The Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa (commonly known in Italy as "la Normale") is a public university in Pisa and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, currently attended by about 600 undergraduate and postgraduate (PhD) students. It was founded in 1810 with a decree by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

as a branch of the

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

in Paris, with the aim of training the teachers of the Empire to educate its citizens. In 2013 the Florentine site was added to the historical site in Pisa, following the inclusion of the Institute of Human Sciences in Florence (SUM). Since 2018 the Scuola Normale Superiore has been federated with the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and with the Institute for Advanced Studies of Pavia, the only other two university institutions with special status that, in the Italian panorama, offer, in accordance with standards of excellence, both undergraduate and postgraduate educational activities. Eminent personalities from the world of science, literature and politics have studied at the Normale, among them

Giosuè Carducci Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci (; 27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907) was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was very noticeably influential, and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906, h ...

Carlo Rubbia Carlo Rubbia (born 31 March 1934) is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN. Early life and educa ...

, Enrico Fermi,

Aldo Capitini Aldo Capitini (23 December 1899 – 19 October 1968) was an Italian philosopher, poet, political activist, anti-Fascist and educator. He was one of the first Italians to take up and develop Mahatma Gandhi's theories of nonviolence and was kno ...

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006. Biography Education Ciampi was born i ...

, Giovanni Gronchi,

Giovanni Gentile Giovanni Gentile (; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian idealist philosopher, educator, and fascist politician. The self-styled "philosopher of Fascism", he was influential in providing an intellectual foundation for ...

Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema (; born 20 April 1949) is an Italian politician and journalist who was the 53rd prime minister of Italy from 1998 to 2000. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2008. D'Alema also serv ...

as well as

Alessio Figalli Alessio Figalli (; born 2 April 1984) is an Italian mathematician working primarily on calculus of variations and partial differential equations. He was awarded the Prix and in 2012, the EMS Prize in 2012, the Stampacchia Medal in 2015, the ...

, in more recent times.

History

Palazzo dei Cavalieri (detail) - Pisa, Italy

The Scuola Normale Superiore was founded in 1810 by

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

decree, as a twin institution of the

in Paris, itself dating back to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

jurisdiction. The term ' (') was coined by

Joseph Lakanal Joseph Lakanal (July 14, 1762 – February 14, 1845) was a French politician, and an original member of the ''Institut de France''. Early career Born in Serres, in present-day Ariège, his name was originally ''Lacanal'', and was altered to ...

who, in submitting a report to the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

of 1794 on behalf of the Committee of Public Instruction, explained it as follows: "'' ', ''" "Normal : from the Latin ''norma '', rule. These schools must indeed be the kind and rule of all others."

The Napoleonic period

The Napoleonic decree of 18 October 1810, concerning "public education establishments" in

– a province of the French empire since 1807 – established an "Academic student residence" in Pisa for university students. Twenty-five places were made available for students of the Faculties of Arts and Sciences, to create a branch of the Parisian

in countries where the use of the Italian language was authorized. The Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa was thus established at the behest of Napoleon. The term "Normale" refers to its primary teaching mission, that is to train high school teachers to educate citizens according to coherent teaching and methodological "norms". On 22 February 1811, the first call was issued, but the Pisa-based Normale began its activity only in 1813, when the first students of Arts and Sciences attended the Scuola. The first site of the Scuola was the convent of San Silvestro in Pisa: it was a student residence halfway between a military order and a convent, in which the life of the students was characterized by strict disciplinary regulations similar to those of the French ''Scuola'' of reference regarding admissions, occupations, punishments, rewards and even student clothing. Following the model of the

, the Scuola was entrusted to a "Director", assisted by the "Sub-director" and by the "''Economo''", in charge of administration, supervision of studies and the safeguarding of order. The Normale was reserved at that time to the best high school students, aged between 17 and 24, who during their two years of studies also obtained degrees at the faculties of Arts and Sciences of the Imperial University. The students had particular commitments and were obliged to take additional courses: they were supervised by four "''ripetitori''", chosen by the Director among the students of the Normale, who "repeated" the university lessons daily and coordinated the "conferences", which were a sort of seminar. With this qualifying training, after graduation the students committed themselves to teaching in secondary schools for at least ten years. The Napoleonic Scuola Normale had a short life: the only academic year was 1813/14, during which the physicist Ranieri Gerbi was Director. On 6 April 1814,

signed the act of abdication: the return of Grand Duke Ferdinand III to the throne of Tuscany coincided with the closure of the Scuola despite the various attempts to save it in the name of its function.

