University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( Italian " Università di Pisa " ) , is an Italian public research university located in Pisa , Italy . It was founded in 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI and is the 19th oldest extant university in the world and the 10th oldest in the country . The university is considered very prestigious and is currently ranked between 1st and 3rd places nationally , in the top 30 in Europe and top 300 in the world . It houses the Orto botanico di Pisa , Europe ' s oldest academic botanical garden , which was founded in 1544 . The University of Pisa is part of the Pisa University System , which includes the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Sant ' Anna School of Advanced Studies . It offers a wide range of courses . The Computer Science course at University of Pisa is the first in the area to be activated in Italy . The aerospace Master of Science ( MSc ) courses are the first in Italy to be offered entirely in the English language . The university has about 57 , 000 students ( of which 53 , 000 are undergraduate and postgraduate studies and 3 , 500 are doctoral and specialization studies ) . In the fields of philology and cultural studies , the University of Pisa is a leading member of ICoN , an inter - university consortium of 21 Italian universities supported by the Ministry of Education , Universities and Research . The University is also a member of the European University Association , the Partnership of a European Group of Aeronautics and Space Universities network and the Cineca consortium . It ' s the only university in Italy which has become a member of the prestigious Universities Research Association . Two Italian Presidents , five Popes and four Prime Ministers of Italy have been graduates as well as 3 Nobel Laureates have been student , faculty or staff affiliates . Pisa has an intense athletic rivalry with the University of Pavia which traditionally culminates in the Pisa - Pavia Regatta ( " Regata Pisa - Pavia " ) , the oldest competition of this kind in Italy and second in Europe only to the Oxford Cambridge boat race . In 2011 , the University of Pisa came in first place among the Italian universities , according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities . History . The University of Pisa was officially established on September 3 , 1343 . But a number of scholars claim its origin dates back to the 11th century . The first reliable data on the presence of secular and monastic schools of law in Pisa is from the 11th and the second half of the 12th century , a time when Pisa had already achieved a remarkable economic development . Further , the next century form the first documents that prove the presence of doctors of medicine and surgery . The earliest evidence of a Pisan " Studium " dates to 1338 , when the renowned jurist Ranieri Arsendi transferred to Pisa from Bologna . He along with Bartolo da Sassoferrato , a lecturer in Civil Law , were paid by the Municipality to teach public lessons . The papal bull " In supremae dignitatis " , granted by Pope Clement VI on September 3 , 1343 , recognized the " Studium " of Pisa as a " Studium Generale " ; an institution of further education founded or confirmed by a universal authority , the Papacy , or Empire . Pisa was one of the first European universities that could boast this papal attestation , which guaranteed the universal , legal value of its educational qualifications . The first taught subjects were theology , civil law , canon law and medicine . In 1355 Francesco da Buti , the well - known commentator of Dante ' s " Divine Comedy " , began teaching at the " Studium " . Pisa and its " Studium " underwent a period of crisis around the turn of the 15th century : the Florentines ' conquest of the town led to the University ' s closure in 1403 . In 1473 , thanks to Lorenzo de Medici , the Pisan Studium resumed its systematic development and the construction of a building for holding lessons was provided for in 1486 . The building – later known as Palazzo della Sapienza ( The Building of Knowledge ) – was located in the 14th century Piazza del Grano . The image of a cherub was placed above the Gate " Dell ' Abbondanza " ( the Gate of Abundance ) , leading to the Piazza , still today the symbol of the University . Following the rebellion and the war against Florence in 1494 , the Pisan " Studium " suffered a period of decline , and was transferred to Pistoia , Prato and Florence . The ceremonial re - opening of the University , on November 1 , 1543 , under rule by Duke Cosimo I de Medici , was considered as a second inauguration . The quality of the