Pavia - University Università Degli Studi di Pavia

In the center of Pavia, in the Strada Nuova, the town's main street, is the university, founded in 1361 on the basis of an earlier law school established in the 11th century. The present building was begun in the 14th-15th enturies. and enlarged in the 18th century. In the five courtyards are monuments and memorials to famous professors and students; in the second courtyard are a statue of Volta (1878) and reliefs from the tombs of professors. The library, founded about 1770, contains some 370,000 volumes. Beyond the first courtyard there is a picturesque view of three old brick towers, formerly belonging to noble families.