University of Bologna

Founded 1088. Oldest continuously operating university in the Western world.

Overview

Bologna taught Roman law from the late 11th century and organized into a universitas of students who hired professors, inverting the usual power structure. Irnerius revived Justinian's code here, founding European legal education. Dante, Petrarch, and Erasmus passed through; Marconi studied physics lineage later. The university awards Europe's oldest surviving doctorates and retains the Alma Mater Studiorum title. About 85,000 students study across campuses in five cities. The Archiginnasio's anatomical theater and painted walls display four centuries of graduate coats of arms.