The University of Urbino Carlo Bo (, ''UniUrb'') is an Italian university located in

Urbino Urbino ( , ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, southwest of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially und ...

, in the region of

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, in north-eastern central Italy. The main campus occupies numerous buildings throughout the historic Urbino town center and the nearby countryside, with a branch campus in

Fano Fano () is a city and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by pop ...

. The university's enrollment in 2019 was 11,646 undergraduate students and 2,230 graduate students, with 858 full-time or part-time instructional and research faculty across various departments. The University of Urbino is renowned for teaching and research in

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

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 ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

. Until 2006 it was a free university.

History

The University of Urbino was founded 519 years ago in 1506 by

Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Guidobaldo (or Guido Ubaldo) da Montefeltro (25 January 1472 – 10 April 1508), also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508. Biography Born in Gubbio, he succeeded his father Federico da Mon ...

, the Duke of Urbino. One year later, the magistracy of Urbino was granted power to award doctorates in canon and civil law by

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

from

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

. Starting in the 1960s, under the guidance of

Carlo Bo Carlo Bo (25 January 1911 – 21 July 2001) was an Italian poet, literary critic, distinguished humanist, professor and senator for life from 1984. Biography Bo was born on January 25, 1911, in Sestri Levante, Italy. From 1929 to 1934, he a ...

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, the university succeeded in buying up numerous derelict buildings in the historic center of Urbino. The numerous buildings which have since been restored are used by the university as department centers, classrooms, and libraries. It was under the long-lasting rectorship of professor Carlo Bo, distinguished humanist and

Senator for Life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , five Italian senators out of 205, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

, that the university enjoyed unprecedented growth in size and prestige, prompting the former president of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...

, to state that "the University of Urbino is an incisive presence in contemporary thought, contributing in original ways to the cultural and intellectual life of Europe". This was also the period in which architect

Giancarlo De Carlo Giancarlo De Carlo (1919−2005) was an Italian architect and anarchist. He was a member of the ''Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne'' (CIAM) and became closely linked to Urbino as its town planner and creator of its master plan. Thr ...

designed and built the University Halls of Residence and redesigned and modernized several of the university's other buildings. In 2003, the university was named after Carlo Bo, after serving as rector for fifty-four years from 1947 until his death in 2001.

Organization

Departments

Until 2013 the university was divided into 11 faculties: * Faculty of Economics * Faculty of Education * Faculty of Environmental Sciences * Faculty of Law * Faculty of Literature and philosophy * Faculty of

Mathematics 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 ...

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 ...

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

Modern Languages A modern language is any human language that is currently in use as a native language. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead clas ...

and Literature * 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 Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

* Faculty of Sociology * Faculty of

Sport Sciences Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

Following the approval of the so-called '' Gelmini reform'' in 2009, and starting from the 2013/2014 academic year, the faculty-based organisation was replaced by a department-based structure. It is currently composed of the following departments and institutes: * Department of Pure and Applied Sciences (DISPeA) * Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies. Cultures, Languages, Literatures, Arts, Media (DISCUI) * Department of Economics, Society, Politics (DESP) * Department of

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 ...

(DISTUM) * Department of Law (DIGIUR) * Department of Biomolecular Sciences (DISB) * Superior Institute of

Religious Sciences In perennial philosophy, ''scientia sacra'' or sacred science is a form of spiritual knowledge that lies at the heart of both divine revelations and traditional sciences, embodying the very essence of every sacred tradition. It recognizes source ...

'Italo Mancini' (ISSR) * Institute of

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

(Ifg)

Ranking

Libraries

The University offers to students and staff a number of libraries making up the University Library System, such as the Library for Modern and Contemporary European Literature from the charitable 'Carlo and Marise Bo' foundation.

Colleges

The University does not have its own

residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

s. However, a number of colleges and dormitories for University of Urbino students are owned and managed by the

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

office for the right to academic education. They include four colleges (''Vela'', ''Tridente'', ''Aquilone'' and ''Serpentine'') and one female dormitory (''Casa Studentessa'') in Urbino, one college located in the scientific campus between Urbino and

Fermignano Fermignano (Romagnol: ''Fermignèn'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. Renaissance architect Donato Bramante (1444-1514) ...

