Sapienza University of Rome

Sapienza University of Rome
Sapienza – Università di Roma
Latin: Studium Urbis
Motto	Il futuro è passato qui
Motto in English	The future has passed here
Established	1303
Type	Public
Rector	Dr. Eugenio Gaudio
Administrative staff	8,000
Students	112,564
Location	Rome, Italy
Campus	Urban
Colors	‹See Tfm›     ‹See Tfm›
Athletics	CUS Roma
Affiliations	European Spatial Development Planning, Partnership of a European Group of Aeronautics and Space Universities, CINECA, Santander Network, Institutional Network of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe, Mediterranean Universities Union.
Website	uniroma1.it

The Sapienza University of Rome, officially Sapienza – Università di Roma, also called simply Sapienza formerly known as Università degli studi di Roma "La Sapienza", collegiate research university located in Rome, Italy. It is the largest European university by enrollments (the third if considering also the distance learning schools) and one of the oldest in the history, founded in 1303.

According to the American society U.S News & World Report, Sapienza University of Rome is one of the most reputable European University and the most prestigious Italian University.

As claimed by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (Arwu), Sapienza is regularly ranked first among Southern European universities. Sapienza is positioned within the 101-150 group of universities and among the top 3% of universities in the world. On the report of several magazines, La Sapienza is usually considered as one of the top ten best Universities in Europe, being the first in Southern Europe.

In 2013, the Center for World University Rankings ranked the Sapienza University of Rome as the 62nd in the world and the top in Italy in its World University Rankings.

La Sapienza educated numerous notable alumni, including many Nobel laureates, presidents of the European Parliament, heads of several nations and significant scientists and astronauts.

History

Palazzo della Sapienza, former home of the University until 1935.

Church of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, originally the chapel and seat of the university library (until 1935).

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, 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 in order 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 and the professors dispersed; some were killed. Pope Paul III restored the university shortly after his ascension to the pontificate in 1534.

In the 1650s the university became known as Sapienza, meaning wisdom, a title it retains. In 1703, Pope Clement XI purchased some land with his private funds on the Janiculum, where he made a botanical garden, which soon became the most celebrated in Europe through the labours of the Trionfetti brothers.

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.

Campuses

The new campus of Rome University, built in 1935 by Marcello Piacentini, in a 1938 picture.

Sapienza University has many campuses in Rome but its main campus is the Città Universitaria (University city), which covers 439,000 m² (4,730,000 sq ft) near Termini Station. The university has some satellite campuses outside Rome, the main 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. In order to cope with the ever-increasing number of applicants, the Rector has 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, is the main library housing 1.5 million volumes; it has some important collections including collezione ciceroniana, Fondo Festa, etc.

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 Faculty of Engineering
• 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.

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

Admission

In order 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.

Controversies

On January 15, 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 due to protests by some students and professors. The title of speech should 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 in 1633.

