Università di Pisa
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
State Archives of Pisa
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Lungarno Mediceo 17, 56100 Pisa
Contact information: phone number
0039 050542698
0039 050542784
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
as-pi@beniculturali.it
Reference number
Università
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
University of Pisa
Title (official language of the state)
Università di Pisa
Language of title
ita
Creator / accumulator
Università di Pisa
Date(s)
1472/1891
Language(s)
ita
Extent
2,367 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
The Università di Pisa fonds comprises documentation since the 15th century, divided into ten series: the first one ("Universitá di Pisa") containing records regarding the general functioning of the university, and the others with documents from is various bodies and colleges, namely the Tribunale dello Studio, the Osservatorio astronomico, the Giardino dei semplici and Orto botanico, the Biblioteca dell'università, the Collegio Ferdinando, the Collegio di Sapienza, the Collegio Vittoriano de' Rossi, the Accademia degli Ombrosi, and the Accademia dei Rozzi.
Since the 16th century, several Iberian conversos studied and lectured at the University of Pisa. Some of them became illustrious figures of Sephardic literature and science as well as renowned jurists, such as Rodrigo da Fonseca and his nephew Gabriel da Fonseca, Damião Dias, Estêvão Rodrigues de Castro, António Dias Pinto, Bento Pinhel, or Jorge de Matos Pinhel. Therefore, this fonds includes precious information regarding the academic career of these Sephardic scholars.
Since the 16th century, several Iberian conversos studied and lectured at the University of Pisa. Some of them became illustrious figures of Sephardic literature and science as well as renowned jurists, such as Rodrigo da Fonseca and his nephew Gabriel da Fonseca, Damião Dias, Estêvão Rodrigues de Castro, António Dias Pinto, Bento Pinhel, or Jorge de Matos Pinhel. Therefore, this fonds includes precious information regarding the academic career of these Sephardic scholars.
Archival history
This fonds was incorporated into the Archivio di Stato di Pisa at the time of its opening on June 4, 1865, together with the archives of the Comune di Pisa, the Ufficio Fiumi e Fossi, the Commissario di Pisa, the Auditore di Governo di Pisa, the Opera della Primaziale, the Spedali Riuniti di S. Chiara, the Gabella dei Contratti, the Ordine dei Cavalieri di S. Stefano, the Pia Casa di Misericordia and other minor fonds. The Archivio was originally located above the Loggia dei Banchi, where remains at present a branch office of the archive. In the early 20th century, the Archivio was transferred to the Palazzo Toscanelli.
The documentation produced after the early 19th century is preserved in the Archivio Generale di Ateneo, which was founded in 2003 and belonged to the University of Pisa.
The documentation produced after the early 19th century is preserved in the Archivio Generale di Ateneo, which was founded in 2003 and belonged to the University of Pisa.
Administrative / Biographical history
The University of Pisa was born from a long tradition of civil and canon law studies that date back to the 13th century. The bull of Pope Clement VI on September 3, 1343, recognised it as a "Studio generale". The Studio Pisano suffered a significant decline from the early decades of the Florentine domination until 1472, when the Consiglio del Popolo of Florence, at the behest of Lorenzo de Medici, approved the constitution of the Studio Generale Fiorentino in Pisa. Five Florentine citizens, under the designation of Ufficiali dello Studio, appointed the administrators and chose two-thirds of the professors, also fixing their salaries. The new Studio opened in 1473 and it was established that the students under the jurisdiction of the Florentine State should attend it. A few years later, the building of the Palazzo della Sapienza, where the Studio would be located, started but, on the occasion of the Pisa rebellion in 1494, it was still incomplete. The works would finished much later, at the time of Cosimo I de Medici.
The revolt of 1494 forced the relocation of the Studio, firstly to Prato, subsequently to Pistoia and later to Florence. Even after the reconquest of Pisa, the university remained inactive until 1515, when the five Ufficiali dello Studio were re-established. However, the political instability in Tuscany soon interrupted the Studio's activity again.
In 1544, Cosimo I granted new statutes to the Studio, by implementing an administrative and didactic reorganisation. Then, the students were divided into nations, according to their origins. Each "natio" was headed by a consigliere (councillor) elected by the rector. The rector held the most prestigious position in the university, with administrative and disciplinary duties. The Tribunale dello Studio administered civil and criminal justice over all members of the university and it was not subject to appeal by other courts. In the most serious criminal cases, the rector was assisted by the Commissario di Pisa. Soon, however, it emerged the figure of the Provveditore Generale (general administrator), an official appointed by the Grand Duke, with increasingly important tasks of control and governance of the university. The Provveditore responded directly in Florence to the Auditore dello Studio and the sovereign. Its duties were formally defined in 1624. From 1574, the Provveditore Generale was also the prior of the conventual church of the Ordine di S. Stefano.
In the second half of the 18th century, the office of rector was entrusted to a professor. In 1775, following the Leopoldine reform that suppressed the ecclesiastical tithes, the expenses of the Studio became charged to the Regio Fisco (royal tax authorities).
During the Napoleonic period, the university was renamed Accademia and was under the jurisdiction of the French government. The Accademia was suppressed in 1814 and the Università was restored, according to the previous statutes. In 1840, the university was reformed: the colleges were replaced by six faculties (Theology, Law, Philosophy and Sociology, Medicine and Surgery, Mathematical Sciences, and Physical and Natural Sciences), which included 46 chairs.
The revolt of 1494 forced the relocation of the Studio, firstly to Prato, subsequently to Pistoia and later to Florence. Even after the reconquest of Pisa, the university remained inactive until 1515, when the five Ufficiali dello Studio were re-established. However, the political instability in Tuscany soon interrupted the Studio's activity again.
In 1544, Cosimo I granted new statutes to the Studio, by implementing an administrative and didactic reorganisation. Then, the students were divided into nations, according to their origins. Each "natio" was headed by a consigliere (councillor) elected by the rector. The rector held the most prestigious position in the university, with administrative and disciplinary duties. The Tribunale dello Studio administered civil and criminal justice over all members of the university and it was not subject to appeal by other courts. In the most serious criminal cases, the rector was assisted by the Commissario di Pisa. Soon, however, it emerged the figure of the Provveditore Generale (general administrator), an official appointed by the Grand Duke, with increasingly important tasks of control and governance of the university. The Provveditore responded directly in Florence to the Auditore dello Studio and the sovereign. Its duties were formally defined in 1624. From 1574, the Provveditore Generale was also the prior of the conventual church of the Ordine di S. Stefano.
In the second half of the 18th century, the office of rector was entrusted to a professor. In 1775, following the Leopoldine reform that suppressed the ecclesiastical tithes, the expenses of the Studio became charged to the Regio Fisco (royal tax authorities).
During the Napoleonic period, the university was renamed Accademia and was under the jurisdiction of the French government. The Accademia was suppressed in 1814 and the Università was restored, according to the previous statutes. In 1840, the university was reformed: the colleges were replaced by six faculties (Theology, Law, Philosophy and Sociology, Medicine and Surgery, Mathematical Sciences, and Physical and Natural Sciences), which included 46 chairs.
Access points: locations
Access points: persons, families
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The fonds is divided into series and each one in subseries. Records are arranged chronologically in each subserie.
Finding aids
Unpublished finding aids available in the archive:
"Università di Pisa". (Inv. 96-97).
"Università di Pisa. 1.º Versamento". (Inv. 13)
"Università di Pisa. 2.º Versamento." (Inv. 13 bis)
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Bibliography
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivio di Stato di Pisa | Collections (official language of the state) |