, and a number of rented private accommodation blocks in

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

and

, paid for by the regional government.

Prizes

The Commandino Medal is awarded by the University every year in recognition of extraordinary contributions in the history of science. The commission charged with awarding the Commandino medal is appointed by the Director of the International Study Center ''Urbino and Perspective. Scientific humanism from Piero and Leonardo to the Galilean revolution ''and the candidates are chosen according to their contributions to the history of science. It has been awarded annually since 2014, with no award being made in 2019. The 2021 and 2022 medals were awarded in 2022 and 2023. Awardees:

Reviel Netz Reviel Netz (Hebrew: רויאל נץ; born January 2, 1968) is an Israeli scholar of the history of pre-modern mathematics, who is currently a professor of classics and of philosophy at Stanford University. Life and work Netz was born January 2 ...

(Israel, 2014), (Canada, 2015), Enrico Gamba (Italy, 2016),

Roger Penrose Sir Roger Penrose (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematician, mathematical physicist, Philosophy of science, philosopher of science and Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics i ...

(UK, 2017),

Jürgen Renn Jürgen Renn (born 11 July 1956 in Moers, West Germany) is a German historian of science, and since 2022 Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena. Short biography Renn studied physics at the Free University of ...

(Germany, 2018), Monica Ugaglia (Italy, 2020), Victor Pambuccian (Romania, 2021),

Karine Chemla Karine Chemla (born 8 February 1957) is a French historian of mathematics and sinologist who works as a director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). She is also a senior fellow at the New York University In ...

(France, 2022). The Dal Monte Medal is awarded by the University every year in recognition of contributions in the history of science by young researchers. It was inaugurated in 2022. Awardees: Vincenzo de Risi (Italy, 2022), Flavia Marcacci (Italy, 2023).

Notable people

Alumni

Majlinda Bregu Majlinda Bregu (born 19 May 1974) is an Albanian politician and diplomat. She served as Minister of European Integration and Government Spokeswoman from 2007 to 2013 in the Berisha cabinet. A member of the Albanian Parliament from 2005 until 2 ...

, politician, minister of European Integration of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

(2009–2013) *

Duccia Camiciotti Duccia Camiciotti (19 March 1928 – 7 July 2014) was an Italian poet, writer and essayist. Studies and early life Camiciotti's studies were founded in the Classics. She attended Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts (Silvio d’Amico Acc ...

, poet and writer *

Lorella Cedroni Lorella Cedroni (24 May 1961 – 28 August 2013) was an Italian political philosopher. Career Cedroni studied political science (Sapienza University of Rome, 1984) and philosophy (University of Urbino, 1991), receiving a Ph.D. in Politica ...

political philosopher Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from de ...

Valeria Ciavatta Valeria Ciavatta (born 16 January 1959) is a Sammarinese politician, who was a co- captain-regent (joint head of state) of San Marino along with Luca Beccari for the semester of April to September 2014. She is a member of the Popular Alliance of ...

, politician,

captain regent Captains Regent (; ) are the two heads of state of the Republic of San Marino. They are elected every six months by the Grand and General Council, the country's legislative body. Normally the Regents are chosen from parties in coalition and s ...

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

in 2003–2004 and in 2014 * Ivo Mattozzi, historian *

Alessia Morani Alessia Morani (born 3 January 1976) is an Italian politician. Biography Born in Sassocorvaro, in 2001 Morani graduated in law at the University of Urbino. Between 2006 and 2013 she was a member of the board of directors of Pesaro Studi, Fo ...

, politician, MP since 2013 *

Alessandra Moretti Alessandra Moretti (born 24 June 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. Early life and education Born in Vicenza, Moretti graduated in law at the University of Urbino and began wor ...

, politician, MP (2013–2014) and MEP (2014–2015) * Giuseppe Novelli,

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

* Mario Pappagallo, journalist *

Giovanna Trillini Giovanna Trillini (born 17 May 1970 in Jesi) is an Italian foil fencer. She is a 4-time Olympic champion (3 times in the team event, 1 time individual) and won an additional silver and two bronze medals in individual Olympic competitions. Bio ...

