University of Chieti-Pescara

HISTORY

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

DIDACTIC HISTORY

GREAT EVENTS

PLACES TO VISIT

History

The origins

Foundation and establishment of the University Faculties

The Department of Humanities of the Chieti campus

Development and nationalisation

The origins

In November 1955, the municipal and provincial institutions of the city of Chieti declared to the Ministry of Education the intention to set up a consortium for the establishment of a Free University in the town. The birth of the Abruzzo University Consortium that stemmed from that request was officially approved in 1960 by the Prefect (Governor) of Chieti, following the participation of the Board of Trade and of the Banks, along with over 60 municipalities in Abruzzo. This was followed in October 1961 by the inauguration of the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy by the Technical Organising Committee, chaired by Professor Ettore Paratore. This preceded the opening ceremony for the courses of the Free University, which was held in Chieti on 12 November of the same year, 1961. The following months saw the birth of the Economics and Business courses, with the adjoining Foreign Languages and Literatures course, at the Marble Hall of the Province of Pescara, with the opening lecture given by Professor Carlo Izzo.

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Foundation and establishment of the University Faculties

The request for the establishment of the Free University of Abruzzo was proposed in January 1963 by the Organising Committee, thus bringing together the institutions in Chieti, Pescara and Teramo to discuss the unification of the three university consortia into a single interprovincial consortium. On 3 March 1965, the Minister of Education, Luigi Gui, signed the Decree of Recognition of the ‘Gabriele d'Annunzio’ Free University of Abruzzo, which is named after the famous writer and soldier of Pescara. Gabriele d'Annunzio remains a symbol of the Decadentismo (Decadence) literary and artistic movement, and was a famous character during the First World War.

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The Department of Humanities of the Chieti campus

The registered administrative offices of the ‘G. d’Annunzio’ University and the offices of the Rector (Vice Chancellor) were established as part of the Chieti campus, along with the Literature and Philosophy Faculty. The Pescara campus included the Economics and Business Faculty with the adjoining Foreign Languages and Literature, while Teramo hosts the Faculty of Law.

Professor Renato Balzarini was elected as the first Rector of the University, and chaired the first meeting of the Board of Directors, which was composed of 14 members. The opening ceremony for the first academic year, of 1965/66, was held in Pescara on 19 March 1966, with Minister Luigi Gui also present. In subsequent years, the University saw the opening of the Faculty of Medicine on the Chieti campus, and the establishment of the Faculty of Architecture in Pescara and of Political Sciences in Teramo. Foreign Languages and Literature were also established, which definitively separated from the Economics and Business Faculty. In December 1979, Professor Aldo Bernardini was elected as Rector.

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Development and nationalisation

With the approval of the Senate of the Republic of Italy, the ‘Gabriele d'Annunzio’ Free University became a State University in 1982. There followed the opening of the Faculties of Pharmacy, Veterinary Science and Sciences (including Geology), which were located in these three University cities of Abruzzo. The seal of the University, which was inspired by a sculpture of Pietro Cascella (on the Chieti and Pescara campuses), reproduces the stylised form of the head of Minerva, placed on a simple base and bearing the words University ‘G. d'Annunzio’, upon which the acronym ‘Ud'A’ is superimposed. In November 1993, the Faculties based in the city of Teramo separated from what is now the University of Chieti–Pescara, establishing the University of Teramo. The headquarters in Chieti underwent clear growth in the following years, which led to the establishment of the Museum of History of Biomedical Sciences and the opening of the Hospital.

At the beginning of the new millennium, the Continuing Education Centre (CEduC) was founded as a permanent training centre in the city of Torrevecchia Teatina. In the meantime, the Teacher Training School (Scuola di Specializzazione all'Insegnamento Secondario; SSIS) opened in Chieti. The Centre for Research into Aging (CeSI) is located by the Chieti campus of the ‘G. d’Annunzio’ University, and this received funding from the Ministry for Universities and Research. This has gained significant national importance as the first Italian centre dedicated to research into diseases of the elderly. In 2002, the University opened four new Faculties, with the consequent increase in student numbers that led to the creation of a second teaching centre at the campus in Madonna delle Piane.

The following year saw the birth of the ‘Gabriele d'Annunzio’ University Foundation and the official opening of the Centre for Research into Aging (CeSI), which took place in the presence of Minister Letizia Moratti. In 2004, CeSI was recognized as having special advisory status for the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The University funded and promoted the ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ Distance Learning University, based in Torrevecchia Teatina, which obtained its legal charter in 2004. This University is the online campus of the University, and it delivers its services exclusively online. In 2006, the Faculty of Educational Sciences was officially opened in Chieti.

The ‘G. d'Annunzio’ University then established itself as 13 Departments and two University Schools according to Law 240/2010 for the reorganisation of the Universities. With the approval of the ‘Gelmini reform’ (the Minister at the time), starting from the 2012/13 academic year, there are no University Faculties anymore, as these were replaced for all of the activities by the University Schools. The University courses, which were previously managed by the Faculties, are run according to the proposals of the Departments, and are managed under the coordination of the University Schools.

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HISTORY  RESEARCH ACTIVITIES  DIDACTIC HISTORY  GREAT EVENTS  PLACES TO VISIT