The oldest medical university in the world
When talking about the oldest universities in Europe, thoughts immediately turn to Bologna. However, if you dig deeper, you discover a history that begins much earlier, in an era when the city was the undisputed capital of Western medicine.
At that time, Salerno was not just a seaside town, but the City of Hippocrates. While the rest of Europe tried to heal through superstition, here people studied plants, translated ancient texts, and, in a revolutionary move for the time, allowed women, the famous Mulieres Salernitanae like Trotula de Ruggiero, to teach and practise medicine.
It was the first university in the world to offer science free, inclusive, and practical.
The myth of the Schola Medica Salernitana
Everything began in the 8th century AD. While much of Europe was going through the so-called “Dark Ages”, Salerno shone. This is where the Schola Medica Salernitana was born, a highly prestigious health institution that merged ancient Greco-Roman wisdom with the new needs of the Middle Ages.
After the mid-9th century, with the birth of the Lombard Principality, the School became a real training centre capable of graduating doctors. It is precisely here that Salerno launches its challenge: by directly linking classical medicine to the medieval period, many historians argue that Salerno holds the distinction of being the oldest university settlement in Europe, even surpassing Bologna.
The recognition of power
Over the centuries, the Salerno “Studio” did not limit itself to medicine, but also became a centre of excellence for Philosophy, Theology and Law. Its importance was such that it obtained recognition from the greatest sovereigns:
- 1231: Frederick II recognised its legal value in the Constitutions of Melfi.
- 1280: Charles of Anjou granted the School its first official statute.
- 1359: Queen Joan gave legal value to the licences issued to students, making Salerno finally independent from the “monopoly” of Naples.
The fall: from University to “Real Liceo”
The 19th century brought a wave of changes that risked erasing this legacy forever. In 1811, Gioacchino Murat, while reorganising the education of the Kingdom of Naples, decided to close the University of Salerno and transform it into a “Real Liceo” (Royal Lyceum). Despite the name, these were high-level university schools, but still dependent on Naples.
With the Unification of Italy, the final blow came. In 1865, the Savoy government permanently suppressed the activities of the Salerno Studio to standardise the national school system. The famous boarding school of the Lyceum became the “Torquato Tasso” High School, and a long academic silence began for Salerno.
The rebirth: a century later
It would take almost a hundred years for Salerno to reclaim its title. The rebirth began in 1944 with the creation of the University Institute of Magisterium, strongly supported by Giovanni Cuomo. That institute became state-owned in 1968, marking the official birth of the University of Salerno (UNISA).
From that moment, growth has been unstoppable:
- 1970s: the faculties of Humanities, Economics, Sciences and Law were born.
- 1980s and 1990s: Engineering, Pharmacy, Political Sciences and Languages were added.
- 2006: the circle was closed with the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, bringing Salerno back to its 8th-century roots.
Salerno today: a contemporary excellence
Today, the University of Salerno is no longer confined to the alleys of the historic centre, but breathes in the large spaces of the Fisciano Campus, one of the most modern and best-organised in Italy.
From medieval parchments to high-tech laboratories, the history of Salerno teaches that institutions can be closed by decree, but a city’s vocation for knowledge is impossible to suffocate.