The grand-ducal period

The period of closure of the Scuola after the Napoleonic phase was actually quite short. The Grand Duke's decree of 22 December 1817 re-established the ancient Ordine dei Cavalieri di Santo Stefano (the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen) in Pisa: in 1843 the Council of the Order proposed to establish a "boarding school for young nobles" in the

Palazzo della Carovana Palazzo della Carovana (also Palazzo dei Cavalieri) is a palace in Knights' Square, Pisa, Italy, presently housing the main building of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. History It was built in 1562–1564 by Giorgio Vasari for the headqu ...

together with a Scuola Normale. It has to be said that even in the previous period novice Knights were often students of the University of Pisa and therefore the ''Palazzo'' was already, in effect, a "noble college". To study the feasibility of the new project, Grand Duke Leopold II of Lorraine nominated a commission, which re-established the original function of the Scuola Normale Superiore, that of preparing secondary school teachers. On 28 November 1846, a grand-ducal ''Motuproprio'' established the Scuola Normale Toscana, also called ''Imperial Regia Scuola Normale'' (because it was connected to the Austrian system). On 15 November 1847, the new headquarters in

were inaugurated. The new Scuola was "theoretical and practical", intended to "train teachers of secondary schools"; it was a boarding school that offered ten free places (with advantages reserved for the Knights of the Order), which could be accessed by call at the age of eighteen, as well as other paid places. The boarding school was attended exclusively by students of Philosophy and Philology, while students of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the University were aggregated to the Scuola: the latter, however, were required to attend the pedagogy course and to practice teaching by doing teacher training in schools, in keeping with a strong professional connotation which was later to be abandoned. The course of studies lasted three years. In the grand-ducal period the Scuola was affected by the political climate: following the enthusiasm of the ''Risorgimento'', the fear of subversive movements and tumults led to reactionary and confessional attitudes much lamented by the students themselves, including

, who was a student there between 1853 and 1856.

The post-unification period

With the new unified state, the legislative and administrative structure of the Savoy Kingdom was extended to the whole of Italy. The Italian school system was therefore regulated for over sixty years by the Casati law of 1859, originally issued for the Piedmontese and Lombard institutions: based on a centralized model, it gave private bodies the possibility to provide education, at the same time establishing the ''"diritto dello Stato all’insegnamento universitario"(the right of the State regarding university education) '' as well as the right to 'supervise' all the levels of the school system. In Tuscany the provisional government (1859–60) tried to protect the most illustrious local traditions, such as the Normale. After a long debate, in the Senate and in the press, on the opportuneness of maintaining this unique and anomalous institution, in 1862 it was officially named "Scuola Normale del Regno d'Italia". Various draft laws were submitted to the ''Camera'' to establish the Pisan model by extending it to other universities or to reorganize and expand the Scuola Normale of Pisa. But the new unified State, engaged in financial measures and public works deemed to be more urgent, approved, with the decree of 17 August 1862, only some modifications to the Scuola's regulations, so that it could continue to function as a ''Scuola Normale italiana''. The "new" Normale was introduced into the national legal system by the Matteucci Regulations of 1862, which eliminated any religious and confessional aspects, in line with the secular orientation of Italian politics. The years of study became four by ministerial decree in 1863, and a new organizational structure was established. At the educational level, the board of directors was divided into two "sections", Letters and Philosophy and Physics-Mathematics, formed by the relative teaching staff; the latter sections were the forerunners of the current Faculties, under the control of the "Director of Studies". The publishing activity of the Scuola began with the foundation of the two journals (''Annali della classe di scienze'' in 1871 and ''Annali della classe di lettere e filosofia'' in 1873). With the development of the postgraduate course, the Scuola was increasingly taking on the function, as well as of a university college, of a higher institute of scientific education and research. At the political level the role of the "President" of the board of directors was defined as the authority responsible for the moral, educational and economic governance of the Scuola. Finally, at an organizational level, there was the increasingly important role of the ''Provveditore-Economo'', who managed the services as well as the human and financial resources, and had disciplinary jurisdiction over the students. The Matteucci regulations followed those issued by Education Minister Coppino in 1877, establishing the opening of the boarding school also to the section of Sciences and simplifying the complex structure of the previous "Regulations of studies and examinations".