University was furthered by the statute of 1545 and the Pisan Athenaeum became one of the most significant in Europe for teaching and research . The chair of " Semplici " ( botany ) was held by Luca Ghini , founder of the world ' s first Botanical Gardens , succeeded by Andrea Cesalpino , who pioneered the first scientific methodology for the classification of plants and is considered a forerunner in the discovery of blood circulation . Gabriele Falloppio and Marcello Malpighi lectured in anatomy and medicine . Galileo Galilei , who was born and studied in Pisa , became professor of mathematics at the Pisan Studium in 1589 . The University ' s role as a state institution became ever more accentuated during the Medici Grand Duchy period . A protectionist policy ensured a consistent nucleus of scholars and teachers : laws issued by Cosimo I , Ferdinando I and Ferdinando II obliged those who intended to obtain a degree to attend the Studium of Pisa . This period sees various illustrious figures lecture at Pisa , especially in the field of law and medicine . The University ' s development continued under the Lorenas . They completed the construction of the astronomic observatory ( a project initiated by the Medicis ) , as well as enriching the University Library with important publications . They helped develop the Botanical Gardens , and Natural Science Museum , and they established new chairs such as experimental Physics and Chemistry . The annexation of Tuscany to the Napoleonic Empire resulted in the transformation of the Studium into an Imperial Academy . The Athenaeum became a branch of the University of Paris and the courses and study programs were structured following the French public education model . Five new faculties were established ( Theology , Law , Medicine , Science and Literature ) , along with examinations , different qualification titles and graduation theses . In 1813 La " Scuola Normale Superiore " was established , as a branch of the " École Normale Supérieure " in Paris . The Restoration wasn ' t able to cancel the effects of the Napoleonic experience . The first Congress of Italian Scientists was held in Pisa in 1839 . Over 300 experts of various disciplines and 421 scientists discussed zoology , comparative anatomy , chemistry , physics , mathematics , agronomy , technology , botany , vegetation physiology , geology , mineralogy , geography and medicine . In 1839 – 1840 the Director of Education , Gaetano Giorgini , brought about the most important reform in the University of Pisa by raising the number of faculties to six ( Theology , Law , Literature , Medicine , Mathematics , and Natural Sciences ) . Giorgini also created the world ' s first chair of Agriculture and sheep farming . In 1846 the " Scuola Normale " re - opened . Meanwhile , liberal and patriotic ideals were spreading at Athenaeum and a battalion of the University – composed of lecturers and students – distinguished itself in the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara in 1848 . During the Second Restoration , in 1851 , Leopoldo II united the universities of Pisa and Siena in a unique Etruscan Athenaeum , motivated partly by economic reasons , but primarily for political control . The faculties of Theology and Law rested at Siena , while those of Literature , Medicine , Mathematics and Natural Sciences remained at Pisa . Following the Florentine insurrection and the fleeing of the Grand Duke in 1859 , one of the initial measures imposed by the Provisory Government was the restitution to the city of Pisa of its Studium with all six of its faculties . With the birth of the Kingdom of Italy , the University of Pisa became one of the new state ' s most prestigious cultural institutions . The first European institute of Historical Linguistics was founded in Pisa in 1890 . Between the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries the following prestigious lecturers taught at Pisa : the lawyers Francesco Carrara and Francesco Buonamici ; philologists Domenico Comparetti and Giovanni D ' Ancona ; historians Pasquale Villari , Gioacchino Volpe and Luigi Russo ; philosopher Giovanni Gentile ; economist Giuseppe Toniolo and mathematicians Ulisse Dini and Antonio Pacinotti . During the years of fascism the Pisa Athenaeum was an active centre for political debate and antifascist organisation . After the second world war , the University of Pisa returned to the avant - garde style of learning in many fields of knowledge . To the faculties of engineering and pharmacy , established pre - war , were added economics , foreign languages and literature and politics . In 1967 the " Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e