About Padua
For guide and maps click here: http://www.unipd.it/en/discovering-padova-0/guides-and-maps.
Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. According to a tradition dated at least to Virgil's Aeneid, and rediscovered by the medieval commune, it was founded in 1183 BC by the Trojan prince Antenor (http://www.unipd.it/en/discovering-padova/history-padova).
Padua is an astonishing mix of artistic and cultural heritage that visitors can enjoy at every corner. It is a fertile land, vital and dynamic, which lies in the heart of the Veneto plain where the main city, Padua, will amaze and enthrall visitors. Here devotion, art and science are inseparable. One of the most famous and best-known sights of Padua is probably the Scrovegni Chapel, home of the precious fresco cycle by Giotto, the Basilica del Santo, the old University of Padua, famous, among other things, for having had Galileo Galilei among its lecturers. Pleasure is enhanced with a walk through the historical centre, through the squares in the shadow of the imposing Palazzo della Ragione and a stop at the Pedrocchi Café.
The province of Padua extends from the Euganean hills to the Venice Lagoon offering you breathtaking landscapes from the gentle hills to the verdant plain. The territory is embellished with mighty fortresses, walled towns and timeless villages (Cittadella, Monselice, Este, Montagnana, Arquà Petrarca) which reveal the glorious Medieval past. From north to south and from east to west, the province is adorned with noble villas from every age that reflect the style of leading architects such as Andrea Palladio, Falconetto and Scamozzi just to name a few. The decorations were entrusted to undisputed artists: Paolo Veronese, as well as Tintoretto, and Tiepolo. These elegant historic homes are often surrounded by large parks and monumental gardens.
For the related links click here:
- Scrovegni Chapel
- Basilica del Santo
- University of Padua
- Palazzo della Ragione
- Pedrocchi Café
- Venetian villas
About the Veneto Region
Padua is situated in the Veneto region, that is, in the northeastern Italian region ruled for centuries by the independent Republic of Venice. From Padua, many cities of art can be reached by train in less than one hour. Examples, which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage List, are:
- the extraordinary and inimitable Venice.
- Verona, known as the city of Romeo and Juliet and dotted of Roman remains, pretty "palazzi", elegant squares and medieval gems.
- Vicenza, the native town of Palladio.
Further, the northern border of the region is dominated by the Dolomites, a mountain range in the northern Alps including eighteen peaks which are located at an altitude of over 3,000 meters and internationally renowned for their stunning landscapes.
About the University of Padua
The University of Padova is one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious seats of learning. It is a multi-disciplinary university (32 Departments, 1 University Hospital, 1 Veterinary Hospital, 1 Experimental Farm, 1 School of Excellence) that aims to provide its students with both professional training and a solid cultural background (65000 students, 12000 graduates each year). A qualification from the University of Padova is a symbol of having achieved an ambitious objective, one that is recognized by both students and employers alike.
In 2011, based on the number of citations of articles and publications by its 2210 professors and researchers, the first ever report issued by the National Research Assessment Committee of evaluators, including national and international experts, set the university of Padova among the top three Italian universities for total impact index, productivity index, and presence index and in particular at the first position in the Area of Economics and Statistics among the Italian Universities.
It was established in 1222, after a group of students and teachers, coming from Bologna, set up a free body of scholars, who were grouped according to their place of origin into nationes, in which students approved statutes, elected the chancellor and chose their teachers, who were paid with money the students collected. Defending freedom of thought in study and teaching became a distinctive feature which today lives on in the University motto: Universa Universis Patavina Libertas (Paduan Freedom is Complete and for Everyone).
The introduction of empirical and experimental methods together with the teaching of theory marked the dawn of a golden age. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Padova became a workshop of ideas and the home to figures who changed the cultural and scientific history of humanity. They included Andrea Vesalio, who founded modern anatomy, as well as the astronomers Copernicus, and Galileo. William Harvey, who became famous for describing the circulation of the blood, studied in Padova, and in 1678 Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman in the world to be awarded a university degree. Padova also vaunts the world's first university botanical garden and a permanent anatomical theatre. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the University expanded to include the faculties of Engineering, Pharmacy, and Political Sciences together with its traditional faculties of Law, Medicine, Arts and Philosophy, and Sciences. The advent of Fascism curtailed the University's values of free thought and cultural independence. For its sacrifices in the name of Liberation, the University of Padova was awarded a gold medal for military valour, the only university to receive such an honour. During the post-war period, the University opened faculties of Education, Agricultural Sciences, and Psychology and, in the 1990s, faculties of Veterinary Medicine, and Economics and Business Administration.
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About the Department of Statistical Sciences
The Department of Statistical Sciences was established in 1984 and was the successor to the Institute of Statistics founded by Corrado Gini in 1913.
The Department currently has 14 full professors, 16 associate professors and 13 assistant professors, working on both methodological and applied matters. The staff is composed of 19 members.
The Department has an international research profile, as revealed by many publications in major international journals. Since 1984, the Department has offered PhD programmes in Statistics and, since 2005 it organizes the PhD School in Statistical Sciences. There are currently 21 PhD students enrolled in the School, coming from all over the world.
In 2011, the National Research Assessment Committee of evaluators, set the Department of Statistical Sciences of Padua at the second position among the Italian departments in the Area of Economics and Statistics (first among the departments of Statistics).