The University of Bologna was probably the first University in the western world. Its history is one of great thinkers in science and the humanities， making it an indispensable point of reference in the panoramapanorama： n.全景，全景画，全景摄影 of European culture.
The institution that we today call the University began to take shape in Bologna at the end of the eleventh century， when masters of Grammar， Rhetoric and Logic began to devote themselves to the law. In the nineteenth century a committee of historians， led by Giosuè Carducci， attributed the birth of the University to the year 1088.
The first recorded scholars were Pepone and Irnerio， the latter of whom was defined by the former as “lucerna iuris”. With the advice of four doctores thought to be their pupils， in 1158 Federico I promulgatedpromulgate： vt.发布， 公布， 传播 the Constitutio Habita， in which the University was legally declared a place where research could develop independently from any other power.
In the 14th Century， socalled “artists” scholars of Medicine， Philosophy， Arithmetic， Astronomy， Logic， Rhetoric， and Grammar began to collaborate withcollaborate with： v.合作， 与敌人合作， 通敌 the school of jurists. In 1364， the teaching of Theology was instituted.
Dante Alighieri， Francesco Petrarca， Guido Guinizelli， Cino da Pistoria， Cecco d，Ascoli， Re Enzo， Salimbene da Parma and Coluccio Salutati all studied in Bologna.
In the 15th Century Greek and Hebrew studies were instituted， and in the 16th Century those of “natural magic”， that is， experimental science. The philosopher Pietro Pomponazzi upheld the study of the laws of nature against the traditionalist position of Theology and Philosophy. A representative figure of this period was Ulisse Aldrovandi， whose contribution ranged from pharmacopoeiapharmacopoeia： n.药典， 一批备用药品 to the study of animals， fossilsfossil： n.化石， 僵化的事物， and marvelsmarvel： n.奇迹 of nature which he collected and classified.
In the 16th Century Gaspare Tagliacozzi completed the first studies of plastic surgerysurgery： n.外科， 外科学， 手术室， 诊疗室. But the golden era of Bolognese Medicine coincidedcoincide： vi.一致， 符合 with the teachings of Marcello Malpighi in the 17th Century， employing the microscope for anatomicalanatomical： adj.解剖的， 解剖学的 research.
The University，s fame had spread throughout Europe and it was a destination for many illustriousillustrious： adj.杰出的 guests. Famous scholars and students included Pico della Mirandola and Leon Battista Alberti， who devoted themselves to canonicalcanonical： adj.规范的 law. Nicolò Copernico began his astronomical observations while studying pontificalpontifical： adj.罗马教皇的， 主教的， 大祭司的 law. Paracelso，Albrecht Dürer， St. Carlo Borromeo， Torquato Tasso and Carlo Goldoni all spent time at the University.
With the Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century， the University promoted scientific and technological development. In this period came the studies of Luigi Galvani who， along with Alessandro Volta， Benjamin Franklin and Henry Cavendish， was one of the founders of modern electrotechnical studies.
Following the establishment of the United Italian State came a period of great prosperityprosperity： n.繁荣 in which the figures of Giovanni Capellini， Giosuè Carducci， Giovanni Pascoli， Augusto Righi， Federigo Enriques， Giacomo Ciamician， and Augusto Murri stand out.
In 1888 the eighth centennialcentennial： n.百年纪念 of the University was celebrated， with a grand ceremony where all the universities of the world convenedconvene： v.召集， 集合 in Bologna to honour the mother of universities， representing their common roots and ideals of progress and tolerance. The ceremony became an international festival of studies.
The University maintained its central position on the scene of global culture until the period between the two wars， when other countries came to the forefront in teaching and research. Bologna has thus been called upon to forgeforge： v.稳步前进， 铸造， 伪造 relationships with institutions in the most advanced countries to modernise and expand its activity. Among the many challenges which it has met with success， Bologna committed itself to the European dimensiondimension： n.尺寸， 尺度， 维(数)， 度(数)， 元 which has now led to adoptionadoption： n.采用， 收养 of the new university system.