100 Notable alumni of
University of Bologna
Updated:
The University of Bologna is 99th in the world, 34th in Europe, and 3rd in Italy by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the University of Bologna sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Nicolaus Copernicus
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- Studied in 1496-1500
- Occupations
- mathematicianphysicistdiplomatastronomerphilosopher
- Biography
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Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center. In all likelihood, Copernicus developed his model independently of Aristarchus of Samos, an ancient Greek astronomer who had formulated such a model some eighteen centuries earlier.
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Alexander VI
- Occupations
- Catholic deaconCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Alexander VI (epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian") was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (now Spain), Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.
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Pier Paolo Pasolini
- Occupations
- screenwritertranslatorwriteractorjournalist
- Biography
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Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian poet, film director, writer, screenwriter, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist and a political figure.
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Petrarch
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- Studied in 1320-1323
- Occupations
- poettranslatorphilosopherautobiographerwriter
- Biography
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Francesco Petrarca, commonly anglicized as Petrarch, was a scholar and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, and one of the earliest humanists.
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Guglielmo Marconi
- Occupations
- businesspersonphysicistinventorengineerpolitician
- Biography
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Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave–based wireless telegraph system. This led to Marconi being credited as the inventor of radio, and he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun "in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy".
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Pierluigi Collina
- Occupations
- association football refereewritereconomist
- Biography
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Pierluigi Collina is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998 to 2003.
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Thomas Becket
- Occupations
- Catholic priesttheologianjudgeCatholic bishop
- Biography
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Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then notably as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
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Pablo Iglesias Turrión
- Occupations
- politicianpolitical pundituniversity teachertelevision presenterpolitical scientist
- Biography
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Pablo Iglesias Turrión is a Spanish political scientist and former politician. During his political career, he served as Second Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda of the Government of Spain from 2020 to 2021. He also served as Member of the Congress of Deputies from 2016 to 2021, representing Madrid. Iglesias is a co-founder of Podemos, a left-wing political party that he led from 2014 until his resignation in 2021.
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Michelangelo Antonioni
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- In 1935 studied economics
- Occupations
- painterwriterdirectorfilm directorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Michelangelo Antonioni was an Italian director and filmmaker. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—L'Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), and L'Eclisse (1962)—as well as the English-language film Blowup (1966). His films have been described as "enigmatic and intricate mood pieces" that feature elusive plots, striking visual composition, and a preoccupation with modern landscapes. His work substantially influenced subsequent art cinema. Antonioni received numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, being the only director to have won the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, the Golden Bear and the Golden Leopard.
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Elly Schlein
- Occupations
- politicianblogger
- Biography
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Elena Ethel "Elly" Schlein is an Italian politician who has been the secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) since 12 March 2023. She is a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies and was previously the vice-president of Emilia-Romagna and a member of the European Parliament. On 26 February 2023, she was elected as the new secretary of the PD with 54% of the vote, becoming the first woman to lead the party.
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Vittorio Sgarbi
- Occupations
- art historianart criticpolitician
- Biography
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Vittorio Umberto Antonio Maria Sgarbi is an Italian art critic, art historian, writer, politician, cultural commentator and television personality. He is President of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto. He was appointed curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale. Several times a member of the Italian Parliament, in 2008 he served as Cabinet Member for Culture, Arts and Sports in Milan's municipal government for six months when Mayor Letizia Moratti terminated his mandate as she saw him 'unfit for the job'. In 2012, he was removed as Mayor of Salemi by the Ministry of Interior after he failed to acknowledge Mafia interferences in his cabinet.
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Boniface VIII
- Occupations
- writerCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Boniface VIII was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death, in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial origin, with connections to the papacy. He succeeded Pope Celestine V, who had abdicated from the papal throne. Boniface spent his early career abroad in diplomatic roles.
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Innocent III
- Occupations
- writerCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Innocent III, born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.
