University of Naples Federico II
The University of Naples Federico II is a public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, non-denominatial, non-sectarian and state-funded university in Italy and in the world, and one of the world's ten oldest universities in continuous operation.
It was Europe's first university dedicated to training secular administrative staff, and is one of the world's oldest academic institutions in continuous operation. With over 90,000 students it is among the largest universities in Europe, long the only state university in Naples, until the establishment of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli in 1991, formerly Seconda Università di Napoli.
The motto of the university is Ad scientiarum haustum et seminarium doctrinarum, taken from the circular letter of Frederick II. Over the course of its thousand-year history, Federico II alumni have included the presidents of the Italian Republic Enrico De Nicola, Giovanni Leone and Giorgio Napolitano. Additionally, students and alumni have won 2 Academy Awards.
In October 2016, the university hosted the first ever Apple iOS Developer Academy and in 2018 the Cisco Digital Transformation Lab. It occupies the second position among the major universities of the Italian universities system.
History
The university of Naples Federico II was founded by the king of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II on 5 June 1224. It is the world's oldest state-supported institution of higher education and research. One of the most famous students was Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas.Founding: Political project of Frederick II
Frederick II had specific objectives when he founded the university in Naples: first, to train administrative and skilled bureaucratic professionals for the curia regis, as well as preparing lawyers and judges who would help the sovereign to draft laws and administer justice. Second, he wanted to facilitate the cultural development of promising young students and scholars, avoiding any unnecessary and expensive trips abroad: by creating a State University, Emperor Frederick avoided having young students during his reign complete their training at the University of Bologna, which was in a city that was hostile to the imperial power.The University of Naples was arguably the first to be formed from scratch by a higher authority, not based upon an already-existing private school. Although its claim to be the first state-sponsored university can be challenged by Palencia, Naples certainly was the first chartered one.
Through a circular letter, the Emperor firmly invited all students to journey to Naples before September 29, a date that became customary for the commencement of the academic year. This letter was transmitted through the collection of letters attributed to Pier della Vigna, who served as the emperor's prime minister. In an era when students typically paid their own instructors, at the Frederickian university from its inception, the teachers were compensated by the emperor; the students were protected and supported, and deserving ones could avail themselves of honor loans and accommodations.
The choice of Naples as the location was not only due to cultural reasons, but also for geographic and economic considerations. For the organization of the Studium, the expertise of two eminent Campanian jurists, Pier della Vigna and Taddeo da Sessa, was enlisted.
For the new university to compete with older ones, Frederick II forbade citizens of the kingdom from attending foreign universities, particularly the University of Bologna, under the threat of corporal and pecuniary sanctions. At the same time, educational institutions within the kingdom were not allowed to offer courses in the same disciplines taught by the University of Naples, leading to the closure of several of these schools.
The artificiality of its creation posed great difficulties in attracting students; Thomas Aquinas was one of the few who came in these early years. Those years were further complicated by the long existence, in nearby Salerno, of Europe's most prestigious medical faculty, the Schola Medica Salernitana. The fledgling faculty of medicine at Naples had little hope of competing with it, and in 1231 the right of examination was surrendered to Salerno. The establishment of new faculties of theology and law under papal sponsorship in Rome in 1245 further drained Naples of students, as Rome was a more attractive location. In an effort to revitalize the dwindling university, in 1253, all the remaining schools of the university of Naples moved to Salerno, in the hope of creating a single viable university for the south. But that experiment failed and the university moved back to Naples in 1258. The Angevin reforms after 1266 and the subsequent decline of Salerno gave the University of Naples a new lease on life and put it on a stable, sustainable track.
Frederick II's political-university objective was not limited to the training of suitable officials for the state service, but also encompassed the creation of a broad intellectual elite capable of consolidating the Empire through legal elements as well as cultural contributions.
The Studium was organized in an original manner, different from the so-called Bolognese or Parisian model of the university. It was a closed institution with very strict rules. Students and professors were forbidden from leaving its walls. This type of university organization was also adopted in some Spanish universities.
The original location of the University of Naples remains uncertain, but it is hypothesized to have been situated in the region of Nido, next to the Church of San Marco and the Monastery of Donna Romita. During the reign of Charles I, several reforms were introduced in the organization of the university, including the establishment of the Magistrate of the students and the introduction of new academic titles. The chairs were defined more clearly, becoming six: Medicine, Canon Law, Civil Law, Theology, Grammar, and Logic. During the reign of Charles I of Anjou, the University of Naples saw the presence of important figures such as Andrea and Bartolomeo da Capua, Andrea Bonello, Filippo da Castrocoeli, and St. Thomas Aquinas, the latter being the beneficiary of a monthly subsidy granted by the King. Others like Giacomo Belvisio, Andrea d'Isernia, and Arnaldo di Villanova were also renowned under his successor.