Notable alumni

Some of the notable alumni

Picture	Alumni	Born	Died	Academic degree	Note	Awards
	Enrico Fermi	1901	1954	Physics	Physicist,colleague and close friend of Ettore Majorana. He was Doctoral advisor of Emilio Gino Segrè. He discovered: new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation,Controlled nuclear chain reaction. He's also known for the Fermi–Dirac statistics and The Theory of beta decay	Nobel Prize in Physics (1938) He is referred to as The father of the atomic bomb
	Emilio Gino Segrè	1905	1989	Physics	Physicist, colleague and close friend of Ettore Majorana. His Doctoral advisor was Enrico Fermi. He helped discover Antiproton, Astatine, sub-atomic antiparticle. He discovered technetium.	Nobel Prize in Physics (1959)
	Daniel Bovet	1907	1992	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)
	Pietro Belluschi	1899	1994	Civil Engineering	Leader of the Modern Movement in architecture. Dean of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning(1951-1965). Collaborator and Design Consultant for Pan Am Building.	AIA Gold Medal (1972)
	Ennio de Giorgi	1922	1996	Mathematics	He was an Italian 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	1954		Astrophysics	European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency astronaut(ESA/ASI) and a veteran of two NASA space shuttle mission
	Mario Draghi	1947		Economics	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
	Maria Montessori	1870	1952	Natural sciences	Founder of the Montessori method of education, regarded to be one of the most influential female physicists
	Sergio Balanzino	1934		Law	Deputy Secretary General of NATO. Two times NATO General Secretary
	Antonio Tajani	1953		Law	European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship
	Federica Mogherini	1973		Political Science	Current High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
	Sergio Mattarella	1964		Law	The 12th current President of Italy
	Vito Volterra	1860	1940	Mathematical physics	Italian mathematician and physicist, known for Theory of integral equations and the Lotka–Volterra equations
	Cesare Borgia	1475	1507	Geography	condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal
	Gabriele d'Annunzio	1863	1938	Literature	poet, journalist, playwright, soldier, politician. He was part of the literary movement called the Decadent movement.
	Bernardo Bertolucci	1940		Modern literature	Italian 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	1882	1949	Business	Known for the fraudulent business scheme named after him,the Ponzi scheme
	Nicola Cabibbo	1935	2010	Physics	Ex President of Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and of Pontifical Academy of Sciences
	Attilio Celant	1942		Economics	Dean of the Faculty of Economics of "Sapienza" University of Rome (2002-2011).
	Enrico Giovannini	1957		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.
	Maurizio Cheli	1959		Geophysics	European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency astronaut(ESA/ASI) and a veteran of one NASA space shuttle mission
	Abdirashid Ali Shermarke	1919	1969	Political Science	2nd President of Somalia
	Luca Cordero di Montezemolo	1947		Accounting	Italian businessman and 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.
	Gaetano Fichera	1951		Mathematics	He was an Italian mathematician, working in mathematical analysis, linear elasticity, partial differential equations and several complex variables. Member of Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL and of the Russian Academy of Science.
	Ignazio Visco	1949		Economics	Governor of the Banca d'Italia (Bank of Italy)
	Carlo Fea	1753	1836	Law	Italian archaeologist
	Marcello Piacentini	1881		Architecture	Italian architect	Italian urban theorist and the official architect of the Fascist regime
	Lina Bo Bardi	1914		Architecture	Italian architect
	Massimiliano Fuksas	1944		Architecture	Italian 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)
	Mario Catania	1952		Literature and Arts	Ex Head of Department of European and International Policies at the Agriculture Ministry. Italian Minister of Agriculture
	Carlo Verdone	1950		Modern literature	prominent Italian actor, screenwriter and film director.
	Franco Frattini	1957		Law	ex Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
	Paolo Gentiloni	1954		Political Science	Former Minister of Communications of Italy
	Giorgio Gaja	1939		Law	He was elected in 2011 as a judge of the International Court of Justice
	Pier Carlo Padoan	1950		Economics	Since June 2007 he has been Deputy Secretary General at the OECD in Paris, and their chief economist since 2009. He is the OECD 's G20 Finance Deputy,leads the initiatives 'Strategic Response', 'Green Growth' and 'Innovation'.	On February 19, 2014 Matteo Renzi chose him as Italy's new finance minister.
	Marco Abbondanza	1953		Medicine and Surgery	Medical doctor and eye surgeon. Creator of the Mini Asymmetric Radial Keratotomy (M.A.R.K.) and popularizer of the Cross-linking.
	Romaldo Giurgola	1920		Literature and Arts	ex Professor at Cornell, University of Pennsylvania and Columbia, before becoming chair of the Columbia architectural department in 1966. He is presently Ware Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Columbia.	AIA Gold Medal (1982)
	Paolo Portoghesi	1931		Architecture	Italian architect
	Carlo Aymonino	1926	2010	Architecture	Italian architect	Hononary Fellow at The American Institute of Architects
	Scott O'Dell	1898	1989	History	American children's author who wrote Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960), which won the 1961 Newbery Medal and the 1963 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis as well as the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, of The King's Fifth (1966), Black Star, Bright Dawn (1988), The Black Pearl (1967), and Sing Down the Moon (1970); which were all also Newbery Honor	Newbery Medal (1961), Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis,several Newbery Honor awards
	Giorgio Agamben	1942		Philosophy	Philosopher best known for his work investigating the concepts of the state of exception, form-of-life and homo sacer.

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, Augusto Del Noce and Vittorio Somenzi; 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
• 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
• Stefano Levialdi Ghiron

Humanities

• Cesare Borgia, Cardinal, condottiero and politician of the 15th century
• Piero Boitani, literary critic, writer and academic
• Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, jurisconsult
• Silvia Berti, historian
• Lazarus Buonamici, renaissance humanist
• Umberto Cassuto, Hebrew language and Bible scholar
• Marcel Danesi, language scientist
• Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, poet
• Count Angelo de Gubernatis, orientalist
• Predrag Matvejevic, writer and academic
• Santo Mazzarino, leading historian of ancient Rome and ancient Greece
• Giuseppe Tucci, orientalist
• Mario Liverani, orientalist
• Paolo Matthiae, director of the archeological expedition of Ebla
• Antonio Nibby, archaeologist
• Diego Laynez, second general of the Society of Jesus;
• Giulio Mazzarino, politician and cardinal
• Giulio Salvadori, literary critic and poet
• Giuseppe Scaraffia, literary critic
• Ugo Spirito, philosopher
• Giuseppe Ungaretti, poet
• Bernardino Varisco, philosopher
• Musine Kokalari, Albanian writer

See also

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

External links

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