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Leon Battista Alberti
- Occupations
- cryptographerartistphilosopherwriterofficial
- Biography
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Leon Battista Alberti was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, and cryptographer; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as polymaths. He is considered the founder of Western cryptography, a claim he shares with Johannes Trithemius.
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Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
- Occupations
- philosopherwriter
- Biography
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Giovanni Pico dei conti della Mirandola e della Concordia, known as Pico della Mirandola, was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, natural philosophy, and magic against all comers, for which he wrote the Oration on the Dignity of Man, which has been called the "Manifesto of the Renaissance", and a key text of Renaissance humanism and of what has been called the "Hermetic Reformation". He was the founder of the tradition of Christian Kabbalah, a key tenet of early modern Western esotericism. The 900 Theses was the first printed book to be universally banned by the Church. Pico is sometimes seen as a proto-Protestant, because his 900 theses anticipated many Protestant views.
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Giovanni Pascoli
- Occupations
- literary criticpoettranslatorwriter
- Biography
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Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli was an Italian poet, classical scholar and an emblematic figure of Italian literature in the late nineteenth century. Alongside Gabriele D'Annunzio, he was one of the greatest Italian decadent poets.
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Rula Jebreal
- Occupations
- writerteacherscreenwriterpunditjournalist
- Biography
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Rula Jebreal is a Palestinian foreign policy analyst, journalist, novelist and screenwriter with dual Israeli and Italian citizenship. She was a commentator for MSNBC.
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Giacomo Matteotti
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Italian fascists committed fraud in the 1924 Italian general election, and denounced the violence they used to gain votes. Eleven days later, he was kidnapped and killed by Fascists.
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Gregory XIII
- Occupations
- Catholic deaconCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, which remains the internationally accepted civil calendar to this day.
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Luigi Galvani
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- In 1759 studied theology and medicine
- Occupations
- physicistuniversity teacherphysicianinventoranatomist
- Biography
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Luigi Galvani was an Italian physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher, who studied animal electricity. In 1780, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by an electrical spark. This was an early study of bioelectricity, following experiments by John Walsh and Hugh Williamson.
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Francesco Guccini
- Occupations
- composermusiciansinger-songwriterrecording artistwriter
- Biography
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Francesco Guccini is an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, and writer. During the five decades of his music career he has recorded 16 studio albums and collections, and 6 live albums. He is also a writer, having published autobiographic and noir novels, and a comics writer. Guccini also worked as actor, soundtrack composer, lexicographer and dialectologist.
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Clement V
- Occupations
- Catholic bishopCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Guoth and de Goth), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is remembered for suppressing the order of the Knights Templar and allowing the execution of many of its members. Clement moved the Papacy from Rome to Avignon, ushering in the period known as the Avignon Papacy.
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Pius V
- Occupations
- Catholic bishopCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Pius V, OP, born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman Rite within the Latin Church, known as Tridentine mass. Pius V declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church.
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Lazzaro Spallanzani
- Occupations
- physicistuniversity teachernaturalistbotanistentomologist
- Biography
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Lazzaro Spallanzani was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions, animal reproduction, and animal echolocation. His research on biogenesis paved the way for the downfall of the theory of spontaneous generation, a prevailing idea at the time that organisms develop from inanimate matters, though the final death blow to the idea was dealt by French scientist Louis Pasteur a century later.
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John XXIII
- Occupations
- Catholic priest
- Biography
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Baldassarre Cossa was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church now recognizes as the rightful successor of Saint Peter. He was also an opponent of Antipope Benedict XIII, who was recognized by the French clergy and monarchy as the legitimate Pontiff.
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Stefano Domenicali
- Occupations
- managersporting director
- Biography
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Stefano Domenicali is an Italian manager and the current CEO of Formula One Group, replacing Chase Carey. He was the CEO of Italian sports car manufacturer Lamborghini from 2016 to 2020. He was the team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team. Under his leadership Ferrari won their last Formula One World Championship to date.
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Anna Maria Bernini
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Anna Maria Bernini is an Italian politician, lawyer and university professor.
