www.visitapavia.it | Pavia and Pavese

In 825, as part of the reform of the upper education throughout the Kingdom of Italy, the emperor Lothair created a school in Pavia for the majority of students resident in northern Italy. The real foundations for the Studium generale in Pavia, which gave rise to the University, were in 1361 and were given under emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg at the orders of Galeazzo II Visconti. A centre of study which Pope Boniface IX, in 1389, acknowledged the same rights as the university of Paris and Bologna, and which was transformed into a university in 1485. The prestige of the University grew in the 15th century before reaching a plateau under Spanish rule at the end of the seven hundreds when the empress Maria Theresa of Austria and Joseph II restructured the teaching faculty and renovated the buildings, creating new ones under projects by Piermarini followed by Pollach and Marchesi. The neoclassical façade over two floors and stretching over 200 metres was the work of Piermarini. The main entrance is located in the Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio) and is flanked by two medals carrying the effigies of Lothair and Galeazzo II. The numerous internal courtyards are decorated with Doric columns in granite. The neoclassical stairwell leads to the library which was renovated by Maria Theresa of Austria and boasts the original 18th-century interiors. The Aula Foscolo from the 18th century, the Aula Scarpa, the Aula Volta and the Aula Magna lecture rooms may be admired inside; the latter was created mid-19th century with the pronaos made of Greek-inspired Corinthian columns. Many well-known people have come here to study or teach: Ugo Foscolo, Vincenzo Monti, Lazzaro Spallanzani, Alessandro Volta, Antonio Scarpa, Lorenzo Mascheroni, just to name a few. After the second world war, the University of Pavia underwent a re-launch thanks also to the help of Plinio Fraccaro. In the 60’s an economics and an engineering faculty were added to the existing faculties.