The Gentile Reform

In 1927, three years after the entry into force of the Gentile Reform, new regulations of the Scuola Normale were approved, which removed its qualification function while maintaining that of "preparing for teaching in secondary schools and for the examinations which award qualifications for such teaching" and of promoting postgraduate studies, accessible by all graduates at national level. Nationalist propaganda also took hold within the Normale and the control of the

Regime In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...

became increasingly more invasive, up until the first serious episode of repression, with the arrest in 1928 of three ''normalisti'' for anti-Fascist activity. To deal with the disturbances caused by the political events and the decline of the Scuola, which had increasingly fewer students, the philosopher

, a ''normalista,'' as well as a prominent figure of Italian Fascism, ideologue of the Regime and minister of education, was nominated as commissioner; he later became Director of the Normale, in 1928. Gentile carried out a structural revision of the institution so that it would acquire national importance; to this end he oversaw the expansion of the headquarters and a considerable increase in the number of students and internal activities. His authority, together with the consensus of the Regime, allowed him to find means and collaboration for his project. Meanwhile, the relationship between the State and the Church inaugurated by the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...

facilitated negotiations with the Archbishopric to obtain the availability of the Puteano College building which, together with that of the Timpano, would later be used to house the young ''normalisti'' while the expansion of the

took place. The ''Normale Gentiliana'', recognized by the Royal Decree of 28 July 1932, was inaugurated on 10 December. Equipped with a new Statute, the Scuola became an independent higher education institution, albeit still connected to the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

, and acquired legal status and administrative, educational and disciplinary autonomy. The Normale, affirming its uniqueness in the Italian school system, was expanded above all to educate an increasingly more selected cultural élite. In 1938 the Scuola Normale, like all the universities of the Italian Kingdom, endorsed the racial laws, which affected students and teaching staff. The Normale at that time still had many free-spirited souls in its midst: it was also the Scuola of

– who, a few years from then, would join the Resistance – and formerly of

, theorist of non-violence and firm opponent of the Fascist Regime.

The war and post-war period

The Scuola Normale continued its activity despite the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, although with some regulatory limitations and many practical difficulties. In the meantime, also after the issuing of the racial laws, the dissent towards the Regime was becoming increasingly more evident among students and teaching staff. With the deposition of

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

by the Grand Council on 25 July 1943, the Normale remained under German domination, since geographically it belonged to the territory of the

Republic of Salò The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

. After the tragic air raid on Pisa on 31 August 1943, the new Director, Luigi Russo, threatened with arrest for political reasons, had to leave the city and was replaced by the mathematician Leonida Tonelli, who protected the library and the furnishings of the Palazzo della Carovana, transformed into German barracks, and transferred the most important collections to the nearby Certosa di Calci. On 2 September 1944 the city was liberated, but

was requisitioned by the Anglo-American army: students and teaching staff were relegated to the Puteano College. Luigi Russo, reinstated as Director, continued the work of safeguarding the material of the Scuola and of its library, while the temporary site resumed its activities. On 25 September 1945, the ''Palazzo'' was liberated and, in addition to the restoration of the building, it was decided to issue a call for seventy places for veteran or partisan students. Luigi Russo and Leonida Tonelli initiated a long awareness campaign that allowed them to find financial resources, including contributions not coming from the state, and to create a heritage through donations and purchases, in accordance with a policy that would continue in the following years. The post-war Normale was also the era of women: seventy years from the admittance of the first woman to the Normale, in 1959 a "Female Section" was finally established, with headquarters in Palazzo del Timpano, to enable women to lead a collegial life within the Scuola.

