At the beginning of the 16th century, many of the activities carried out by the University of Padova were suspended. In fact, the Cambrai war (lasting from 1508 to 1516) transformed Padua from a ‘city of study’ into a ‘city of weapons’, owing to its important strategic and logistic role in defending and reconquering the mainland from the Venetians. However, from 1530 onwards, the number of scholars in the city began to increase again, as did the university’s funding (in 1542, the Venetian chancellors estimated that there were around 1,300 students in Padua). By 1538, the university was able to offer approximately sixty professorships. After these initial difficult years, the 16th century became a “golden” era for the University, contributing to transforming the city of Padua into a centre for scientific renaissance. This was also the century when the university acquired its main seat, Palazzo Bo (Hospitium Bovis), which was definitively purchased in 1539.
Although the university seemed to recover well from the post-war crisis, it recorded a drastic decline in student power in the second half of the century. Following violent unrest in 1560, the Senate decided to definitively deprive students of the possibility to choose their professors, therefore removing any dependency of professors on the students.
The 16th century was also characterised by a number of important initiatives that contributed to reaffirming the University of Padova as the most advanced centre for scientific research and in terms of its facilities. In fact, the world’s first botanical garden was opened here in 1545 and, in 1595, the world’s oldest Anatomy Theatre was built.
The Republic continued to ‘protect’ the university, alongside the existence of ‘Patavina libertas’, which is still guaranteed today to some extent. This status quo meant that the century of the Counter-Reformation, which also involved the University of Padova and its students, came to an end with substantial stability at the turn of the 17th century.
Andrea Vesalio was awarded a doctorate in medicine by the University of Padova. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed a professor of surgery at the university and taught anatomy, going on to publish his “De humani corporis fabrica” in 1542
The University of Padova definitively became the owner of the Hospitium Bovis guest house which it had been using since the end of the XV century
Girolamo Fabrici d’Acquapendente was awarded a doctorate in medicine from the University of Padova and went on to hold the surgery and anatomy professorship here
The Aristotelian philosopher, Cesare Cremonini, who stood trial at the Roman Inquisition, taught natural philosophy in Padua; he later disputed the theories of Galileo
The Anatomy Theatre was completed: the world’s first example of a permanent structure created to teach anatomy through the dissection of corpses