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Pier Ferdinando Casini
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Pier Ferdinando Casini is an Italian politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006.
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Carlo Rovelli
- Occupations
- university teacherphysicistwriter
- Biography
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Carlo Rovelli is an Italian theoretical physicist and writer who has worked in Italy, the United States and, since 2000, in France. He is also currently a Distinguished Visiting Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute, and core member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy of Western University. He works mainly in the field of quantum gravity and is a founder of loop quantum gravity theory. He has also worked in the history and philosophy of science. He collaborates with several Italian newspapers, including the cultural supplements of the Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore and La Repubblica. His popular science book, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, was originally published in Italian in 2014. It has been translated into 41 languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. In 2019, he was included by Foreign Policy magazine in a list of 100 most influential global thinkers.
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Pier Luigi Bersani
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- Studied philosophy
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Pier Luigi Bersani is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 to 1999, President of Emilia-Romagna from 1993 to 1996, Minister of Transport from 1999 to 2001, and Minister of Economic Development from 2006 to 2008.
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Gregory IX
- Occupations
- writerCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Gregory IX was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the Decretales and instituting the Papal Inquisition, in response to the failures of the episcopal inquisitions established during the time of Pope Lucius III, by means of the papal bull Ad abolendam, issued in 1184.
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Raul Gardini
- Occupations
- businesspersonentrepreneur
- Biography
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Raul Gardini was an Italian agri-business and chemicals tycoon. In 1980, he took the helm of his father-in-law Serafino Ferruzzi's family business, starting an aggressive campaign that led to the acquisition of the French sugar and paper company Beghin-Say SA, turning Ferruzzi into Europe's leading sugar producer. In 1985, Gardini focused his interest on chemicals and bought stock in the Montedison chemical group. By 1987, he had acquired 42 per cent of the group, turning Ferruzzi-Montedison into Italy's second largest industrial group after the state-owned company Eni. In 1989, Eni and Montedison formed a joint-venture called Enimont.
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Paul V
- Occupations
- Catholic bishopLatin Catholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Paul V, born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries. In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal Robert Bellarmine to inform Galileo that the Copernican theory could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the geocentric model as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the trial of 1633.
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Clement VIII
- Occupations
- Catholic priestdiplomat
- Biography
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Pope Clement VIII, born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death, in March 1605.
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Benedict XIII
- Occupations
- Catholic priestCatholic deaconreligiousfriarpope
- Biography
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Pope Benedict XIII, born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in February 1730.
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Urban VII
- Occupations
- Catholic priestCatholic bishopCatholic deacon
- Biography
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Pope Urban VII, born Giovanni Battista Castagna, was head of the Catholic Church, and ruler of the Papal States from 15 to 27 September 1590. His papacy was the shortest recognized in history, during which a smoking ban encompassing churches across the world was implemented.
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Pius IV
- Occupations
- Catholic bishopCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Pius IV, born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a branch of the House of Medici and used the same coat of arms. Although modern historians have found no proof of this connection, the Medici of Florence recognized the claims of the Medici of Milan in the early 16th century.
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Andrea Roncato
- Occupations
- comedianactortelevision actor
- Biography
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Andrea Roncato is an Italian actor, comedian and television personality.
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Nicholas V
- Occupations
- librarianCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Nicholas V, born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death, in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 after successful trips to Italy and Germany, and when Eugene died the next year, Parentucelli was elected in his place. He took his name Nicholas in memory of his obligations to Niccolò Albergati.
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Alexander III
- Occupations
- Catholic priestwriterreligious
- Biography
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Pope Alexander III, born Roland (Italian: Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
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Andrea Pazienza
- Occupations
- paintercomics artist
- Biography
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Andrea Pazienza was an Italian comics artist and painter.
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Gregory XII
- Occupations
- Catholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Gregory XII, born Angelo Corraro, Corario, or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was opposed by the Avignon claimant Benedict XIII and the Pisan claimants Alexander V and John XXIII. Gregory XII wanted to unify the Church and voluntarily resigned in 1415 to end the schism.