Perfezionamento S . Anna " was founded which , together with " La Scuola Normale " , formed a highly prestigious learning and teaching centre . Today the University of Pisa boasts 11 faculties and 57 departments , with high level research centres in the sectors of agriculture , astrophysics , computer science , engineering , mathematics , medicine and veterinary medicine . Furthermore the University has close relations with the Pisan Institutes of the National Research Council , with many cultural institutions of national and international importance , and with industry , especially that of information technology , which went through a phase of rapid expansion in Pisa during the 1960s and 1970s . Organization and administration . The University of Pisa consists of 11 schools and 57 departments . These schools offers several courses in their related field of study : PhD studies are instead usually offered and arranged by the departments . The lectures are mostly given in Italian , except for a number of courses at the faculty of foreign languages and literatures , some scientific programmes , such as the international MSc in aerospace engineering ( EuMAS ) , the Master of Science in Space Engineering and the Master in Computer Science and Networking , jointly offered with Scuola Superiore Sant ' Anna . Students also have at their disposal a Language Centre , where they can attend courses of foreign languages , a Sports Centre ( " Cus Pisa " ) that arranges for many Sports Intramural Leagues and allows sports practice in almost all the disciplines available in Italy , and three University Refectories ( " Mense universitarie " ) . The University of Pisa is not organized in the form of one unique campus , but its many buildings are scattered in the whole Pisa area , especially in the city centre . Notable people . Alumni . Among the best - known people who have attended the University of Pisa are , in politics and government : Italian political leaders Sidney Sonnino , Carlo Sforza , Guido Buffarini Guidi , Giacomo Acerbo , Alessandro Natta , Paolo Emilio Taviani , Giovanni Gronchi , Giuliano Amato , Antonio Maccanico , Carlo Azeglio Ciampi , Marcello Pera , Massimo D ' Alema , Enrico Rossi , Sandro Bondi , Fabio Mussi , Maria Chiara Carrozza and Enrico Letta ; Haitian President René Préval ; Nicaraguan President Adan Cardenas ; Prime Ministers of Greece Ioannis Kolettis and Diomidis Kyriakos ; Prime Minister of Somalia Ali Mohammed Ghedi ; Deputy Prime Minister of Albania Spiro Koleka ; Ambassador Marcello Spatafora . In theology : Popes Leo X , Paul III , Urban VIII , Clement IX and Clement XII ; Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff ; Cardinals Pietro Accolti , Francisco de Remolins , Benedetto Accolti the Younger , Francesco Martelli , Bandino Panciatici , Francesco Barberini , Cesare Borgia and Giovanni Battista Tolomei ; Archbishop Giovanni Battista Rinuccini . In science : astrophysicists Paolo Farinella and Franco Pacini ; biophysicist Clara Franzini - Armstrong ; mathematicians Giovanni Salvemini , Vito Volterra , Cesare Burali - Forti , Guido Zappa , Giovanni Ceva , Salvatore Pincherle , Carlo Somigliana , Aldo Andreotti , Giuseppe Lauricella and Luigi Fantappiè ; physicists Antonio Pacinotti , Luigi Puccianti , Temistocle Calzecchi - Onesti , Eligio Perucca , Adolfo Bartoli , Nello Carrara , Vasco Ronchi , Franco Rasetti , Ennio Candotti and Luca Gammaitoni . In other fields : botanist Giovanni Arcangeli ; tenors Francesco Rasi and Andrea Bocelli ; egyptologists Ippolito Rosellini and Gianluca Miniaci ; fashion model Tania Bambaci ; film directors Mario Monicelli and Paolo Virzì ; historians Camillo Porzio , Mario Rosa and Carlo Ginzburg ; librettist Giacinto Andrea Cicognini ; philologist Gian Biagio Conte ; philosophers Francesco Cattani da Diacceto , Eufrosin Poteca , Giovanni Gentile , Aldo Gargani , Anna Camaiti Hostert and Jiyuan Yu . Among the best - known people who have attended the University of Pisa are Nobel Laureate in Literature Giosuè Carducci . Other notable alumni are : Faculty and staff . Among the prominent scholars who have taught at the University of Pisa are , in science : mathematicians Benedetto Castelli , Giovanni Alfonso Borelli , Alessandro Marchetti , Luigi Guido Grandi , Eugenio Beltrami , Ennio De Giorgi , Leonida Tonelli , Sergio Campanato , Enrico Bombieri , Corrado De Concini and Claudio Procesi ; physicists Giulio Racah , Carlo Matteucci , Gian - Carlo Wick , Bernard H . Lavenda and Roy McWeeny . In other fields : poets Giovanni Pascoli and Valerio Magrelli ; writer Bernard Comment . In popular culture . The University of Pisa is mentioned in the film Don Juan .