From the post-war period to today

In the 1960s, the Scuola Normale faced the challenges of the "university for the masses". Between 1964 and 1977, under the firm management of Gilberto Bernardini, it affirmed its original vocation for the pure disciplines, renouncing the management of the medical and juridical Colleges (to which the Collegio Pacinotti for applied sciences had been added) : the process that would lead to the establishment of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies began from the latter Colleges. Between 1967 and 1968 students and teachers of the Normale took part in the

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

that had started in Pisa and had spread throughout Italy; at the Normale not only was the entire university system challenged, but also the approach of the Scuola and its fundamental regulations. The difficult dialogue between the institution and its students gave rise to the 1969 Statute, from which the new educational framework of the Scuola and the profile of Institute of Scientific Higher Education emerged: in particular, a significant increase in the internal teaching staff, the foundation and the strengthening of research structures and a rise in the number of undergraduate and postgraduate students were achieved. Finally, the law of 18 June 1989 recognized the equivalence of the Scuola's post-graduate diploma to that of PhDs issued by Italian universities. In the academic year 2014/2015 the teaching curriculum for the postgraduate courses was expanded thanks to the merger with the Istituto di Scienze Umane di Firenze (SUM) (the Institute of Human Sciences of Florence, SUM), now named Department of Political and Social Sciences of the Normale. In 2018 the Normale was federated with the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and with the University Institute of Advanced Studies in Pavia, to offer new educational opportunities that could integrate the skills of the three institutions in certain areas such as economic-political disciplines and the study of the physical-chemical dynamics that influence climate change and the repercussions in the agri-food sector. Following the merger between the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and the Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane (the Italian Institute of Human Sciences),

Palazzo Strozzi Palazzo Strozzi is a palace in Florence, Italy. History The construction of the palace was begun in 1489 by Benedetto da Maiano, for Filippo Strozzi the Elder, a rival of the Medici who had returned to the city in November 1466 and desired the ...

and the Residenza

were added to the buildings dedicated to the activities of the Scuola; the latter building, following its renovation, was assigned to the students of the postgraduate courses of the Department. The Palazzone di Cortona (in the province of Arezzo) must also be added to this real estate; it is a branch of the Scuola used for conferences and summer schools organized also in collaboration with other authorities and academic and research institutions.

Academic structures

The Faculty of Humanities is divided into subject areas, within which the individual courses are organized. The subject areas refer to: Literature, philology and linguistics; Philosophy; History and paleography; History of Art and Archaeology; Ancient history and classical philology. The Faculty of Sciences is divided into subject areas, within which the individual courses are organized. The subject areas are:Chemistry and geology; Physics; Mathematics and computer science; Biological sciences. The Department of Political and Social Sciences covers the subject areas of political and social sciences.

Teaching curriculum

The Scuola Normale Superiore offers both undergraduate education (which corresponds to the university curriculum of the bachelor's and master's degree) and postgraduate (PhD) education.

Undergraduate courses

The undergraduate courses of the SNS (Bachelor's and master's degrees) cover the teaching curriculum of three macro-disciplinary areas: Letters and Philosophy, Sciences and Political-Social Sciences (the latter only for master's degrees).The students selected through competition must follow both the courses taught at the Normale and the corresponding courses of study of the University, respecting rigorous study obligations. Studies are free of charge.

Postgraduate courses (PhD)

The Scuola Normale Superiore was the first Italian institution to create a PhD programme, in 1927. To date, the PhD courses of the Faculty of Humanities are: * Philosophy * History * Italian Studies and Modern Philology * History of Art * Classics The PhD courses of the Faculty of Sciences are: * Astrochemistry * Data Science * Physics * Maths * Mathematics for finance * Methods and models for molecular sciences * Nanosciences * Neuroscience The PhD courses of the Department of Political and Social Sciences are: * Political science and sociology * Transnational Governance

