University of Altamura

rdf:langString University of Altamura

rdf:langString University of Altamura

rdf:langString Università degli Studi di Altamura

rdf:langString University of Altamura

rdf:langString The residence of the prelate , the location of the ancient University of Altamura

rdf:langString Charles III of Spain

rdf:langString Italian

rdf:langString Università degli Studi di Altamura

rdf:langString Italian

rdf:langString The University of Altamura (Italian: Università degli Studi di Altamura) was a former university located in Altamura, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples. It was established in Altamura in 1747 by Charles III of Bourbon, following the idea of the archpriest of Altamura Cathedral Marcello Papiniano Cusani. It was officially closed in 1812, mainly due to the lack of funds, even though some documents kept inside library Archivio capitolare in Altamura show that professors continued to teach until 1821. Based on the statements of notable scholars, such as Bernardo Tanucci and Vitangelo Bisceglia, it can be concluded that the university had an excellent reputation at that time. Because of the university, Tanucci described Altamura as Appula Atene ("Apulia's Athens"). The subjects taught underwent considerable change over the history of the university. In total, the following subjects were taught: Law, ecclesiastical law, Latin, Ancient Greek, Hebrew, mathematics, geometry, physics, chemistry, botany, agronomy, mineralogy, medicine and theology. The main sources about the history of the university are the documents stored in Altamura's libraries, mainly Archivio capitolare and Archivio Biblioteca Museo Civico (A.B.M.C.). The University of Altamura undoubtedly helped to spread scientific knowledge inside Altamura and the Kingdom of Naples. Prior to the founding of the university, there was very little or no interest at all in science.