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Marcello Malpighi
- Occupations
- zoologistanatomistbotanistentomologist
- Biography
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Marcello Malpighi was an Italian biologist and physician, who is referred to as the "Founder of microscopical anatomy, histology & Father of physiology and embryology". Malpighi's name is borne by several physiological features related to the biological excretory system, such as the Malpighian corpuscles and Malpighian pyramids of the kidneys and the Malpighian tubule system of insects. The splenic lymphoid nodules are often called the "Malpighian bodies of the spleen" or Malpighian corpuscles. The botanical family Malpighiaceae is also named after him. He was the first person to see capillaries in animals, and he discovered the link between arteries and veins that had eluded William Harvey. Malpighi was one of the earliest people to observe red blood cells under a microscope, after Jan Swammerdam. His treatise De polypo cordis (1666) was important for understanding blood composition, as well as how blood clots. In it, Malpighi described how the form of a blood clot differed in the right against the left sides of the heart.
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Antonio de Nebrija
- Occupations
- grammariantranslatorBible translatoruniversity teacherlinguist
- Biography
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Antonio de Nebrija was the most influential Spanish humanist of his era. He wrote poetry, commented on literary works, and encouraged the study of classical languages and literature, but his most important contributions were in the fields of grammar and lexicography. Nebrija was the author of the Spanish Grammar (Gramática de la lengua castellana, 1492) and the first dictionary of the Spanish language (1495). His grammar is the first published grammar study of any modern European language. His chief works were published and republished many times during and after his life and his scholarship had a great influence for more than a century, both in Spain and in the expanding Spanish Empire.
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Manfred, King of Sicily
- Occupations
- writerpoet
- Biography
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Manfred was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the kingdom of Sicily on behalf of his nephew Conradin in 1254. As regent he subdued rebellions in the kingdom, until in 1258 he usurped Conradin's rule. After an initial attempt to appease Pope Innocent IV he took up the ongoing conflict between the Hohenstaufens and the papacy through combat and political alliances. He defeated the papal army at Foggia on 2 December 1254. Excommunicated by three successive popes, Manfred was the target of a Crusade (1255–66) called first by Pope Alexander IV and then by Urban IV. Nothing came of Alexander's call, but Urban enlisted the aid of Charles of Anjou in overthrowing Manfred. Manfred was killed during his defeat by Charles at the Battle of Benevento, and Charles assumed kingship of Sicily.
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Valerio Massimo Manfredi
- Occupations
- anthropologistwriterarchaeologistjournalisthistorian
- Biography
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Valerio Massimo Manfredi is an Italian historian, writer, essayist, archaeologist and journalist.
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Laura Bassi
- Occupations
- mathematicianuniversity teacherphysicistanatomistbiologist
- Biography
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Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti was an Italian physicist and academic. Recognized and depicted as "Minerva" (goddess of wisdom), she was the first woman to have a doctorate in science, and the second woman in the world to earn the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Working at the University of Bologna, she was also the first salaried female teacher in a university. At one time the highest paid employee of the university, by the end of her life Bassi held two other professorships. She was also the first female member of any scientific establishment, when she was elected to the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna in 1732 at 21.
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Diego Della Valle
- Occupations
- chief executive officerentrepreneurlawyer
- Biography
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Diego Della Valle is the chairman of the Italian leather goods company Tod's.
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Innocent IV
- Occupations
- Catholic bishopCatholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Innocent IV, born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
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Giovanni Domenico Cassini
- Occupations
- mathematicianselenographerbiologistastronomersurveyor
- Biography
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Giovanni Domenico Cassini, also known as Jean-Dominique Cassini was an Italian (naturalised French) mathematician, astronomer and engineer. Cassini was born in Perinaldo, near Imperia, at that time in the County of Nice, part of the Savoyard state. Cassini is known for his work on astronomy and engineering. He discovered four satellites of the planet Saturn and noted the division of the rings of Saturn; the Cassini Division was named after him. Giovanni Domenico Cassini was also the first of his family to begin work on the project of creating a topographic map of France.
