University of Naples Federico II

The University of Naples Federico II (Italian: Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, pronounced [universiˈta ddeʎʎi ˈstuːdi di ˈnaːpoli fedeˈriːko seˈkondo]) is a public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, non-denominational, non-sectarian and state-funded university in Italy and the world, and one of the world's ten oldest universities in continuous operation.

It was Europe's first university dedicated to training secular administrative staff, and is one of the world's oldest academic institutions in continuous operation. With over 90,000 students (2022) it is among the largest universities in Europe, long the only state university in Naples, until the establishment of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli in 1991, formerly Seconda Università di Napoli.

The motto of the university is Ad scientiarum haustum et seminarium doctrinarum, taken from the circular letter of Frederick II. Over the course of its thousand-year history, Federico II alumni have included the presidents of the Italian Republic Enrico De Nicola, Giovanni Leone and Giorgio Napolitano. Additionally, students and alumni have won 2 Academy Awards.

In October 2016, the university hosted the first ever Apple iOS Developer Academy and in 2018 the Cisco Digital Transformation Lab. It occupies the second position among the major universities (> 40,000 students) of the Italian universities system (third position if the online Pegaso University, also from Naples, is included).

History

The university of Naples Federico II was founded by the king of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II on 5 June 1224. It is the world's oldest state-supported institution of higher education and research. One of the most famous students was Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas.

Founding: Political project of Frederick II

Frederick II had specific objectives when he founded the university in Naples: first, to train administrative and skilled bureaucratic professionals for the curia regis (the kingdom's ministries and governing apparatus), as well as preparing lawyers and judges who would help the sovereign to draft laws and administer justice. Second, he wanted to facilitate the cultural development of promising young students and scholars, avoiding any unnecessary and expensive trips abroad: by creating a State University, Emperor Frederick avoided having young students during his reign complete their training at the University of Bologna, which was in a city that was hostile to the imperial power.

The University of Naples was arguably the first to be formed from scratch by a higher authority, not based upon an already-existing private school. Although its claim to be the first state-sponsored university can be challenged by Palencia (which was founded by the Castilian monarch c.1212), Naples certainly was the first chartered one.

Frederick, by the grace of God Emperor of the Romans ever Augustus and King of Sicily [...] to all the faithful of the Kingdom of Sicily who read this letter.

With the favor of God, [...] we desire that in every part of our Kingdom many become wise and prudent by drawing from the fountain of sciences and a nursery of knowledge, [...]

We therefore decree that in the most delightful city of Naples, arts shall be taught and studies cultivated in connection with every profession, so that those hungry and famished for knowledge may find in our Kingdom means to satisfy their desires and not be compelled, in pursuit of knowledge, to wander and beg in foreign lands. [...]

The conditions we offer to students are as follows: firstly, that in said city there shall be doctors and masters in every faculty. The students, then, no matter where they come from, shall be assured of lodging, staying, and returning without suffering any harm to their person or property. The best accommodations in the city shall be rented to scholars for a maximum fee of two ounces of gold, and this amount shall not be exceeded. [...] Loans shall be granted to students, based on their needs, by those designated for this purpose upon the pledge of books, which shall be temporarily returned upon receipt of the guarantee of other students. [...]

Buildings and sites

The university is a "city university" in that it does not have a main campus; instead, colleges, departments, accommodation, and other facilities are scattered throughout the city of Naples and Portici. The university possesses a vast architectural heritage.

Central site

Federico II's 13.82-acre (5.59 ha) main campus is centered in the Historic Centre of Naples. The Central Campus contains administrative offices and libraries. The Central Campus is located along Corso Umberto I, at the corner with Via Mezzocannone. It is made up of several historical palaces.

The University Palace, built in neo-Baroque style, was constructed during the Risanamento period, between 1897 and 1908, according to a design by architects Pierpaolo Quaglia and Guglielmo Melisurgo. Situated adjacent to the original university complex, which had been housed in the Casa del Salvatore since 1777, after the Jesuits ceased ownership, the new structure was integrated with the existing facilities behind it. The architects ensured connectivity by establishing the Scalone della Minerva, which spans from the courtyard of the Palace to the Casa del Salvatore Palace courtyard, bridging a height difference of over 7 metres (23 ft). The Palace accommodates the central administrative offices of the university, including the Rectorate, Academic Senate, and Treasury, along with the Department of Law. Additionally, it serves as a secondary location for the Department of Humanities.

Adjacent to the University Palace are numerous other buildings that together form an adjoining university campus.

The House of the Saviour Palace is an architectural complex in Baroque style dating back to the 16th century. It houses the laboratories of the Department of Earth Sciences and the Department of Experimental Biology of Federico II, as well as the main scientific museums curated by the university: the Museum of Physics, the Museum of Anthropology, the Museum of Paleontology, the Museum of Mineralogy, and the Museum of Zoology. The monumental building (known as the "courtyard of the Statues") is home to the National Society of Sciences, Letters, and Arts in Naples, the Accademia Pontaniana, the University Library of Naples, the Department of Roman Law and History of Romanistic Science, as well as several lecture halls of Federico II. The Centro linguistico di Ateneo (CLA) is also headquartered here, on the fifth floor of the Department of Law. Adjacent to it is the palace known as the "Palazzo dell'ex poligono di tiro" (Palace of the former shooting range).