However, periods of political instability and the Spanish conquest brought turmoil once again to the university. Ferdinand the Catholic sold the office of Magistrate of the students to the city, and Viceroys abolished the students' exemption privileges. Despite attempts at reform, abuses persisted, and the university failed to regain its reputation.
From the 13th to the 16th century
Initially the studies were directed towards law, the liberal arts, medicine and theology: the latter, compared to other subjects, was taught in religious institutions, in particular in the convent of San Domenico Maggiore, where Thomas Aquinas taught from 1271 to 1274.During the Angevin period the structure and organization of the university remained substantially unchanged.
In 1443, with the advent of Aragonese rule, the university was closed for about twenty years. In 1465 it was reopened until 1490. From 1443 to 1501, the humanities became the primary focus of higher education in Naples. Only from 1507 did the university enjoy a more lasting serenity, remaining definitively open in the Monastery of San Domenico Maggiore.
From the 16th to the 19th century
After the arrival of the Spaniards in the early sixteenth century, the University of Naples was no longer subject to suspensions and closures, except for brief interruptions due to riots, epidemics, and famines. However, its conditions remained precarious, without a stable headquarters and with some of the lowest salaries in Italy and Europe. Royal absolutism and the Church's fears regarding the spread of religious reform movements generated a climate of tight control over cultural institutions. A papal bull in 1564 imposed on all professors and doctors of the university the oath of fidelity to the Catholic faith.Towards the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th, a dispute arose with the University of Salerno regarding medical degrees, which attracted many students thanks to benefits such as the lack of obligation to enroll or attend classes for several years. The Princes of Avellino were among the main supporters of the University of Naples, obtaining the hereditary privilege of Grand Chancellor. However, the desertion of young doctors caused problems.
Since 1616, the university headquarters were located in the Palazzo dei Regi Studi, a building that was once a cavalry barracks, specially renovated by the architect Giulio Cesare Fontana on the orders of Don Pedro Fernández de Castro, count of Lemos and viceroy of Naples. In 1618, Viceroy Ossuna added the oath of allegiance to the Immaculate Conception.
Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy, during his visit to Naples in 1698, stated in one of his works:
During the 17th century the university experienced, like other European universities, a long period of decline, so that private schools and ecclesiastical colleges began to arise in Naples, which gradually joined it, taking away space from it. Only starting from the 18th century, first with the Habsburgs and then with the Bourbons, did the university receive a great boost in a positive sense from the authorities: it was in this period that the philosopher Giambattista Vico taught at the Neapolitan University. The situation of the university improved slightly thanks to the reform attempts of the Austrian Viceroys and the patronage of the Barons, but the proposed reforms encountered political obstacles. With the arrival of Charles III of Bourbon, some reforms were implemented, but the expulsion of the Jesuits caused new difficulties. The major innovations of those years were the creation in 1735 of the chair of Astronomy and in 1754 of the first chair of mechanics and commerce, or political economy, in the world, the first entrusted to Pietro di Martino and the second to Antonio Genovesi).
In 1777 the headquarters were transferred to the House of the Savior, where the Collegio Massimo of the Jesuits had previously resided, following the dissolution and expulsion of the religious order at the behest of King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon. Throughout the second half of the 18th century, the university became the fulcrum of the culture of the Bourbon kingdom, also because there were many professors who lived fully in the Enlightenment environment. From there began the movement of intellectuals that gave rise to the uprisings of 1799 and the existence of the Parthenopean Republic.
Even during the French decade there were works of modernization in the cultural field. First of all, the university experienced a radical change: it was divided into five faculties ; the first Italian chair of Zoology and the first of Comparative anatomy was established; the astronomical observatory, the botanical garden and the mineralogy and zoology museums were connected to the university and directed by university professors. Despite this, private schools made a comeback, becoming the backbone of education in southern Italy from the Conservative Order until the unification of Italy. For this reason, the University of Naples suffered serious consequences when, after the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, it had to comply with the Casati law, revealing strong disparities compared to other Italian universities, precisely due to the numerous private institutes competitors. Thanks to specific laws, aimed at standardizing Italian universities, such as the decree law of 30 May 1875 and the Regulation of 1876, the Neapolitan university managed to break down these differences, already highlighted in 1860 by the general director of Public Education Francesco De Sanctis, who contributed energetically to its modernization.