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Carlo Ginzburg
- Occupations
- historianwriteruniversity teacherart historian
- Biography
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Carlo Ginzburg is an Italian historian and a proponent of the field of microhistory. He is best known for Il formaggio e i vermi (1976, English title: The Cheese and the Worms), which examined the beliefs of an Italian heretic, Menocchio, from Montereale Valcellina.
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Ruggero Leoncavallo
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- Studied in 1878
- Occupations
- pianistcomposerscreenwriterlibrettist
- Biography
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Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and songs throughout his career it is his opera Pagliacci (1892) that remained his lasting contribution, despite attempts to escape the shadow of his greatest success.
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Ivanoe Bonomi
- Occupations
- diplomatlawyerpoliticianjuristjournalist
- Biography
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Ivanoe Bonomi was an Italian politician and journalist who served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1921 to 1922 and again from 1944 to 1945.
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Gregory XV
- Occupations
- Latin Catholic priest
- Biography
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Pope Gregory XV, born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623.
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Giorgio Bassani
- Occupations
- opinion journalistwriterpoliticianscreenwriterliterary editor
- Biography
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Giorgio Bassani was an Italian novelist, poet, essayist, editor, and international intellectual.
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Liliana Cavani
- Occupations
- film directordirectorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Liliana Cavani is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Cavani became internationally known after the success of her 1974 feature film Il portiere di notte (The Night Porter). Her films have historical concerns. In addition to feature films and documentaries, she has also directed opera.
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Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda
- Occupations
- poetwriterpoliticianphilosopher
- Biography
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Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda was a Spanish humanist, philosopher, and theologian of the Spanish Renaissance. He is mainly known for his participation in a famous debate with Bartolomé de las Casas in Valladolid, Spain, in 1550–1551. The debate centered on the legitimacy of the conquest and colonization of America by the Spanish Empire and on the treatment of the Native Americans. The main philosophical referents of Ginés de Sepúlveda were Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Roman law and Christian theology. These influences allowed him to argue for the cultural superiority and domination of the Spanish over the Native Americans during the period of the conquest.
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Emilio Solfrizzi
- Occupations
- comedianscreenwritertelevision actor
- Biography
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Emilio Solfrizzi is an Italian actor and comedian.
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Innocent IX
- Occupations
- diplomatCatholic priestCatholic bishop
- Biography
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Pope Innocent IX, born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 October to 30 December 1591.
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Pier Luigi Nervi
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- Graduated with laurea in civil engineering
- Occupations
- university teachercivil engineerarchitect
- Biography
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Pier Luigi Nervi was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the University of Bologna graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and is known worldwide as a structural engineer and architect and for his innovative use of reinforced concrete, especially with numerous notable thin shell structures worldwide.
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Georgius Agricola
- Occupations
- historianchemistmetallurgistmineralogistphysician
- Biography
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Georgius Agricola was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, he was broadly educated, but took a particular interest in the mining and refining of metals. He was the first to drop the Arabic definite article al-, exclusively writing chymia and chymista in describing activity that we today would characterize as chemical or alchemical, giving chemistry its modern name. For his groundbreaking work De Natura Fossilium published in 1546, he is generally referred to as the Father of Mineralogy and the founder of geology as a scientific discipline.
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Filippo Turati
- Occupations
- politiciancriminologistpoetsociologistjournalist
- Biography
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Filippo Turati was an Italian sociologist, criminologist, poet and socialist politician.
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Milena Gabanelli
- Occupations
- television presenterjournalist
- Biography
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Milena Gabanelli is an Italian journalist and television host, better known in Italy for the investigative journalism Television program Report. The program is currently broadcast by the Italian public TV channel Rai 3.
