University of Parma

The University of Parma (Italian: Università degli Studi di Parma, UNIPR) is a public university located in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Organized into nine departments, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. As of 2016, it had approximately 26,000 students.

History

During the 13th-14th centuries there was an educational institution, studium, in Parma, but it was closed in 1387 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. The university was opened in 1412 by Niccolò III d'Este, and, although no papal bull was issued, degrees were granted. In 1420, Filippo Maria Visconti closed it again.

Although there were several attempts to revive the university, which functioned only as a "paper university", granting degrees without teaching. In 1601, the university was finally reopened by Ranuccio I Farnese, and the papal bull was given. It was a joint institution with the Society of Jesus, and a third of staff were teachers from a local Jesuit school, who taught in a separate building and by Jesuit curriculum. There were usually about 27–32 teachers and 300–400 students in the 17th century. Logic, natural history, mathematics and theology were taught by Jesuits and law and medicine by civil teachers. Among the most important Jesuits who taught in Parma should be mentioned Giovanni Battista Riccioli, and Daniello Bartoli.

In 1768, Ferdinand I expelled Jesuits and the curriculum was modernized. Student protests resulted in closure of the university by Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, in 1831; only in 1854 did Louise Marie Thérèse of Artois re-open it. The university then comprised faculties of theology, law, medicine, physics and mathematics, philosophy, and literature, as well as schools of obstetrics, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.

After the Risorgimento, the government of newly united Italy divided the universities of the country into two grades. In 1862, the University of Parma was declared grade B, its financing was reduced, and the quality of education degraded. It was equalized with grade A universities only in 1887.

Notable people

• Francesco Accarigi (c. 1557–1622), professor of civil law
• Cesare Beccaria (c. 1738–1794), economist and criminologist
• Attilio Bertolucci (1911–2000), poet
• Alberto Broggi (born 1966), engineer
• Marta Catellani, chemist
• Cristiana De Filippis (born 1992), mathematician
• Flavio Delbono (born 1959), economist and politician
• Vittorio Gallese (born 1959), neuroscientist
• Beppo Levi (1875–1961), mathematician
• Macedonio Melloni (c. 1798–1854), physicist
• Giuseppe Mingione (born 1972), mathematician
• Piero Mozzi (born 1950), medical doctor and naturopath
• Bernardino Ramazzini (c. 1633–1714), professor of medicine and father of Occupational Medicine
• Giacomo Rizzolatti (born 1937), neuroscientist
• Cesare Zavattini (1902–1989), screenwriter

Organization

The university is now divided into 9 departments.

From 2012 to 2016 the university was divided into 18 departments:

The university was formerly divided into 12 faculties:

• Research Labs in the Department of Engineering and Architecture
• Industrial Automation Laboratory
• IoT Lab

Books

Grendler, Paul F. (2004). The Universities of the Italian Renaissance. Baltimore MD USA: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 127–137. ISBN 978-0-8018-8055-1.

Grendler, Paul F. (2017). The Jesuits and Italian Universities, 1548-1773. Washington DC: CUA Press. pp. 154–188. ISBN 978-0-8132-2936-2.

Annali di Storia delle Università italiane. Vol. 9. 2005.

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