Admission

Admission to the undergraduate courses and to the postgraduate courses (PhD) takes place by competition. You can access the Normale from the first year of university, or after obtaining a three-year degree. Finally, you can be admitted to the Scuola as a postgraduate student (PhD). For admission to the undergraduate courses, a commission formed by the research staff of the Scuola Normale and of other universities assesses candidates, attempting to identify talent for study and research. The tests, which usually take place in August and September, are written and oral, and concern the disciplinary fields chosen by candidates for their academic career. The exam topics are studied in such a way that admission to the Scuola is guaranteed not for notional and mnemonic skills but rather for originality and intuition. For access to the first year, A-level results and any other previous qualifications are not assessed during the exam. For access to the fourth year, results obtained for the bachelor's degree and any other previous qualifications are not assessed during the exam. The selection is rigorous: only about 5% of those who take part in the competition are usually admitted. Students of the Scuola Normale Superiore do not pay any fees for their studies: university fees are reimbursed and accommodation and board are free. For admission to the Postgraduate Course (PhD) the competition, open to graduates from all over the world, is based on qualifications and exams. Those selected receive a scholarship, as well as additional ad hoc grants for research activities in Italy and abroad.

Campus

The Scuola Normale is located in its original historical building, called

, in Piazza dei Cavalieri, in the medieval centre of Pisa.

Library

The Library was established at the same time as the Scuola and is an essential tool for teaching and research. It currently occupies three locations overlooking Piazza dei Cavalieri – the Palazzo dell'Orologio, the Palazzo della Canonica and a part of the

– and, a short distance away, the location of Palazzo del Capitano. The book collection, for the most part with open shelves, has now exceeded one million volumes in total. It focuses on the disciplines under study at the Normale, and also houses texts on information science, bibliography and librarianship. In addition to the regular acquisitions, it has also been enriched by donations by various scholars connected to the Scuola; among these we can mention

Eugenio Garin Eugenio Garin (May 9, 1909 – December 29, 2004) was an Italian philosopher and Renaissance historian. He was recognised as an authority on the cultural history of the Renaissance. Born at Rieti, Garin studied philosophy at the University of Flore ...

, Michele Barbi, Francesco Flamini,

Cesare Luporini Cesare Luporini (20 August 1909 – 9 April 1993) was an Italian philosopher, historian of philosophy and politician. Biography Luporini was born in Ferrara, but lived in Florence since childhood. Luporini graduated from the University of Floren ...

Vittore Branca Vittore Branca (9 July 1913 in Savona – 28 May 2004 in Venice) was a philologist, literary critic, and Italian academic. He was a professor emeritus of Italian literature at the University of Padua until his death in 2004, and one of the most a ...

Giorgio Pasquali Giorgio Pasquali (29 April 1885, Rome9 July 1952, Belluno) was an Italian classical scholar who made a fundamental contribution to the field of textual criticism. He studied classical philology at La Sapienza University of Rome, graduating in 19 ...

Arnaldo Momigliano Arnaldo Dante Momigliano (5 September 1908 – 1 September 1987) was an Italian historian of classical antiquity, known for his work in historiography, and characterised by Donald Kagan as "the world's leading student of the writing of history i ...

, Paul Oskar Kristeller, Delio Cantimori,

Sebastiano Timpanaro Sebastiano Timpanaro (September 5, 1923 in Parma – November 26, 2000 in Florence) was an Italian classical philologist, essayist, and literary critic. He was also a long-time Marxist who made important contributions to left-wing political c ...

, Clifford Truesdell and Ettore Passerin d'Entrèves. A digital library is also being developed as part of the library service.

Research centres and laboratories

The research centres and the laboratories operating at the Normale are: * Bio@SNS – Laboratorio di Biologia(Biology Laboratory) * CRM – Centro di Ricerca Matematica Ennio De Giorgi (Ennio De Giorgi Mathematics Research Centre) * DocStAr – Documentazione Storico Artistica (Artistic Historical Documentation) * NEST – National Enterprise for nanoScience and nanoTechnology * SAET – Storia, Archeologia, Epigrafia, Tradizione dell'antico (History, Archaeology, Epigraphy, Tradition of the ancient) * SMART – Strategie Multidisciplinari Applicate alla Ricerca e alla Tecnologia (Multidisciplinary Strategies Applied to Research and Technology) * STAR – Systems and Theories for Astrochemical Research

Colleges and canteen

The students of the Scuola Normale, in Pisa, are currently housed in four colleges, located in the town: * The

Carducci Carducci is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bartolomeo Carducci (1560–1610), Florentine artist * Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), Italian poet * Joe Carducci (born 1955), American writer and record producer * Marco ...