In 1806, with the Decree of 31 October, the government and administration of the University of Naples were reformed and entrusted to a Prefect, a Council, and an Administrator, all directly appointed by the king. The Prefect, replacing the Rector, had a primarily ceremonial role and served for no more than three years. Their responsibilities included presiding over the acts of the university and receiving the accounts from the administrator to transmit them to the Ministry of the Interior. The council, composed of six members and the Deputies of the Faculties, was tasked with regulating studies, proposing reforms to the king, and conferring academic degrees after examinations. The role of the Councilors was mainly honorary. The Administrator, chosen from the Professors, was the only one to receive a monthly salary and was responsible for managing the finances of the university, overseeing discipline, and making payments to teachers and staff. Over the years, various reforms were proposed, including direct government control over public education and the creation of a Director, a Rector, and a Public Education Council. However, in 1822 and 1848, further changes to the organization were made, including the creation of new commissions and the replacement of the General Council of Public Education. These reforms continued until 1860 when a Provisional Commission of Public Education definitively replaced the General Council, marking another phase in the administration of education in Naples.
The Faculty of Theology was abolished in 1861. In 1869, the Scuola Normale Superiore of Naples was founded with the aim of training professors for secondary schools, offering complementary courses and lectures. Students had to pass an entrance examination and were divided into two sections: Humanities and Philosophy, and Mathematical and Natural Sciences. Some students from the university were admitted automatically, later becoming professors in state high schools.
Thanks to specific laws aimed at standardizing Italian universities, such as the decree-law of 30 May 1875 and the Regulation of 1876, the University of Naples managed to overcome such diversities, already highlighted in 1860 by the Director General of Public Education, Francesco de Sanctis, who energetically contributed to its modernization.
Although the student population multiplied, bringing it to third place in Europe, after Berlin and Vienna, the buildings available to the university were lacking and sometimes not adequate. In 1884, after a violent cholera epidemic, the structure of the House of the Savior being now inadequate, the university was moved, thanks to urban renewal initiatives, to the new location in Corso Umberto I, where it still resides.
However, as stated by the rector Luigi Miraglia in 1896, the implementation of such law failed to fully meet the needs of the Faculty of Medicine. The condition of the scientific institutes, confined in cramped premises and lacking the necessary resources for their development, had become unsustainable. Even the library and teachings, which did not require specific spaces like laboratories, were facing serious difficulties due to the limited available space.
In its first session on 19 July 1805, the Chamber of Deputies approved a resolution regarding the reorganization of the University of Naples, recognizing the urgent need for state intervention to improve its deteriorating conditions. The Government, supported by the Commission, agreed to present a bill to reform the university's building, already promising a contribution of two million lire to be distributed over six years. The University of Naples was in a degraded state, with crumbling and inadequate buildings for its student population. Various education ministers had recognized the need for renovation, but the financial and technical situation posed challenges. After unsuccessful attempts, it was decided to entrust the drafting of a new project to the engineers who had worked on the previous one. This new project, estimated at 4,420,000 lire, was approved by the Ministry of Education and subsequently by the Superior Council of Public Works. The agreement between the Government and the provinces involved, including Naples, envisaged that the work would be financed with contributions from both state and local authorities. The advance payment of state expenses, provided in ten annual installments, was to be proportional to the contributions of the other entities involved. Despite financial difficulties, the work was considered of vital importance for the scientific and cultural progress of the country. The agreement also envisaged the participation of the provinces of Chieti and Campobasso, although they were not yet officially involved. However, it was hoped that they would contribute in the future, thus reducing the financial burden on the State. To cover the total estimated cost of the agreement, amounting to 6,800,000 lire, funds from land sales, withdrawals from recovery funds, and contributions from the Municipality of Naples and the Bank of Naples were envisaged. The bill presented to Parliament reflected the long and laborious negotiation between the Government and the parties involved, seeking to balance financial interests with the cultural and scientific importance of the project.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Faculty of Medicine, constantly complaining about the lack of adequate facilities, convinced the Government to establish a Commission whose report led to the promulgation of the law of 16 July 1882. This law authorized the expenditure of 850,000 lire for the transfer and adaptation of the clinics and facilities of the Medical Faculty of the Royal University of Naples to the former convents of Santa Patrizia and Sant'Andrea delle Dame. Thanks to this law, the buildings of Santa Patrizia and Sant'Andrea delle Dame were acquired, and the renovation works were initiated and completed. In 1887, it was possible to inaugurate in Sant'Andrea the premises intended for the Ophthalmological Clinic, the Obstetric Clinic, the General Pathology Cabinet, the Institute of Physiology, and the Institute of Pharmacology. In Santa Patrizia, the works to accommodate the first and second Medical Clinics, the Surgical Clinic, and the Medical and Surgical Special Pathologies were almost completed when the Faculty suddenly requested to interrupt them, considering the premises inadequate for the needs of the Clinics, for which it proposed the construction of a Polyclinic.