Sapienza University of Rome

Coordinates: 41°54′12″N 12°30′57″E / 41.90333°N 12.51583°E / 41.90333; 12.51583

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
Type	Public
Established	1303
Rector	Dr. Eugenio Gaudio
Administrative staff	8,000
Students	112,564[1]
Location	Rome, Italy
Campus	Urban
Colors	[2]
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 (Italian: Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza^{[3][lower-alpha 1]} or the University of Rome, is a collegiate research university located in Rome, Italy. Formally known as Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", it is one of the largest European universities by enrollments^[4] and one of the oldest in history, founded in 1303. The University is one of the most prestigious Italian universities, commonly ranking first in national rankings and in Southern Europe.^[5]

Most of the Italian ruling class studied at Sapienza ^[6] Sapienza educated numerous notable alumni, including many Nobel laureates, Presidents of the European Parliament and European Commissioners, heads of several nations, notable religious figures, scientists and astronauts.^[7]. In September 2018, it was included in the top 100 of the QS World University Rankings Graduate Employability Ranking^[8].

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,^[9] 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, and 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. The first complete history of the Sapienza University was written in 1803-1806 by Filippo Maria Renazzi.^[10]

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 44 ha (110 acres) near the Roma Tiburtina Station. The university has 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.^[11] In order 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^[12] (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.

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.

Ranking

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.^[15][16]

In 2018, the subject Classics and Ancient history of Sapienza is ranked the 1st in the world by QS World University Rankings by subject^[17]. As the same ranking, the subject Archaeology ranks the 9th^[18].

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.^[19]

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 mean 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 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^[20] due to protests by some students and professors.^[21] The title of the speech would have been 'The Truth Makes Us Good and Goodness is Truth'.^[22] 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.^[20]

Notable people

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)[23]
	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)
	Pietro Belluschi	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	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 mission
	Mario Draghi	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
	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
	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	Known for the fraudulent business scheme named after him, the Ponzi scheme
	Nicola Cabibbo	Physics	President of Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and of Pontifical Academy of Sciences
	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	1st Prime Minister of Somalia and 2nd 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	Italian Prime Minister since December 2016
	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

See also

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

Notes

References

External links

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