College is located in via Turati, not far from Pisa central station; it has been owned by the Scuola since 1994. Partially restored in 2002, it is also being renovated at the moment. This building was dedicated to the illustrious poet and scholar,

, who was an undergraduate student of the faculty of humanities from 1853 to 1856 and a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner for literature in 1906. * The Fermi college, owned by the Scuola since 1993, is located a few steps away from the

and has been used as accommodation for students since 1996. It is dedicated to the distinguished Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, a ''normalista'' as well as

winner for physics in 1938. * The

Faedo Faedo (german: Pfaid) was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about north of Trento. Faedo was annexed to the municipality of San Michele all'Adige as of 1 January 2020. A ...

College, which opened in 2006, is the last residential college acquired by the Scuola Normale and is shared with the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. The building is located in Via del Giardino, near the Palazzo di Giustizia, and is dedicated to Alessandro Faedo, a ''normalista'' who subsequently became rector of the

, president of the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

and senator. * The Timpano College was the first real estate donation to the Scuola, in 1932: located on the Lungarno Pacinotti, it was donated to the Scuola by a singular character, the Calabrian Domenico Timpano, who had made a fortune selling, in the United States at the time of Prohibition, alcohol-based restorative products from his pharmaceutical industry. The building, damaged during the

by the explosion of the nearby Ponte Solferino, was rebuilt in the 1950s, and was initially the female housing section for students of the Scuola Normale Superiore. Currently it is assigned to students and scholarship holders and is divided into three colleges: Timpano, Timpanino and Acconci (the latter acquired in 1967). Students of the postgraduate course do not usually stay in the colleges, but receive a monthly grant for accommodation; in

, however, the Residenza Capitini – a building owned by the City of Florence, recently renovated with funds made available by the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research – can accommodate students of the postgraduate courses of the Department of Political and Social Sciences . Those who have right of access to the canteen of the Scuola Normale, located on the lower floors of Palazzo D'Ancona (in the immediate vicinity of the Palazzo della Carovana, in Via Consoli del Mare 5) are: undergraduate students, Italian and international PhD students, research grant holders, scholarship holders, teaching and administrative staff, and guests of the Scuola. Piazza dei Cavalieri and Palazzo dell'Orologio - Pisa 2014

Piazza dei Cavalieri and Palazzo dell'Orologio - Pisa 2014

Rankings

*The Academic Ranking of World Universities puts this system at the first place in Italy (National Rank # 1) and within the best 30 universities in Europe. * Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, together with Scuola Normale Superiore are named as leading institutions in ''Italy's six top higher education institutes'' by

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...

, where for 2014–2015 was ranked at 63rd place in the world and 15th in Europe. As for 2019 rankings,

puts Scuola Normale Superiore 161 place in the world and 2nd in Italy. According to

, Scuola Normale Superiore is the first in Italy for teaching. * According to

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

, Scuola Normale Superiore are part of the initiative "Invest Your Talent in Italy" which puts Italian graduate programmes on the world's stage. * The European Research Ranking, a ranking based on publicly available data from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

database puts

Pisa University System The Pisa University System ( it, Sistema Universitario Pisano) is a network of higher education institutions in Pisa, Italy. The following three schools and universities belong to the system: * Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa * Sant'Anna School ...

among the best in Italy and best performing European research institutions.

Notable alumni and faculty

Notable alumni and faculty of the Scuola Normale include: *

Aldo Andreotti Aldo Andreotti (15 March 1924 – 21 February 1980) was an Italian mathematician who worked on algebraic geometry, on the theory of functions of several complex variables and on partial differential operators. Notably he proved the Andreotti– ...

, mathematician, noted for his fundamental contributions to the theory of functions of several complex variables * Giuliano Amato, politician and former

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

, also studied at the Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies * Paola Barocchi, Art historian * Luigi Bianchi, mathematician, a leading member of the vigorous geometric school which flourished in Italy during the later years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century *

, poet, 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature *

Antonio Cassese Antonio Cassese (1 January 1937 – 21 October 2011) was an Italian jurist who specialized in public international law. He was the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the first President of the Sp ...

