Hi friends. As you might imagine, I’m a nerd in real life, too. I was recently in Italy1 as a co-chair of a conference for early career neuroscientists (aka non-professors). I stayed in Italy for a vacation and visited a few places that hinted at histories of the interests served by modern science. I have a few of these stories planned for the near future, and I hope you enjoy them. Suggestions also welcome! Today, we visit the oldest continuously operated Western university.
💜ev💜
“Once again, we should bear in mind that since these institutions came into existence spontaneously, they could only be the outcome of a longer process, which despite its fragmented and shaky origins is crucial to fully understanding their eventual development.” -Tomasso Duranti, “The Origins of the Studium of Medicine of Bologna: a Status Quaestionis”
the studium: student-led education
The year is 1088. Young men from all over Europe are arriving in Bologna to learn from local freelance scholars. Soon, these learners realize that this exciting opportunity has many accompanying risks. The local Bolognese leaders are holding them responsible for debts incurred by their countrymen. In response, the learners self-organize into groups called “nations” which functioned like a mutual aid society for people sharing a common ethnic heritage. As Roderick T. Long writes,
If any student needed assistance (e.g., in paying other people's debts as demanded by the government), the other members of his "nation" would chip in to help. Each was willing to pledge a contribution to the group for this purpose, in exchange for the assurance that he would himself be able to draw on these pooled resources in time of need.
Eventually, the different student “nations” began to worked across ethnic lines to pool their power through a new organization, the Studium. Together, students realized that they could exert power by threatening to leave Bologna if local officials didn’t meet their demands. So, Bolognese leaders eventually granted the students legal protections and autonomy in administering the Studium. Students hired professors to teach them and could levy fines if the professors failed to live up to student expectations. This arrangement also gave stability to would-be professors who were eager to leave their educational freelancing in the past.
As Bologna grew as a center of scholarship, the Studium found itself gaining geopolitical prestige. In 1115, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V began a military expedition into Italy over a dispute with the Roman Catholic Church. (Henry wanted to appoint his own bishops, an authority only granted to the Pope.) Henry was set on destroying Bologna, but a leading legal scholar at the Studium, Irnerius, swore allegiance to the empire. In return, Henry spared Bologna and chose Irnerius to mediate his dispute with the Church given his specialized knowledge in both imperial and canon law. Peace prevailed, Bologna grew in political status by becoming a comune, and the Studium emerged with geopolitical influence.
This shift in the political landscape would soon recalibrate the relationship between the Studium and its host. By 1280, local political leaders began directly paying professors’ salaries, presumably to ensure the longevity of the institution. Yet, this move also ameliorated student bargaining power. Professors were now responsive to the comune rather than the students. Consequently, student threats to leave Bologna (as political leverage) were less credible because their instructors were financially bound to remain in place.
As the years passed, political and religious forces exerted continued pressure on the Studium. In 1360, the Catholic Church claimed a stake in the the Studium by establishing a theology school - the first religious education offered. Previously, all disciplines had retained a secular focus. Twenty-one years later, the comune usurped control of the Studium’s administration. From then on, a comune-appointed minister would hire teachers, determine degree programs, etc. After nearly 200 years of student control, the seat of power at the Studium was firmly in the hands of the emerging political elite.
the church strikes back
Just as today, political leaders rarely turn out to be thoughtful administrators. By the mid-1400’s, the Bentivoglio family ruled Bologna, and Giovanni II was particularly MESSY. Taking the title of “first citizen,” Giovanni ruled like a prince while beautifying Bologna’s architecture so that he could entertain his would-be political allies (such as the wealthier Sforza family of Milan which Giovanni married into). Meanwhile, he brutally crushed any threat to his rule, subjecting two separate families to comune-sanctioned murder within the span of 13 years.2
Such craven political maneuvering presented opportunities for professors at the Studium to raise their profile and influence. During Bentivoglio rule, professors were generally local Bolognese scholars which was tied to a political strategy of “jobs for the boys.” One professor, Francesco dal Pozzo, befriended Giovanni’s wife who, in turn, gave him access to the ruling family. dal Pozzo even moved into the Bentivoglio palace where he taught some of Giovanni’s sixteen(!) children and acted as a courtier to promote humanistic studies in Bologna. In return, Giovanni repeatedly recommended dal Pozzo for lucrative economic opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church was eager to take advantage of a Bologna led by a reckless and secular leader like Giovanni. In 1506, Pope Julius II (a namesake of Julius Caesar) decided he had enough of the Bentivoglio tomfoolery. So, the Warrior Pope (as historians remember Julius) sent his army to Bologna. A newly excommunicated Giovanni fled the comune with his family, ceding political control of the region and the Studium. Under Church rule, Bologna became the Pope’s greeting room. The comune hosted international emissaries, even playing host to the crowning of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530.
Julius and his successors were big proponents of selling indulgences by which ordinary Catholics could invest in their afterlife. Salvation is a big business, and some of the proceeds were invested in the built architecture of the Studium. The Archiginnasio was built in the early 1560’s which housed student libraries, classrooms, and (eventually) an anatomical theater (pictured at the top of this post). The elegant anatomical theater included raised bench seating so that medical students could learn anatomy through cadaver dissection.
The Church also molded the University of Bologna into an anti-Reformation headquarters, instituting strict controls over the education environment. The local cardinal became the top patron of the university, and everyone at the institution was required to profess allegiance to the Catholic faith. Failure to live up to that faith had dire consequences for at least two scholars. One student, Torquato Tasso, was expelled in 1564 for disseminating a written satire of his peers and professors. In 1570, mathematics professor Gerolamo Cardano was accused of heresy because of his friendships with Protestant thinkers. Subsequently, Church authorities also seized control over the remnants of the student-led mutual aid groups that were critical to the university’s founding.
the church invests in colonization (and science)
1506 was busy year for Julius, the Warrior Pope. Not only did he send his army to Bologna but he also had his sights on much bigger conquests. Two Catholic-led nations (Spain and Portugal) were in dispute over how the Western Hemisphere should be colonized. They wanted to agree on a division so that each nation could focus their colonial power on subjugating Native populations.
So, they drew a line on a map (officially known as the Treaty of Tordesillas) which required Julius’ approval because of a Papal bull from Julius’ predecessor which sanctioned colonization, explicitly including the enslavement on Indigenous populations and Africans. Julius agreed to the terms by issuing his own bull which he gave the truly insidious name Ea quae pro bono pacis or “For the promotion of peace.”3
Needless to say, Julius’ intentions were not peaceful. With Bologna in hand, the Church invested in the Studium with an eye toward knowledge that would provide military advantages for Catholic nations. Colonizing forces needed mapmakers and arms manufacturers which meant that mathematicians, astronomers, and projectile physicists were in demand. These disciplines took their modern form in this era of Bolognese scholarship thanks to Church funding.
As a result, the profile of these disciplines was raised. In 1690, a small group of scholars at the University of Bologna formed an private club of intellectuals at a palazzo owned by a veteran of the (Catholic) Habsburg army. These exclusive discussions must have been fruitful because by 1711, Pope Clement XI picked up the tab. The group also rebranded as to the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, which is still producing scholarship today. (Although, today the University of Bologna is back under public control.)
The Academy’s origin story stands in stark contrast to the collective spirit of the Studium 600 years earlier. Student power evaporated, and instead the professorial elite exerted influence on the ultimate institutional power brokers who were isolated from the day-to-day work of education.