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Jacopone da Todi
- Occupations
- composermysticpoetwriterjurist
- Biography
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Jacopone da Todi, O.F.M. was an Italian Franciscan friar from Umbria. He wrote several laude (songs in praise of the Lord) in the local vernacular. He was an early pioneer in Italian theatre, being one of the earliest scholars who dramatised Gospel subjects.
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Veronica Yoko Plebani
- Occupations
- snowboarder
- Biography
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Veronica Yoko Plebani is an Italian Paralympic athlete who has competed in snowboarding, paracanoeing and paratriathlon. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Paratriathlon, Women's PTS2, winning a bronze medal.
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Chiara Gamberale
- Occupations
- television presenterwriterradio personality
- Biography
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Chiara Gamberale is an Italian writer, television and radio presenter.
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Peter of Verona
- Occupations
- inquisitorpresbyter
- Biography
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Peter of Verona, also known as Saint Peter Martyr and Saint Peter of Verona, was a 13th-century Italian Catholic priest. He was a Dominican friar and a celebrated preacher. He served as Inquisitor in Lombardy, was killed by an assassin, and was canonized as a Catholic saint 11 months after his death, making this the fastest canonization in history.
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Ludovico Manin
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ludovico Giovanni Manin was a Venetian politician, patrician, and the 120th and last Doge of Venice. He governed the Venetian Republic from 9 March 1789 until its fall in 1797, when he was forced to abdicate by Napoleon Bonaparte.
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Peter Lombard
- Occupations
- professorCatholic priesttheologianCatholic bishop
- Biography
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Peter Lombard was an Italian scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of Four Books of Sentences which became the standard textbook of theology, for which he earned the accolade Magister Sententiarum.
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Girolamo Fracastoro
- Occupations
- mathematicianlecturerphysician writerepidemiologistgeographer
- Biography
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Girolamo Fracastoro was an Italian physician, poet, and scholar in mathematics, geography and astronomy. Fracastoro subscribed to the philosophy of atomism, and rejected appeals to hidden causes in scientific investigation. His studies of the mode of syphilis transmission are an early example of epidemiology.
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Mauro Forghieri
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- Graduated with laurea in mechanical engineering
- Occupations
- mechanical engineer
- Biography
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Mauro Forghieri was an Italian mechanical engineer, best known for his work as a Formula One racing car designer with Scuderia Ferrari during the 1960s and 1970s. He is credited with introducing the first designed rear wings to Formula One at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix. He oversaw numerous technical developments during his tenure at Ferrari, including the creation of the 250 GTO and P-series sports racing cars, the Ferrari flat-12 series of engines, Ferrari's first turbocharged engine in the 126 C F1 car, and a prototype semi-automatic transmission in 1979. During Forghieri's tenure with Ferrari, the company won the F1 World Driver's Championship four times and the F1 World Constructors' Championship seven times. After leaving Ferrari in 1987, he worked at Lamborghini and Bugatti then founded the Oral Engineering Group in 1995.
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Patrizio Bianchi
- Occupations
- economistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Patrizio Bianchi is an Italian economist and academic, current chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Education, Growth and Equality. He served as minister of education in the Draghi Cabinet from 2021 to 2022.
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Gregory VIII
- Occupations
- Catholic priestwriterphilosopher
- Biography
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Pope Gregory VIII, born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Apostolic Chancellor, he was notable in his brief reign for reconciling the Papacy with the estranged Holy Roman Empire and for initiating the Third Crusade.
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Felice Orsini
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Felice Orsini was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the Carbonari who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.
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Álvaro de Figueroa, 1st Count of Romanones
- Occupations
- farmerproprietorwriterpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Álvaro de Figueroa y Torres-Sotomayor, 1st Count of Romanones was a Spanish politician and businessman. He served as Prime Minister three times between 1912 and 1918, president of the Senate, president of the Congress of Deputies, Mayor of Madrid and many times as cabinet minister. He belonged to the Liberal Party. Romanones, who built an extensive political network, exerted a tight control on the political life of the province of Guadalajara during much of the Restoration period. He also was a prolific writer, authoring a number of history essays.