, jurist who specialized in

public international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

, President of the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and prosecution of those responsib ...

, also studied at the Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies *

Sabino Cassese Sabino Cassese (born 20 October 1935) is an Italian Professor of Administrative Law and a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy. Education and career Cassese graduated (October 1956) ''summa cum laude'' in law from the University o ...

, Professor of Administrative Law and a judge of the

Constitutional Court of Italy The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic ( it, Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana) is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name ''Consulta'' is used as a metonym for it, because its sessi ...

, also studied at the Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies * Lamberto Cesari, mathematician, remembered for his achievements on the

Plateau's problem In mathematics, Plateau's problem is to show the existence of a minimal surface with a given boundary, a problem raised by Joseph-Louis Lagrange in 1760. However, it is named after Joseph Plateau who experimented with soap films. The problem ...

, on the theory of parametric

minimal surface In mathematics, a minimal surface is a surface that locally minimizes its area. This is equivalent to having zero mean curvature (see definitions below). The term "minimal surface" is used because these surfaces originally arose as surfaces tha ...

s, on Lebesgue measure of continuous and related other variational problems: he also worked in the field of optimal control and studied periodic solutions of systems of nonlinear

ordinary differential equation In mathematics, an ordinary differential equation (ODE) is a differential equation whose unknown(s) consists of one (or more) function(s) of one variable and involves the derivatives of those functions. The term ''ordinary'' is used in contrast ...

s by using methods of nonlinear

functional analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (e.g. inner product, norm, topology, etc.) and the linear functions defined o ...

, Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and tenth

President of the Italian Republic President most commonly refers to: * President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

from 1999 to 2006. Until his death, he served as Senator for life in the Italian Senate * Pietro Citati, writer and literary critic *

, President of the Italian Cabinet * Ennio De Giorgi, mathematician who worked on partial differential equations and the foundations of mathematics, solved the 19th Hilbert problem, won

Wolf Prize The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for ''"achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nati ...

in 1990 * Enrico Fermi, physicist, 1938

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

for his work on

induced radioactivity Induced radioactivity, also called artificial radioactivity or man-made radioactivity, is the process of using radiation to make a previously stable material radioactive. The husband and wife team of Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot-Curi ...

, particularly known for his work on the development of the first

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of

quantum theory Quantum theory may refer to: Science *Quantum mechanics, a major field of physics *Old quantum theory, predating modern quantum mechanics * Quantum field theory, an area of quantum mechanics that includes: ** Quantum electrodynamics ** Quantum ...

, nuclear and

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

, and statistical mechanics. Fermi is widely regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, highly accomplished in both theory and experiment. Along with J. Robert Oppenheimer, he is frequently referred to as "the father of the atomic bomb". *

, mathematician, 2018 Fields Medal winner. He works primarily on calculus of variations and partial differential equations. *

Guido Fubini Guido Fubini (19 January 1879 – 6 June 1943) was an Italian mathematician, known for Fubini's theorem and the Fubini–Study metric. Life Born in Venice, he was steered towards mathematics at an early age by his teachers and his father, wh ...

, mathematician, known for

Fubini's theorem In mathematical analysis Fubini's theorem is a result that gives conditions under which it is possible to compute a double integral by using an iterated integral, introduced by Guido Fubini in 1907. One may switch the order of integration if th ...

and the Fubini–Study metric *

, Minister of Public Education (1923) and neo-

Hegelian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

Idealist philosopher, a peer of Benedetto Croce, described himself as 'the philosopher of

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

', and ghostwrote '' A Doctrine of Fascism'' (1932) for Benito Mussolini, also devised his own system of philosophy,

Actual Idealism Actual idealism was a form of idealism, developed by Giovanni Gentile, that grew into a "grounded" idealism, contrasting the transcendental idealism of Immanuel Kant, and the absolute idealism of G. W. F. Hegel. To Gentile, who considered himself ...

