The restoration of the forty
A Polish king, a French state chancellor, a famous Irish poet and playwright, the English doctor who first described the circulation of blood. They are Stefan Bathory, Michel de l'Hospital, Oliver Goldsmith and William Harvey. They are only four of forty of our illustrious foreign students, a symbol of the constant international vocation of the University of Padua.
Their portraits decorate the Sala dei Quaranta, the room that leads to the historic Aula Magna of Palazzo del Bo and which also houses Galileo's famous Chair. They were built in 1942 by Gian Giacomo Dal Forno, as part of the renovation of the building commissioned by the then Rector Carlo Anti and entrusted to the Milanese designer Gio Ponti.
Damiano De Goes, Portuguese diplomat and historian (1502–1574)
Antonio Agustin, Spanish historian of Roman law and canon law (1517–1586)
Emile Perrot, French humanist and jurist (?-1556)
Michel de l'Hospital, French Chancellor of State (1504?-1573)
Caspar Bauhin, Swiss anatomist and botanist (1560–1624)
Jean Prevost, Swiss botanist and physician (1585–1631)
Adriaan van den Spiegel, Flemish anatomist and surgeon (1578–1625)
Jan van Heurne, Dutch physician (1543–1601)
Thomas Linacre, English physician and humanist (1460–1524)
Francis Walsingham, English statesman (1532–1590)
William Harvey, English physician (1578–1657)
Oliver Goldsmith, Irish poet and playwright (1728–1774)
Johan Ruthven, Scottish politician (16th century)
Olof Rudbeck, Swedish botanist and physician (1630–1702)
Olaus Worm, Danish philosopher and physician (1588–1654)
Pier Giov. Resenius, Danish state councillor and historian (1625–1688)
Thomas Bartolin, Danish physician (1616–1680)
Nicolò da Cusa, German philosopher and theologian (1401–1464)
Johann Georg Wirsüng, German physician (1600–1643)
Werner Rolfinck, German physician, botanist and chemist (1599–1673)
Protasius de Czernahora, Czech humanist (15th century)
Jan Kritel Bohac, Czech naturalist and physician (1724–1768)
Witelo, Polish philosopher and scientist (XIII century)
Klemens Janicius, Polish poet (1516–1543)
Jan Kochanowski, Polish poet (1530–1584)
Franciscus Skorjna de Poloczo, Belarusian physician and publisher (c. 1490-c. 1535)
Petr Vasiljevich Postnikov, Russian physician and philosopher (XVIII century)
Ianus Pannonius, Hungarian humanist (1434–1472)
Stephen Bathory, King of Poland, Hungarian (1533–1586)
János Sámboky, Hungarian physician and scholar (1531–1584)
Costantino Cantacuzino, Romanian philosopher and scholar (1650-1716)
Marko Gerbec, Slovenian physician (1658–1718)
Demeter Dimitrije, Croatian scholar and physician (1811–1872)
Georgius Benignus, Bosnian philosopher and theologian (?-1540)
Giovanni Argiropulo, Greek scholar (c. 1410-1492)
Alessandro Maurocordato, Greek physician and grand dragon (1636–1709)
Giovanni Capodistria, Greek physician and statesman (1776–1831)
Marino Becichemo, Albanian humanist (1468–1526)
Niccolò Leonico Tomeo, Albanian humanist (1456–1531)
Emanuele Sciascian, Armenian physician (1775–1858)
Since the end of October 2020, labariums and canvases have been the subject of major restoration work, supported by private individuals, citizens, companies, professional associations, service clubs, professors, embassies, consulates. The intervention was carried out mainly with conservative purposes and aimed at the structural consolidation of the supports, characterized by an extremely fragile material.
In the Sala dei Quaranta there are also seven labariums representing the Faculties or Schools, long used in high representative events. Six of them were donated in 1922, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the University, by a committee of "Ladies and Gentlemen" from the cities of Trieste, Trento, Fiume, Vicenza, Udine and Verona. Made of silk, painted and embroidered in gold, the labari each correspond to the colour of the Faculties, to which they are dedicated, with an image inspired by them: Hygieia for the Medical Faculty (labarum of Trieste women); the eagle wing for the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (labarum of Trentino women); Justice for the Faculty of Law (Rijeka Women's Labyrinth); the owl for the Physical-Mathematical Faculty (labarum of Vicenza women); the genius for the School of Engineers (labaro delle donne udinesi); a snake wrapped around a paten for the School of Pharmacy (labaro delle donne veronesi). The seventh labyrinth, representing the Faculty of Education, was probably built at a later date, considering that the Faculty began in 1951.
This work was made possible thanks to an important fundraising campaign activated by the University that ended successfully thanks to the help of many donors who believed in this project.