The University of Palermo () is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, Italy. It was founded in 1806, and is currently organized in 12 Faculties.

History

The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its earliest roots date back to 1498 when

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

were taught there. Starting from the second half of the 16th century, from their seat at the Collegio Massimo al Cassero, the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Fathers granted degrees in

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

- subjects in which they had been masters for over 200 years. In 1767 they were expelled from the kingdom by Ferdinand I, until 37 years later, when they returned to take their seat - which in the meantime had been turned into the Regia Accademia. At this time, Ferdinand I decided to grant a good seat to the Accademia, moving its location to the Convent of the Teatini Fathers next to the Church of St. Giuseppe. In 1806, the university was officially founded. After the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

in 1860, the University of Palermo was modernized under the impetus of the chemist

Stanislao Cannizzaro Stanislao Cannizzaro ( , , ; 13 July 1826 – 10 May 1910) was an Italian chemist. He is famous for the Cannizzaro reaction and for his influential role in the atomic-weight deliberations of the Karlsruhe Congress in 1860. Biography Ca ...

, and the minister and specialist in

Arab studies Arab studies or Arabic studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Arabs and Arab World. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography, archaeology, cultural studies, economics, geog ...

Michele Amari Michele Benedetto Gaetano Amari (7 July 1806 in Palermo – 16 July 1889 in Florence) was a Sicilian patriot, liberal revolutionary and politician of aristocratic background, historian and orientalist. He rose to prominence as a champion of ...

, more or less assuming its present appearance. Since 1984 the main building of the University, housing the Rector's office, is Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri, one of the most important historical buildings in Palermo, built in 1307 and formerly the residence of the Chiaramonte. Not far from Palazzo Steri, on land formerly belonging to the

Chiaramonte The Chiaramonte are a noble family of Sicily. They became the most powerful and wealthy family in Sicily. In the 13th century the marriage of Manfredi Chiaramonte to Isabella Mosca, united the two Sicilian counties of Modica and Ragusa. Ar ...

, the

Botanical Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

constitute a renowned part of the university. Today, the university has grown to be an institution of about 2000 lecturers and 50,000 students in which research in various fields of study is carried out. In the past few years, the university has actively taken part in international cooperation programmes.

Organization

File:Palermo01.jpg, Faculty of Science, University of Palermo File:Facoltà di Architettura a Palermo.jpg, Faculty of Architecture, University of Palermo File:University of Palermo - Art and Architecture building.jpg, Inside the University of Palermo's Art and Architecture building These are the 12 faculties in which the university is divided into: * Faculty of

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

* Faculty of

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

* Faculty of

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

and

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

* Faculty of

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

* Faculty of

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

* Faculty of

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Faculty of

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

* Faculty of

Mathematical Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, Physical and

Natural Sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

* Faculty of

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

* Faculty of

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

* Faculty of

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

* Faculty of

Political Sciences Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

Journal

University of Palermo has been publishing ''Mythos: Rivista di Storia delle Religioni'', an annual

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

published by Giuseppe Sciascia Editore. It was established in 1989 by Giuseppe Martorana, with a new series started in 2007. It reviews religious

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

and

mythos Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

in Italian, French, English, German, and Spanish. The current

editors-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

are Nicola Cusumano (University of Palermo) and Corinne Bonnet (

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...

Notable people

Alumni

* Giuseppe Alessi *

Giuseppe Ayala Giuseppe Ayala (born 18 May 1945 in Caltanissetta) is an Italian politician and magistrate. He was known as an "anti-mafia" magistrate, and served as "anti-Mafia" judge. He raised doubts about whether it was only the Mafia that was involved in ...

Ernesto Basile Ernesto Basile (31 January 1857 – 26 August 1932, in Palermo) was an Italian architect and an exponent of modernisme and Liberty style, the Italian variant of Art Nouveau. His style was known for its eclectic fusion of ancient, medieval a ...

* Giovanni Battista Filippo Basile *

Giulia Bongiorno Giulia Bongiorno (born 22 March 1966) is an Italian lawyer and politician who served as the Italian Minister of Public Administration from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019. A prominent criminal defense attorney, she has served in both houses of th ...

Paolo Borsellino Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of ...