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

fencer, multiple medalist at

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

and

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Faculty and staff

19th century

* Giovanni de' Brignoli di Brünnhoff,

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, founder of the Orto Botanico "Pierina Scaramella" *

Alessandro Serpieri Alessandro Serpieri (31 October 1823, San Giovanni in Marignano, near Rimini, – 22 February 1885, Fiesole) was an Italian scientist known for work in astronomy and seismology. Early life Serpieri's early education was received in Rimini from t ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and

seismologist Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

20th century

* Anna Maria Bisi, archaeologist *

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , five Italian senators out of 205, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

(1984–2001),

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the university (1947–2001) *

Sabino Cassese Sabino Cassese (born 20 October 1935) is an Italian jurist, former minister for the public function in the Ciampi government (1993–1994), and judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy (2005–2014). Education and career Justice Emeritus ...

constitutional lawyer Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...

, minister of Public Administration (1993–1994), member of the

Constitutional Court of Italy The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic () is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name ''Consulta'' is used as a metonym for it, because its sessions are held in Palazzo della Consulta in Rome. ...

(2005–2014) * Umberto Piersanti, poet and sociologist of literature *

Cesare Questa Cesare Questa (1934-2016) was an Italian classicist particularly known for his studies of the metres of the Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence. His researches over many years were summed up in his major work published in Urbino in 2007. Questa ...

, classicist *

Paolo Virno Paolo Virno (; ; born 14 May 1952) is an Italian philosopher, semiologist and a figurehead for the Italian Marxist movement. Implicated in belonging to illegal social movements during the 1960s and 1970s, Virno was arrested and jailed in 1979, ...

, philosopher and

semiologist Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is an ...

Bruno Visentini Bruno Visentini (August 1, 1914 – February 13, 1995) was an Italian politician, senator, minister, lecturer and industrialist. Biography Visentini was born in Treviso. He graduated in law from Padua University and joined several anti-fasc ...

, politician and

business law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and organizations engaged in ...

yer,

minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(1974–1976 and 1983–1987), minister for Budget (1979) and several times MP

21st century

* Khaled Fouad Allam, sociologist and MP (2006–2008) *

Stefano Arduini Stefano Arduini (born 1956) is a scholar of linguistics, rhetoric, semiotics and translation. He is Full Professor of Linguistics at the University of Rome Link Campus University, Link Campus where he is the director of the Publishing Profession ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

Ilvo Diamanti Ilvo Diamanti (born September 4, 1952) is an Italian political scientist. Early life and education Diamanti was born in Cueno and graduated from the University of Padua with a degree in Political Science, and completed his Doctorate in Sociolog ...

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and sociologist * Alessandro Jacchia, television producer *

Domenico Losurdo Domenico Losurdo (14 November 1941 – 28 June 2018) was an Italian historian, essayist, Marxist philosopher, and communist politician. Life and career Born in Sannicandro di Bari, Losurdo obtained his doctorate in 1963 from the University ...

political theorist A political theorist is someone who engages in constructing or evaluating political theory, including political philosophy. Theorists may be academics or independent scholars. Ancient * Aristotle * Chanakya * Cicero * Confucius * Mencius * ...

and

philosopher 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 ...

*Massimo Negrotti, AI sociologist *

Mario Vella Mario Vella (born 1953 in Tripoli) is a Maltese philosopher, economist and politician. He was Governor of the Central Bank of Malta from 2016 to 2020. Biography Studies and academic career Vella was born to a Maltese family in Tripoli, Libya, ...

, philosopher and

social theorist Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.Seidman, S., 2016. Contested knowledge: Social theory today. John Wiley & Sons. A tool used by social scientists, social theories rel ...

Points of interest

* Orto Botanico "Pierina Scaramella", the university's

botanical garden 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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Urbino, University of

University of Urbino The University of Urbino Carlo Bo (, ''UniUrb'') is an Italian university located in Urbino, in the region of Marche, in north-eastern central Italy. The main campus occupies numerous buildings throughout the historic Urbino town center and the ...

1506 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Educational institutions established in the 1500s Culture in le Marche 1506 establishments in Italy