University of Ferrara
Encyclopedia
The University of Ferrara is the main university
of the city of Ferrara
in the Emilia-Romagna
region of northern Italy
. In the years prior to the First World War
the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy. Today there are approximately 12,000 students enrolled at the University of Ferrara with nearly 400 degrees granted each year. The teaching staff number 600, including 223 researchers. It is organized into 8 Faculties.
with the permission of Pope Boniface IX
. The Studium Generale was inaugurated on St. Luke
's Day (October 18) of that year with courses in law
, arts
and theology
.
After the unification of Italy
, Ferrara University became a free university
with faculties of Law and Mathematics
, a three-year course in Medicine
(reduced to two years in 1863-64), as well as Schools of Veterinary Medicine
(abolished in 1876), Pharmacy, and for public Notaries.
After World War II
, it started to be state-supported and this allowed the opening of many faculties and research departments. The most remarkable growth took place between the '70s and the '80s, when Prof. Antonio Rossi was in charge of it as Rector
.
Some notable instructors include:
Starting in 2000, the University of Ferrara has collaborated across the faculties of economics, architecture, medicine, jurisprudence and engineering in the main industrial areas of China, that is, Guangdong, in research and experimentation with the Chinese universities and important local businesses. Collaborations have begun between the Faculty of Economics of Ferrara and the South China University of Technology, an agreement that has permitted the faculty in Ferrara to undertake a research project about the industry of Guangdong and has allowed the Faculty of Medicine to open in 2006 a permanent office near the Capital University of Medical Sciences of Beijing. This has allowed the implementation of a master’s degree of the second level in clinical Neurophysiology, with consent to the young Chinese neurologists, to expand the applied techniques and their studies of neuroscience. Institutions participating in the master’s program include the department of neurophysiology of the University of Ferraro, the Neurological institute of Milan and to Beijing.
Another active master’s program with its seat in Ferrara is that of the aesthetics and cosmetology signed to Canton through the Ferrara Center of Cosmetology and the Chinese academy Ginzza International Beauty and Hair Academy.
As of 2008, there are 16 PhD courses, organized around a special Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS-Ferrara 1391.
Generally speaking, research departments do not coincide with faculties (as is usual in Italy). Specifically, literature, history, philosophy are independent of one another. Furthermore, biologists, physicists, and geologists work in different institutions. Medical research is carried out in cooperation with the city hospital, which offers some of its buildings for use as a teaching hospital.
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
of the city of Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
in the Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
region of northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In the years prior to the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of the free universities in Italy. Today there are approximately 12,000 students enrolled at the University of Ferrara with nearly 400 degrees granted each year. The teaching staff number 600, including 223 researchers. It is organized into 8 Faculties.
History
The University of Ferrara was founded on March 4, 1391 by Marquis Alberto V D'EsteAlberto d'Este
Alberto d'Este was lord of Ferrara and Modena from 1388 until his death.He was associated in the lordship of the House of Este by his brother Niccolò in 1361, becoming the sole ruler of Ferrara and Modena after the latter's death in 1388...
with the permission of Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX , born Piero Tomacelli, was the second Roman Pope of the Western Schism from November 2, 1389, until October 1, 1404...
. The Studium Generale was inaugurated on St. Luke
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
's Day (October 18) of that year with courses in law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
, arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
After the unification of Italy
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
, Ferrara University became a free university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
with faculties of Law and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, a three-year course in Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
(reduced to two years in 1863-64), as well as Schools of Veterinary Medicine
Veterinary medicine
Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...
(abolished in 1876), Pharmacy, and for public Notaries.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it started to be state-supported and this allowed the opening of many faculties and research departments. The most remarkable growth took place between the '70s and the '80s, when Prof. Antonio Rossi was in charge of it as Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
.
Some notable instructors include:
- Giovanni BianchiniGiovanni BianchiniGiovanni Bianchini was a professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Ferrara and court astrologer of Leonello d'Este. He was an associate of Georg Purbach and Regiomontanus...