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Gianni Cuperlo
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Giovanni "Gianni" Cuperlo is an Italian politician, a member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and former President of the Democratic Party.
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Urban III
- Occupations
- politicianCatholic priestCatholic bishop
- Biography
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Pope Urban III, born Uberto Crivelli, reigned from 25 November 1185 to his death in 1187.
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Wincenty Kadłubek
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- 1167-1185 studied liberal arts education and law
- Occupations
- historianwriterLatin Catholic priestCatholic bishop
- Biography
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Wincenty Kadłubek was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure their holiness and invigorate the faithful and cultivate greater participation in ecclesial affairs on their part. Wincenty was much more than just a bishop; he was a leading scholar in Poland from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. He was also a lawyer, historian, church reformer, monk, magister, and the father of Polish culture and national identity.
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Franco Berardi
- Occupations
- writeruniversity teacherscreenwriterthinkerphilosopher
- Biography
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Franco "Bifo" Berardi is an Italian Marxist philosopher, theorist and activist in the autonomist tradition, whose work mainly focuses on the role of the media and information technology within post-industrial capitalism. Berardi has written over two dozen published books, as well as a number of essays and speeches.
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Pier Vittorio Tondelli
- Occupations
- writerjournalist
- Biography
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Pier Vittorio Tondelli was an Italian writer who wrote a small but influential body of work. He was born in Correggio, a small town in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy and died in nearby Reggio Emilia because of AIDS. Tondelli enjoyed modest success as a writer but often encountered trouble with censors for his use of homosexual themes in his works. Tondelli was buried in a small cemetery in the hamlet of Canolo, just outside Correggio.
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Yuriy Drohobych
- Occupations
- writeruniversity teacherphilosopherastrologerastronomer
- Biography
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Yuriy Drohobych or Yuriy Kotermak was a Ruthenian philosopher, astronomer, writer, medical doctor, rector of the University of Bologna, and professor of Kraków Academy, and the first publisher of a Church Slavonic printed text. He is the author of Iudicium Pronosticon Anni 1483 Currentis.
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Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti
- Occupations
- Catholic priestuniversity teacherhyperpolyglotlinguistlibrarian
- Biography
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Giuseppe Gasparo Mezzofanti was an Italian cardinal known for being a hyperpolyglot.
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Valerio Evangelisti
- Occupations
- science fiction writerwriter
- Biography
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Valerio Evangelisti was an Italian writer of science fiction, fantasy, historical novels, and horror. He is known mainly for his series of novels featuring the inquisitor Nicolas Eymerich and for the Nostradamus trilogy, all bestsellers translated into many languages. Some of his books are seen as part of the body of literary works known as the New Italian Epic.
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Matteo Piantedosi
- Enrolled in the University of Bologna
- Graduated with laurea in jurisprudence
- Occupations
- politicianprefect
- Biography
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Matteo Piantedosi is an Italian prefect and civil servant serving as the minister of the interior in the Meloni Cabinet since 22 October 2022. An independent politician, he is close to Lega leader Matteo Salvini.
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Alessandro Farnese
- Occupations
- Catholic priestdiplomat
- Biography
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Alessandro Farnese, an Italian cardinal and diplomat and a great collector and patron of the arts, was the grandson of Pope Paul III (who also bore the name Alessandro Farnese), and the son of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma, who was murdered in 1547. He should not be confused with his nephew, Alessandro Farnese, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, grandson of Emperor Charles V and great-grandson of Pope Paul III.
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Giovanni Battista Morgagni
- Occupations
- pathologistphysiciananatomistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Giovanni Battista Morgagni was an Italian anatomist, generally regarded as the father of modern anatomical pathology, who taught thousands of medical students from many countries during his 56 years as Professor of Anatomy at the University of Padua.
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Guy de Chauliac
- Occupations
- canonphysiciansurgeon
- Biography
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Guy de Chauliac, also called Guido or Guigo de Cauliaco (c. 1300 – 25 July 1368), was a French physician and surgeon who wrote a lengthy and influential treatise on surgery in Latin, titled Chirurgia Magna. It was translated into many other languages (including Middle English) and widely read by physicians in late medieval Europe.
