History
The University of Pavia is one of the oldest universities in Europe. An edict issued by the Frankish king of Italy Lothar I (ruled 818-55) mentions the existence of a higher education institution at Pavia as early as AD 825. This institution, mainly devoted to ecclesiastical and civil law as well as to divinity studies, was then selected as the prime educational centre for northern Italy. Officially established as a studium generale by the Holy Roman emperor Charles IV (r. 1355-78) in 1361, the institution was enlarged and renovated by the duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti (ruled 1385-1402), becoming the Duchy's sole university.
In 1858, the University was the scene of intense student protests against Austrian rule in northern Italy (through the puppet kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia). The authorities responded by ordering the university's temporary closure. The incidents at Pavia were typical of the wave of nationalist demonstrations all over Italy that immediately preceded the Unification of Italy (1859–66).
During the following centuries, through periods of both adversity and prosperity, the fame of the University of Pavia grew in Italy and abroad.
Throughout its history, the university has benefited from the presence of many learned men and distinguished scientists who wrote celebrated works and made important discoveries e.g. the mathematician Girolamo Cardano (born in Pavia, 1501–76), the physicist Alessandro Volta (Pavia chair of natural philosophy 1769-1804), the poet Ugo Foscolo (chair of Italian eloquence 1809-10), and the physician Camillo Golgi (at Pavia from 1861).
Also critical to the university's reputation was its distinguished record of public education, epitomised by the establishment of 5 private and public colleges. The oldest colleges, the Collegio Borromeo and Collegio Ghislieri, were built in the 16th century, and in more recent times others were founded through both public and private initiatives: the Nuovo College, the Santa Caterina College and the EDiSU. In 1997, were established the IUSS, which is an Higher Learning Institution (in Italian, "Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori"). The IUSS is the federal body that links the 5 colleges of Pavia which constitute the Pavia University System.
Today, the University continues to offer a wide variety of disciplinary and inter-disciplinary teaching. Research is carried out in departments, institutes, clinics, centres and laboratories, in close association with public and private institutions, enterprises, and factories.
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