, professor of astronomy - Cesare CremoniniCesare Cremonini (philosopher)Cesare Cremonini, sometimes Cesare Cremonino , was an Italian professor of natural philosophy, working rationalism and Aristotelian materialism inside scholasticism...
, professor of natural philosophy between 1573 and 1590
Research and international collaboration
The CIVR (Comitato di Indirizzo per la Valutazione della Ricerca, or Directory Committee for the Evaluation of Research), according to a public report of 2007, has rated the University of Ferrara as the best Italian university for the applied exploitation of research. In order to produce these results, the CIVR has taken into consideration numerous data such as patents registered in Italy and abroad, the research collaborations between the university business and academic spin-offs.Starting in 2000, the University of Ferrara has collaborated across the faculties of economics, architecture, medicine, jurisprudence and engineering in the main industrial areas of China, that is, Guangdong, in research and experimentation with the Chinese universities and important local businesses. Collaborations have begun between the Faculty of Economics of Ferrara and the South China University of Technology, an agreement that has permitted the faculty in Ferrara to undertake a research project about the industry of Guangdong and has allowed the Faculty of Medicine to open in 2006 a permanent office near the Capital University of Medical Sciences of Beijing. This has allowed the implementation of a master’s degree of the second level in clinical Neurophysiology, with consent to the young Chinese neurologists, to expand the applied techniques and their studies of neuroscience. Institutions participating in the master’s program include the department of neurophysiology of the University of Ferraro, the Neurological institute of Milan and to Beijing.
Another active master’s program with its seat in Ferrara is that of the aesthetics and cosmetology signed to Canton through the Ferrara Center of Cosmetology and the Chinese academy Ginzza International Beauty and Hair Academy.
Organization
These are the 8 faculties which the university is divided into:- Faculty of ArchitectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
- Faculty of EconomicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
- Faculty of EngineeringEngineeringEngineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
- Faculty of HumanitiesHumanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
- Faculty of LawLawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
- Faculty of Mathematical, PhysicalPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Natural Sciences - Faculty of MedicineMedicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and SurgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical... - Faculty of PharmacyPharmacyPharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
As of 2008, there are 16 PhD courses, organized around a special Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS-Ferrara 1391.
Generally speaking, research departments do not coincide with faculties (as is usual in Italy). Specifically, literature, history, philosophy are independent of one another. Furthermore, biologists, physicists, and geologists work in different institutions. Medical research is carried out in cooperation with the city hospital, which offers some of its buildings for use as a teaching hospital.
Famous alumni
- Amato LusitanoAmato LusitanoJoão Rodrigues de Castelo Branco, better known as Amato Lusitano and Amatus Lusitanus , was a notable Portuguese Jewish physician of the 16th century. Like Herophilus, Galen, Ibn al-Nafis, Michael Servetus, Realdo Colombo and William Harvey, he is credited as making a discovery in the circulation...
- William LatimerWilliam LatimerWilliam Latimer was an English clergyman and scholar of Ancient Greek.Latimer studied at Oxford University, attaining the degree of Bachelor of Arts before being admitted as a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1489...
- Massimo PigliucciMassimo PigliucciMassimo Pigliucci is the chair of the Department of Philosophy at CUNY-Lehman College. He is also the editor in chief for the journal . He is known as an outspoken critic of creationism and advocate of science education.-Biography:...
- Nicolaus CopernicusNicolaus CopernicusNicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
Received Diploma as Doctor of Canon Law - ParacelsusParacelsusParacelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
- Girolamo Savonarola, OPDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
- Ludovico AriostoLudovico AriostoLudovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
Points of interest
- Biblioteca Comunale AriosteaBiblioteca Comunale AriosteaThe Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea is located in the Palazzo Paradise in Ferrara. It was named Ariostea because within lies the tomb of Ludovico Ariosto.- History :...
- Orto Botanico dell'Università di FerraraOrto Botanico dell'Università di FerraraThe University of Ferrara Botanic Garden is a 4,500 square metre botanical garden operated by the University of Ferrara. It is located at Corso Porta Mare, 2b, I-44100 Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is open weekday mornings...
See also
- ESDP-Network
- List of Italian universities
- List of medieval universities