The locations of the oldest University in Europe

Over the years, a strong relationship has developed between the city and the University both on an institutional and city level that has left its mark. It is therefore interesting to discover some of the historic study and research locations that have made it famous throughout the world.

The studium, established in 1088 as the original hub of the University of Bologna, did not have a permanent location until the mid-16th century. Doctors therefore held their lectures in their own homes or in halls rented out from the Municipal Authority. Once such example was the Church of San Procolo. Nearby, we can find the Spanish College (Collegio di Spagna) which provided accommodation for students from the Iberian peninsula. We cannot miss the Graves of the Glossatori (Tombe dei Glossatori) in the squares near the churches of San Francesco and San Domenico.

Inside the “Quadrilateral”, the square in front of the Church of Santa Maria della Vita leads to the portico of the old Ospedale della Morte attended by medicine students. We then come across Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio, commissioned by Pius IV in 1561 to reunite all the schools part of the studium in a single campus. The seat of the University was transferred to Palazzo Poggi in Via Zamboni by Napoleon in 1802. Along the same street there is the University Library and, in Via Irnerio, the Botanical Garden which is home to unique vegetable specimens from Italy and Europe.