Organisation and governance

The university consists of schools to which multiple departments align based on criteria of cultural, didactic, scientific, and disciplinary affinity. These schools oversee coordinated educational endeavors among their constituent departments. The university comprises four schools and twenty-six departments, organized as follows:

• School of Medicine and Surgery
• Department of Pharmacy
• Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery
• Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology
• Department of Neurosciences and Reproductive and Dental Sciences
• Department of Public Health
• Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences
• Department of Translational Medical Sciences
• School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of veterinary medicine and animal production
• School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Department of economics, management, institutions
• Department of Law
• Department of Economic Sciences and Statistics
• Department of Social Sciences
• Department of Political Science
• Department of Humanities
• Polytechnic and Basic Sciences School
• Department of Architecture
• Department of Biology
• Department of Physics
• Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering
• Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
• Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies
• Department of Industrial Engineering
• Department of Mathematics and Applications
• Department of Chemical Sciences
• Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences
• Department of Facilities Engineering and Architecture

In total, as of the 2022/2023 academic year, the departments offer 78 three-year degree programs, 81 master's programs, 10 single-cycle master's programs, 50 research doctorates, 13 first-level master's programs, 35-second-level master's programs, and 68 specialization schools.

Academies

The centuries-old Accademia Pontaniana and the Società Nazionale di Scienze, Lettere e Arti di Napoli are based at the university.

The university also boasts 11 academies established through collaborations with multinational companies:

• Aerotech Academy, in collaboration with Leonardo;
• Cybersecurity Hackademy, in collaboration with Accenture;
• DIGITA, in collaboration with Deloitte;
• SI Academy – Smart Infrastructures, in collaboration with Tecne SpA;
• Make Napoli, in collaboration with Medtronic;
• CoreAcademy, in collaboration with KPMG, DXC Technology and Exprivia;
• 5G Academy, in collaboration with Nokia, Capgemini and TIM;
• Quantum Computing Academy, in collaboration with QuantumNet;

Academic profile

Research

The university hosts 24 interdepartmental research centers and 17 interuniversity research centers, employing over 4000 active researchers, including more than 400 research fellows and 1400 doctoral students. It collaborates extensively with other public and private research institutions, both within Italy and internationally. One notable collaboration is with BioGeM, a scientific research center focused on molecular genetics and biotechnology.

Libraries

The library system of the University of Naples Federico II encompasses Area, Center, and Department libraries. These libraries are strategically distributed throughout the city and its surrounding areas.

• Agricultural Area Library, located in the municipality of Portici
• Architecture Area Library
• Economics Area Library
• Pharmacy Area Library
• Legal Area Library
• Engineering Area Library
• Medicine and Surgery Area Library
• "Giuseppe Cuomo" Political Science Area Library
• Social Sciences Area Library
• Science Area Library
• Humanities Library (BRAU)
• Veterinary Area Library
• Digital Library on the Camorra and Culture of Legality
• University Center for Libraries "Roberto Pettorino"

The heritage owned by the libraries amounts to over two million volumes and nearly 3,500 subscriptions to periodicals; to manage such a workload, the University Library Center (CAB-Centro di Ateneo per le Biblioteche) was established in 2009 (named after Roberto Pettorino in 2013), which coordinates the university library system. The CAB provides services such as acquisition and access to electronic resources, management and development of online catalogs for university bibliographic resources, management and development of the institutional repository, support for university libraries, and support for the scientific community in accessing bibliographic resources.

Museums

The Museum Center of Natural and Physical Sciences was established in 1992, consolidating the pre-existing museums of Mineralogy, Zoology, Anthropology, and Paleontology. In 2002, the museum of Physics was added to the Center. Occupying approximately 4,000 square metres (0.99 acres) inside the historic Collegio del Salvatore, located in via Mezzocannone, the Center houses over 150,000 artifacts from various parts of the world. The museums within the Center actively engage with the community, organizing exhibitions, conferences, seminars, and educational activities for schools, including guided tours, workshops, and excursions.

The Museum Center "Museums of Agricultural Sciences," situated at the Royal Palace of Portici, was established in 2011. It comprises various institutions, including the Portici Botanical Garden, the Orazio Comes Botanical Museum, the Filippo Silvestri Entomological Museum, the Antonio Parascandola Mineralogical Museum, the Carlo Santini Agricultural Mechanics Museum, the Tito Manlio Bettini Anatomical-Zootechnical Museum, and the Historical Museum Library. The Center's collection includes artifacts, instruments, and scientific books, some dating back to the 1500s, which provide insights into the history of agricultural sciences and technologies in southern Italy and beyond. They also represent the evolution of scientific thought and explorations in foreign lands.

Student life

Athletics

The university's sports activities are managed by CUS Napoli, the multi-sports center of the Neapolitan universities, established in 1945 following the dissolution of GUF Napoli.

Unina Corse is the university racing team that competes in the Formula SAE World Championship. It is divided into two teams: one focuses on building a car powered by an internal combustion engine, while the other focuses on building an electric car.

Notable people

Alumni

Among those who have attended the University of Naples Federico II are Italian presidents Enrico De Nicola, Giovanni Leone and Giorgio Napolitano; mayors of Naples Luigi de Magistris and Gaetano Manfredi; CEO Fabrizio Freda; and philosophers Benedetto Croce and Nicola Abbagnano.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)