Eight hundred years of history, science, education, discovery, literature, and actions have formulated The University of Padua’s rich heritage, while its spaces, objects, and collections have narrated its voice over the centuries.

The 800th anniversary is an opportunity to enhance the heritage that distinguishes the University and offers a chance to reflect upon its long history. Underscoring its role as a disseminator of knowledge, the University makes use of this occasion by carrying out large-scale projects set to expand a permanent legacy beyond 2022.

The large-scale projects primarily involve University of Padua museums, more specifically the Museum of Nature and Man (Palazzo Cavalli), the Historical Museum of Plant Biodiversity (Botanical Garden), the new Geography Museum (Palazzo Wollemborg), the Goliardia Museum (Palazzo Bo), and the Poleni Museum of Physics renovation project.

The conservation and restoration of the Sala dei Quaranta hall enhances the historical and artistic heritage of the University. Completed in September of 2021, the restoration project of the 40 canvases that define the hall’s aesthetic value was made possible thanks to the generosity from companies, professional associations, service clubs, professors, embassies, consulates, and those who supported it.

Located in the New Courtyard of Palazzo Bo, the work “Resistenza e Liberazione (Resistance and Liberation)” by Jannis Kounellis was careful restoration and unveiled in September of 2021. The work commemorates the bravery of Ezio Franceschini, Concetto Marchesi, and Egidio Meneghetti, three men who were all University of Padua professors and who took part in the Italian Partisan Resistance.