Palazzo dell' Università Vecchia

The statutes of 1285 required the Commune to establish a “Studium” in Perugia, “so that the city might shine with wisdom”.  The charter for a Studium Generale was drawn up in 1306 and approved by Pope Clement V in 1308.  In 1318-21, Pope John XXII granted it the privilege of conferring degrees in civil and canon law, medicine and arts, and in 1355, Emperor Charles IV recognised it as an Imperial university. 

The Studium rose to prominence in the 14th century, numbering among its academics:

• the jurists Baldo of Sassoferrato (died ca. 1357) and Baldo degli Ubaldi (died 1400); and

• Gentile da Foligno, the medical researcher who died in the plague of 1348.

Two residential colleges opened in the 14th  and early 15th centuries for students of the Studium:

• Cardinal Nicolò Capocci, who had studied law at the Studium, founded the Collegio di San Gregorio (later called the “Sapienza Vecchia”) in 1362 for the maintenance of forty poor theology students.  Pope Gregory XI granted it recognition in 1371, and it became, in effect, the theological faculty of the Studium. 

• Bishop Benedetto Guidalotti of Recanati bought the Albergo del Leone in 1427 to provide premises for a new college, the Collegio di S. Girolamo (later called the "Sapienza Nuova") for impecunious foreigners who wished to study law and medicine at the Studium.   He died in 1429, and Pope Martin V appointed Cardinal Antonio Cassino to complete the foundation of the college.  Pope Eugenius IV formally recognisedit in 1431 and the first twenty students were in residence by 1443.

Angelo Geraldini d’ Amelia studied law at the Studium and then became its first non-Perugian Professor of Law (1444-6).  He was also rector of both the Collegio di San Gregorio and the Collegio di San Girolamo.

The independence of the Studium suffered in 1467, when Pope Paul II placed it under the authority of the papal governor.   

Consolidation at the Palazzo dell’ Università

The various faculties of the Studium seem to have been housed in different locations until 1483, when Pope Sixtus IV (who had taught philosophy at the university in ca. 1453-60) ordered their consolidation.   The chosen site was above an arcade of shops in what was then Piazza del Sopramura, which the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Misericordia had commissioned from the Lombard architect Gasparino di Antonio and the Perugian Bartolomeo Mattioli di Torgiano.   

The design of the upper two storeys of the palace is attributed to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo.  The 18 windows in this top storey carry a long inscription across their architraves that is taken from the Gospel of St Matthew (Chapter 25, verse 35 et seq.)  These verses relate to the vocation of the Confraternita della Misercordia: "I was hungry and you gave me food ..."

The construction project proceeded slowly, and the Commune had to supply extra finance in 1512.  The complex finally came into use in 1514.  Later in the century, Pope Sixtus V ordered a portico to be built along the front of the building but it was never completed.   The Arco di Sisto V (1591), which Valentino Martelli designed as part of the project, was later used as the entrance to another part of the university in Piazza di San Francesco (see Walk III). 

A number of new colleges were established in the 16th century, including:

• Sapienza Bartolini (1561), instituted by Marcantonio Bartolini (see the detour to Walk VII); and

• Sapienza Oradina (1582), instituted by Giulio Oradini (see Walk V).

Pope Urban VIII ordered the reform of the Studium in 1625, initiating the structure that was to last until the Napoleonic period. 

The Palazzo remained the headquarters of the University of Perugia until 1811, when it moved to the ex - Monastero degli Olivetani di Montemorcino Nuovo in what is now Piazza della Università.   The building was subsequently remodelled on a piecemeal basis, but was restored to something like its original uniform appearance in the 20th century.  It now forms part of the law courts and the associated complex of offices.

Return to Walk II.