University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"

The University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli (UniCampania), formerly known as Second University of Naples (SUN), is an Italian public university established in 1990. Its legal headquarters is located in the city of Caserta, but it has teaching facilities across the provinces of Avellino, Benevento, and Caserta, as well as within the Metropolitan City of Naples.

History

Its establishment was envisaged by the Prime Ministerial Decree (DPCM) of 12 May 1989, which planned its creation as part of the four-year university development plan for 1986–1990 by splitting off the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery from the then University of Naples (later renamed University of Naples "Federico II"). Formal establishment was sanctioned by Law No. 245 of 7 August 1990, as the Second University of Naples, delegating to ministerial decrees the establishment of faculties and activation of related degree programmes. For implementation, Ministerial Decree (D.M.) 25 March 1991 and the subsequent Presidential Decree (D.P.R.) 28 October 1991 were issued, establishing the faculties of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences and of Letters and Philosophy as part of the three-year university development plan for 1991–1993. Presidential Decree (D.P.R.) 27 April 1992 finally decreed the official location of the structures and identified its legal headquarters in the city of Caserta.

During the 1990s, there was a progressive increase in activities, number of enrolments, and teaching and administrative staff. In 1995, the groundwork was laid, with a specific memorandum of understanding, for the construction of a new university teaching hospital in Caserta, aimed at expanding healthcare activities. Construction work began in 2003. In 2005, as part of a collaboration between the university and the interuniversity consortium INNOVA, the Circe laboratory was established, located in the municipality of San Nicola la Strada, where stellar nuclei are studied and archaeological artifacts are dated. In 2009, during the Giornate Scientifiche dell'Ateneo event, a new lecture hall complex in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, located on via Raffaele Perla, was inaugurated, comprising 15 lecture halls, a multimedia laboratory, and a car park capable of accommodating a total of 2,500 students.

The debate on the name change

Starting in the 2000s, discussion began on changing the university's name; during the inauguration of the 2014/2015 academic year, Rector Giuseppe Paolisso, elected in 2014, announced the consideration of three options: "University of Caserta", "Luigi Vanvitelli University", or "University of Campania – Luigi Vanvitelli". In 2015, despite a resolution by the municipality of Caserta and several parliamentary questions addressed to the Renzi government, on 31 March the academic senate voted for the name "University of Campania – Luigi Vanvitelli", announcing the start of the procedure – which requires approval from the MIUR – and also launching an international competition for a new university logo, with rebranding costs estimated at no less than €65,000.

Territorial setup and organization

Teaching facilities

The campuses are distributed across the Campania region: in the Province of Caserta, the Metropolitan City of Naples, the Province of Avellino, and the Province of Benevento (the last two host peripheral and detached campuses) – almost all located in structures of historical and cultural interest. The university has two rectorate offices, one in Caserta, which is the legal headquarters, and one in Naples at via Santa Maria di Costantinopoli near the "Luigi Vanvitelli" University Hospital.

In Naples, the departments of the medical area are located, along with the "Luigi Vanvitelli" University Hospital, the "University Museum of Sciences and Arts" (MUSA), and some university service centers, primarily located within and near the historic center of Naples. A committee for university sports and a polyphonic choir are also active.

Following the reorganization under Law No. 240 of 30 December 2010, the university is structured into sixteen university departments, one school of the university, approximately sixty medical specialization schools, and a school of specialization for legal professions. The departments are 16:

• Architecture and Industrial Design – Aversa
• Women, Child and General and Specialized Surgery – Naples
• Economics – Capua
• Law – Santa Maria Capua Vetere
• Engineering – Aversa
• Humanities and Cultural Heritage – Santa Maria Capua Vetere
• Mathematics and Physics – Caserta
• Precision Medicine – Naples
• Experimental Medicine – Naples
• Multidisciplinary Department of Medical-Surgical and Dental Specialties – Naples
• Psychology – Caserta
• Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine – Naples
• Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies – Caserta
• Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences – Naples
• Translational Medical Sciences – Naples
• Political Science – Caserta

Research centers

Research activities are carried out within various structures, characterized by specific operational modes and objectives. Among these, departments represent the organizational units tasked with promoting and coordinating research activities. In parallel, research centers focus on projects requiring collaboration among expertise from multiple research departments or, in some cases, multiple universities. They are:

• CIRLaM Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Language and Medicine
• CRECS Centro di ricerca in economia cognitiva e sperimentale
• COSME Centro di ricerca osservatorio sul Mezzogiorno d’Europa
• Centro di riferimento regionale per i pazienti affetti da cheilognatopalatoschisi e malformazioni oro-maxillo-facciali

University campuses

Aversa

In the city of Aversa, the Department of Engineering and the Department of Architecture are located. The former is situated in the complex of the Real Casa dell'Annunziata of Aversa, built around the early 14th century. The complex was part of the religious institutions with welfare purposes promoted by the Angevins also for territorial control. There is also a lecture hall complex, located on via Michelangelo Buonarroti.

The latter is instead located in the church of San Lorenzo ad septimum in Aversa, which stands in a location that already held great interest in ancient times, on the ancient Via Campana ad septimum, meaning at the seventh mile from the city of Capua. The monumental complex includes the eponymous church and is built around a cloister.

Capua

In Capua, there is the complex housing the Department of Economics, located on Corso Gran Priorato di Malta. Originally built as a monastery and known as the Convent of the Nun Ladies, the building is believed to date back to the 9th–10th centuries, following the destruction of the monastery of Santa Maria in Cingla in Alife by the Saracens in 847. The monastery was built on the ancient Via Silicis, a paved road now identified with Corso Gran Priorato di Malta. Over the centuries, the complex underwent various modifications and expansions. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it was transformed into a cloistered monastery through interventions led by architect Benvenuto Tortelli, known for his work on religious buildings such as the basilica of San Domenico Maggiore and the church of Santa Maria Donnaregina Vecchia in Naples. During this period, grates were installed on the windows and the church was restructured in the Baroque style. With the Royal Decree of 17 September 1812, the monastery was acquired by the State and designated for military use, assuming the name "Ettore Fieramosca" Barracks. The structure maintained this function until the 1970s.

Subsequently, the complex was restored between 2000 and 2007. Today, with a covered area of approximately 11,600 m², it houses all academic and administrative activities of the Department of Economics.

Caserta

The provincial capital hosts some administrative offices and four departments: The Department of Psychology, which replaced the old faculty created in 2001 by splitting from the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy; the Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies; and the Department of Mathematics and Physics, which also replaced previous faculties and are located, like them, in the city's scientific hub on viale Abramo Lincoln.

Sports

The University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli collaborates with CUS Caserta to promote sports events and activities for students, academic staff, and faculty. University sports activities are also conducted in collaboration with CUS Napoli.

Scuderia Vanvitelli is the official Formula Student team of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli. The team is dedicated to the design, construction, and competition of racing single-seaters. Scuderia participates in international competitions such as Formula SAE. The team is structured into several areas, including mechanical, electronic, aerodynamic, and management.

Rectors

• Domenico Mancino (1990–1998)
• Antonio Grella (1998–2006)
• Francesco Rossi (2006–2014)
• Giuseppe Paolisso (2014–2020)
• Gianfranco Nicoletti (2020–2026)

Related entries

• University of Naples Federico II
• Biogem
• Caserta
• Luigi Vanvitelli
• Province of Caserta
• Union of Mediterranean Universities

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)