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Ulisse Aldrovandi
- Occupations
- botanistornithologistzoologistgeologistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Ulisse Aldrovandi was an Italian naturalist, the moving force behind Bologna's botanical garden, one of the first in Europe. Carl Linnaeus and the comte de Buffon reckoned him the father of natural history studies. He is usually referred to, especially in older scientific literature in Latin, as Aldrovandus; his name in Italian is equally given as Aldroandi.
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Sandro Gozi
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Sandro Gozi is an Italian politician formerly of the Democratic Party who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2020. He was a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies from 2006 to 2018, and was elected to the European Parliament in 2019, representing France on the list of Emmanuel Macron's LREM party.
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Enrico Brizzi
- Occupations
- science fiction writerwriterscreenwriter
- Biography
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Enrico Brizzi is an Italian writer. He is best known for his debut novel Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band, which is so far the only one translated into English (along with other 23 languages). It also inspired the same name Italian movie in 1996.
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Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro
- Occupations
- mathematician
- Biography
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Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro was an Italian mathematician. He is most famous as the discoverer of tensor calculus.
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Coluccio Salutati
- Occupations
- politicianwriterphilosopher
- Biography
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Coluccio Salutati was an Italian Renaissance humanist and notary, and one of the most important political and cultural leaders of Renaissance Florence; as chancellor of the Florentine Republic and its most prominent voice, he was effectively the permanent secretary of state in the generation before the rise of the powerful Medici family.
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Benigno Zaccagnini
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Benigno Zaccagnini was an Italian politician and physician.
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Bartolus de Saxoferrato
- Occupations
- juristtheologianuniversity teacherphilosopher
- Biography
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Bartolus de Saxoferrato was an Italian law professor and one of the most prominent continental jurists of Medieval Roman Law. He belonged to the school known as the commentators or postglossators. The admiration of later generations of civil lawyers is shown by the adage nemo bonus íurista nisi bartolista — no one is a good jurist unless he is a Bartolist (i.e. a follower of Bartolus).
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Leo Longanesi
- Occupations
- filmmakerscreenwriterpublisherillustratorwriter
- Biography
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Leopoldo "Leo" Longanesi was an Italian journalist, publicist, screenplayer, playwright, writer, and publisher. Longanesi is mostly known in his country for his satirical works on Italian society and people. He also founded the eponymous publishing house in Milan in 1946 and was a mentor-like figure for Indro Montanelli (a journalist and historian, and the founder of Il Giornale, one of Italy's biggest newspapers).
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Maurizio Fugatti
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Maurizio Fugatti is an Italian politician from the League party. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2006 to 2013 and again from 2018 to 2019. He has been president of the Autonomous Province of Trentino since 2 November 2018.
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Silvia Avallone
- Occupations
- novelistpoetwriterscreenwriter
- Biography
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Silvia Avallone is an Italian novelist and poet.
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Carlo Mazzacurati
- Occupations
- actorfilm directorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Carlo Mazzacurati was an Italian film director and screenwriter born in Padua. He started his cinema career in 1980.
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Francesco Algarotti
- Occupations
- writermathematicianphysicistpoetchamberlain
- Biography
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Count Francesco Algarotti was an Italian polymath, philosopher, poet, essayist, anglophile, art critic and art collector. He was a man of broad knowledge, an expert in Newtonianism, architecture and opera. He was a friend of Frederick the Great and leading authors of his times: Voltaire, Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, Pierre-Louis de Maupertuis and the atheist Julien Offray de La Mettrie. Lord Chesterfield, Thomas Gray, George Lyttelton, Thomas Hollis, Metastasio, Benedict XIV and Heinrich von Brühl were among his correspondents.
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Virginio Merola
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Virginio Merola is an Italian politician. Merola is a member of the Democratic Party and former Mayor of Bologna.
