former Italian Prime Minister from December 2016 to June 2018
	Giorgio Gaja	Law	Elected in 2011 as a judge of the International Court of Justice
	Pier Carlo Padoan	Economics	Deputy Secretary General at the OECD in Paris, and their chief economist. OECD 's G20 Finance Deputy, leads the initiatives 'Strategic Response', 'Green Growth' and 'Innovation'. Italy's finance minister
	Giuseppe Conte	Politics	Former Prime Minister of Italy and leader of the Five Star Movement
	Giorgio Parisi	Physics	Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics. Also attended Sapienza as a student.	Nobel Prize in Physics (2021), Dirac Medal (1999), and others.
	Chrysoula Zacharopoulou	Gynecology	Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships in the government of the French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne since 20 May 2022.

Faculty and staff

Among the prominent scholars who have taught at the Sapienza University of Rome are architects Ernesto Basile and Bruno Zevi; chemist Emanuele Paternò; jurists Antonio Salandra, Sabino Cassese and Giuliano Amato; mathematician Vito Volterra; pharmacologist and Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Daniel Bovet; chemist and Nobel Laureate Giulio Natta; philosophers Luigi Ferri and Augusto Del Noce; physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics Enrico Fermi; political scientist Roberto Forges Davanzati.

• Carlo Costamagna
• Cardinal Mazarin
• Mario Oriani-Ambrosini
• Corrado Gini, statistician
• Lucio Bini 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, biologist
• Barnaba Tortolini, mathematician
• Andrea Zitolo, physical-chemist
• Edoardo Amaldi
• Oscar D'Agostino
• Ettore Majorana
• Bruno Pontecorvo
• Franco Rasetti
• Giovanni Battista Beccaria
• Giovanni Jona-Lasinio
• Luciano Maiani
• Domenico Pacini
• Antonio Signorini
• Nicola Cabibbo, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
• Cora Sternberg
• Carlo Franzinetti, physicist
• Alessandro Piccolo (agricultural scientist), Professor at University of Naples Federico II, Humboldt Prize in Chemistry
• Bruno Luiselli, professor emeritus of Latin literature. He studied the Barbarian.^[43]
• Salvatore Dierna, architect, professor of environmental design^[44]

Humanities

• European Spatial Development Planning ESDP-Network
• List of medieval universities
• Hitman 2016

• Sapienza University of Rome Italian Website (in Italian)
• Sapienza University of Rome English Website

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