University of Florence

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University of Florence
Università degli Studi di Firenze

Latin: Florentina Studiorum Universitas
Established	1321
Type	Public
Rector	Prof. Alberto Tesi
Admin. staff	2,288
Students	ca 59,500
Location	Florence, Italy
Sports teams	CUS Firenze (http://www.cus.firenze.it/)
Affiliations	EUA, CESAER
Website	www.unifi.it

The University of Florence, Italian: Università degli Studi di Firenze, is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it comprises 12 schools and has about 60,000 students enrolled.

History

The University of Florence evolved from the Studium Generale, which was established by the Florentine Republic in 1321. The Studium was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349, and authorised to grant regular degrees. The Pope also established that the first Italian faculty of Theology would be in Florence. The Studium became an imperial university in 1364, but was moved to Pisa in 1473 when Lorenzo the Magnificent gained control of Florence. In 1490 the university celebrates 169th anniversary. Charles VIII moved it back from 1497–1515, but it was moved to Pisa again when the Medici family returned to power at 179 years in 1500 and 219 years in 1540.

In 1859 it became the Istituto di Studi Pratici e di Perfezionamento, a year later it was recognized as a full fledged university by the government of the unified Italy. In 1923 the Istituto was officially denominated a University by the Italian Parliament.

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Organization

The 12 faculties of the university are: Agriculture; Architecture; Arts; Economics; Education; Engineering; Law; Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences; Medicine and Surgery; Pharmacology; Political Science; and Psychology.

Faculties are located in traditionally strategic areas based on their subject matter. The Faculty of Economics, Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Political Sciences are in the Polo delle Scienze Sociali (campus of social sciences), in the Novoli district. The Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, the Faculty of Pharmacology, and certain scientific and engineering departments are in the Careggi district. The Faculty of Engineering is located at the S. Marta Institute, whereas the Faculty of Agriculture is in front of the Parco delle Cascine. The Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences is located in Sesto Fiorentino. The Faculty of Architecture is in the Accademia di Belle Arti, home of Michelangelo's David. The Faculties of Psychology, Literature and Philosophy, and Pedagogy are in the centre of Florence, but the first two will be moved in the near future to the aforementioned Polo delle Scienze Sociali[1].

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Notable people

Alumni

Among the best-known people who have attended the University of Florence are

Italian President Alessandro Pertini;
Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean;
Popes Nicholas V Pius II
Italian Prime Minister Lamberto Dini;
Italian political leaders Giorgio La Pira, Leonardo Domenici and Matteo Renzi; astrophysicist Margherita Hack; botanist Rodolfo Emilio Giuseppe Pichi-Sermolli; immunologist Paola Ricciardi-Castagnoli; philosopher Giacomo Marramao; poets Margherita Guidacci and Mario Luzi.

Faculty

John Argyropoulos taught Greek from 1456.
Leonardo da Vinci carried out studies on anatomy at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in the center of town which is today a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Florence.
Giovanni Sartori, political scientist, professor of "Political Science", born in 1924 in Florence.
Giovanni Spadolini, historian and important Italian politician, professor of "Contemporary History", born in 1925 in Florence.
Enrico Fermi, physicist and Nobel prize, professor of "Mathematical Physics".
Mario Luzi, poet, professor of "French language and Literature".
Piero Calamandrei, jurist, professor in the faculty of Law, born in 1889.
Mario Draghi, President of ECB has been full professor of Monetary Economics and Monetary Policy in the faculty of Political Science from 1981 to 1991.
Antonio Cassese, international jurist, president of several international tribunals.