Gesualdo Bufalino Gesualdo Bufalino (; 15 November 1920 – 14 June 1996), was an Italian writer who lived in Sicily for most of his life. Biography Bufalino was born in Comiso, Sicily. His father was a blacksmith. He went to school in Ragusa and attended Univers ...

* Diego Cammarata * Bruno Caruso *

Rocco Chinnici Rocco Chinnici (, ; 19 January 1925 – 29 July 1983) was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate killed by the Sicilian Mafia. Life Born at Misilmeri, Chinnici graduated in law at the University of Palermo in 1947 and started working as a magistrate i ...

Francesco Crispi Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architect ...

Salvatore Cuffaro Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro (born 21 February 1958) is a former Italian politician and former President of Sicily. He has served an almost 5-year jail sentence for aiding Cosa Nostra.Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...

Mario Fasino Mario Fasino (26 July 1920 – 17 January 2017) was an Italian politician, journalist, and one of the co-founders of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democratic Party (DC) in Sicily. He served as the President of Sicily, President of the R ...

* Paolo Giaccone *

Giovanni Gioia Giovanni Gioia (16 January 1925 – 27 November 1981) was an Italian politician. Biography Giovanni Gioia was grandson of the industrialist Filippo Pecoraino and had kinship relationships with Tagliavia shipowners. Gioia was one of the most infl ...

Pietro Grasso Pietro Grasso (; born 1 January 1945), also known as Piero Grasso, is an Italian anti-mafia magistrate and politician who served as President of the Senate from 2013 to 2018. Grasso became the Acting President of Italy on 14 January 2015, upon th ...

* Enrico La Loggia * Giuseppe La Loggia *

Pio La Torre Pio La Torre (; 24 December 1927 – 30 April 1982) was a leader of the Italian Communist Party (''Partito Comunista Italiano'', PCI). He was killed by the Mafia after he initiated a law that introduced a new crime in the Italian legal system ...

* Salvatore Lauricella *

Rosario Livatino Rosario Angelo Livatino (; 3 October 1952 – 21 September 1990) was an Italian magistrate who was murdered by the Stidda, a Sicilian Mafia-type criminal organization, and Beatified by the Catholic Church. Biography Livatino was born in Canicat ...

Filippo Mancuso Filippo Mancuso (22 July 1922 – 30 May 2011) was an Italian judge and politician. In 1995 he was Italy's Minister of Justice in the government of Lamberto Dini. The Italian Senate voted a motion of no confidence against him and this fact was t ...

Calogero Mannino Calogero Antonio Mannino (born August 20, 1939) is an Italian politician and lawyer. He has been a member of the Christian Democracy and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats. He served in the cabinet of Prime Ministers Spadolini (1981–19 ...

Bernardo Mattarella Bernardo Mattarella (15 September 1905 – 1 March 1971) was an Italian politician for the Christian Democrat party (''Democrazia Cristiana'', DC). He was a cabinet minister of Italy several times, becoming one of the most important politicians ...

Francesca Morvillo Francesca Laura Morvillo (; 14 December 1945 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian magistrate, wife of Giovanni Falcone and victim of the Sicilian Mafia. On 23 May 1992, she, her husband and three police officers on their security detail were kil ...

Gaetano Mosca Gaetano Mosca (; 1 April 1858 – 8 November 1941) was an Italian political scientist, journalist and public servant. He is credited with developing the elite theory and the doctrine of the political class and is one of the three members const ...

Francesco Musotto Francesco Musotto (born 1 February 1947 in Palermo) was an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Islands (elected for the first time in 1999). He is the son of Giovanni Musotto, a notable professor in criminal law at the ...

Leoluca Orlando Leoluca Orlando (born 1 August 1947) is an Italian politician. He was mayor of Palermo for over twenty years and was president of the Italian Federation of American Football (FIDAF). He is best known for his strong opposition to the Sicilian Ma ...

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (; 19 May 1860 – 1 December 1952) was an Italian statesman, who served as the prime minister of Italy from October 1917 to June 1919. Orlando is best known for representing Italy in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference with ...

* Ettore Paratore * Emanuele Paternò *

Mino Pecorelli Carmine "Mino" Pecorelli (; 14 September 1928 – 20 March 1979) was an Italian journalist, shot dead in Rome a year after former prime minister Aldo Moro's 1978 kidnapping and subsequent killing. He was described as a "maverick journalist w ...