, and Professor at the Scuola Normale Superiore * Carlo Ginzburg, noted historian and proponent of the field of

microhistory Microhistory is a genre of history that focuses on small units of research, such as an event, community, individual or a settlement. In its ambition, however, microhistory can be distinguished from a simple case study insofar as microhistory aspires ...

. He is best known for his ''Il formaggio e I vermi'' (1976, English title: ''The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth Century Miller'') which examined the beliefs of an Italian heretic, Menocchio, from Montereale Valcellina * Giovanni Gronchi, politician, President of Italy from 1955 to 1962 * Eugenio Elia Levi, mathematician, noted for his fundamental contributions to

group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as group (mathematics), groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as ring (mathematics), rings, field ...

, the theory of partial differential equations and theory of functions of several complex variables * Michela Marzano, philosopher, writer * Medea Norsa, Papyrologist * Francesco Orlando, Literary Theorist *

Knight Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN * Francesco Ruggiero, contributor to the design of the Large Hadron Collider * Salvatore Settis, archeologist, former director of the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities and also of the Scuola Normale itself, now President of the Scientif Committee of the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

* Walter Siti, writer * Ruxandra Sireteanu, neuroscientist * Leonida Tonelli, mathematician, most noted for creating Tonelli's theorem, usually considered a forerunner to

. *

Vito Volterra Vito Volterra (, ; 3 May 1860 – 11 October 1940) was an Italian mathematician and physicist, known for his contributions to mathematical biology and integral equations, being one of the founders of functional analysis. Biography Born in An ...

, mathematician and physicist, known for his contributions to mathematical biology and integral equations. * Jiyuan Yu, moral philosopher noted for his work on

virtue ethics Virtue ethics (also aretaic ethics, from Greek ἀρετή arete_(moral_virtue).html"_;"title="'arete_(moral_virtue)">aretḗ''_is_an_approach_to_ethics_that_treats_the_concept_of_virtue.html" ;"title="arete_(moral_virtue)">aretḗ''.html" ; ...

The ''Associazione Normalisti'' and the ''Normale'' bulletin

Various associations of alumni and professors have been operative at the Scuola at various stages of its history. After the first initiative by the philosopher

in 1933, later revitalized in the 1950s, in 1997, at the proposal of Alessandro Faedo, the current Association was founded, simply called ''Associazione Normalisti''. The current president is Roberto Cerreto; previous presidents were Luigi Arialdo Radicati di Brozolo, Claudio Cesa,

Franco Montanari Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

and Umberto Sampieri.

was an honorary president. The Association publishes the Normale bulletin every six months or every year; the bulletin is the official organ of the association, registered at the Tribunal of Pisa; its current graphic design is the work of Paolo Peluffo, former ''Consigliere per la Stampa e l'Informazione del Presidente della Repubblica'' (Press and Information Councillor of the President of the Republic) and ''sottosegretario di Stato alla Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri'' (Undersecretary of State at the President's Office of the Cabinet) of the Monti Government. The director is Andrea Bianchi.

Cinema and literature

Some narrative works of the 21st century are set at the Scuola Normale Superiore, such as ''L'etica dell'Aquario'' by Ilaria Gaspari and some pages by Walter Siti of ''Scuola'' ''di'' ''nudo.'' The Scuola Normale also features in

Elena Ferrante Elena Ferrante () is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. Her four-book series of ''Neapolitan Novels'' are her most widely known works. ''Time'' magazine ...

's ''The Story of a New Name'' (2013), second installment of the four-volume work known as the ''

Neapolitan Novels The Neapolitan Novels, also known as the Neapolitan Quartet, are a four-part series of fiction by the pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante, published originally by Edizioni e/o, translated into English by Ann Goldstein, and published by Eu ...

'': the protagonist of the novel, Elena, is admitted to the Normale and describes her years in Pisa. The Scuola Normale Superiore has also appeared in the following films: '' Now or Never (Ora o mai più)'' and ''Il Giocatore invisibile.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scuola Normale Superiore Di Pisa Education in Pisa Buildings and structures in Pisa Universities in Tuscany Educational institutions established in 1810 1810 establishments in the First French Empire Universities and colleges formed by merger