In Catania, the oldest university of Sicily (1445), a portion of the 200,000 incunabula, ancient volumes, manuscripts, and, most importantly, the absolute masterpiece among the works of art preserved in the University Palace have been restored: the outstanding Latin Bible by Pietro Cavallini, illuminated in the 14th century and featuring over 400 figures. The document has been accessible for consultation since 2016 as part of the Science & Technology Digital Library project, due to the SupraScan Quartz A1 planetary scanner. This is one of the many initiatives commemorating the 580th anniversary of the first Sicilian University. At the time of its foundation, Sicily—one of the most important kingdoms in Italy, home to Frederick II of Swabia’s poetic school, born around 1230 —was under the rule of King Alfonso of Aragon, who authorized the establishment of the Studium Generale. The University was authorized to teach a variety of topics, including speculative, dogmatic, and moral theology, civil, canon, and feudal law, Roman institutions, medicine, surgery, philosophy, logic, mathematics, and liberal arts. For nearly four centuries, Catania had the unique right to award degrees in the Kingdom of Sicily. The University of Palermo was established in 1805, and the University of Messina in 1838.
|