Giovanni Pitruzzella Giovanni Pitruzzella (born 15 July 1959) is an Italian jurist and academic who has served as a Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy since 14 November 2023. He concurrently serves as an Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the Europe ...

Valentino Picone Salvatore Ficarra (born 27 May 1971, in Palermo) and Valentino Picone (born 23 March 1971, in Palermo) are an Italian comedy duo who work on stage, films, television and books as Ficarra e Picone. Life and career They started in 1993 along w ...

Elda Pucci Elda Pucci (21 February 1928 – 14 October 2005) was an Italian politician and professor. Biography Elda Pucci was born in Trapani, Italy in 1928 and died in Palermo, Italy in 2005 at the age of 77. She is daughter of Stefano Pucci. She graduat ...

Franco Restivo Franco Restivo (25 May 1911 – 17 April 1976) was an Italian politician. Biography Franco Restivo was son of Empedocle Restivo, a jurist and national deputy. He studied law at the University of Palermo and in 1943 he became a professor of const ...

* Antonino Saetta * Amedeo di Savoia * Pietro Scaglione *

Renato Schifani Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (; born 11 May 1950) is an Italian politician who has served as the president of Sicily since 13 October 2022. Schifani was Silvio Berlusconi's chief whip and was a prominent member of the Senate of the Republic f ...

* Enzo Sellerio *

Antonio Starabba di Rudinì Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...

Carlo Vizzini Carlo Vizzini (born 28 April 1947 in Palermo) is an Italian politician. He was involved in the corruption scandal of Tangentopoli. Vizzini was found guilty but benefited from the statute of limitations and did not serve his sentence. Political l ...

Antonino Zichichi Antonino Zichichi (; born 15 October 1929) is an Italian physicist who has worked in the field of nuclear physics. He has served as President of the World Federation of Scientists and as a professor at the University of Bologna. Biography Zichic ...

Notable professors

, famous for the

Cannizzaro reaction The Cannizzaro reaction, named after its discoverer Stanislao Cannizzaro, is a chemical reaction which involves the base-induced disproportionation of two molecules of a non-enolizable aldehyde to give a primary alcohol and a carboxylic acid. ...

and for his influential role in the atomic-weight deliberations of the

Karlsruhe Congress The Karlsruhe Congress was an international meeting of chemists organized by August Kekulé and held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 3 to 5 September 1860. It was the first international conference of chemistry with 140 participants. The conference ...

in 1860. * Pepi Fabbiano, astrophysicist * Gaetano Giorgio Gemmellaro *

Sergio Mattarella Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...

President of Italy The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Politics of Italy, Italian politics comply with the Consti ...

Giuseppe Piazzi Giuseppe Piazzi ( , ; 16 July 1746 – 22 July 1826) was an Italian Catholic Church, Catholic priest of the Theatines, Theatine order, mathematician, and astronomer. He established an observatory at Palermo, now the ''Palermo Astronomical Ob ...

, his most famous discovery was the first dwarf planet, Ceres. * Antonino Salinas *

Natalino Sapegno Natalino Sapegno (10 November 1901 - 11 April 1990) was a literary critic and Italian academician. He came to prominence as a leading scholar of fourteenth century Italian literature. Biography Provenance and early years Sapegno was born ...

, He came to prominence as a leading scholar of fourteenth century Italian literature. * Gioacchino Scaduto *

Emilio Segrè Emilio Gino Segrè ( ; ; 1 February 1905 – 22 April 1989) was an Italian-American nuclear physicist and radiochemist who discovered the elements technetium and astatine, and the antiproton, a subatomic antiparticle, for which he was award ...

, awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

in 1959 *

Angelo Torricelli Angelo Torricelli (born 1946 in Milan, Italy) is an Italian architect. Biography Torricelli was born in Milan in 1946. He graduated from Polytechnic University of Milan's Faculty of Architecture in 1969. Full professor in Architectural compo ...

, architecture professor

Notes and references

External links

* *
History of the University of Palermo
* Paglia, Robert

Blog Post, Best of Sicily Magazine, 2003 * {{authority control

Schools in Palermo Buildings and structures in Palermo 1806 establishments in the Kingdom of Sicily 1806 establishments in Italy

History

Organization

Journal

Notable people

Alumni

Notable professors

Notes and references

See also

External links