The University of Padua (Padova in Italian) located in the city of Padua, Italy, was established in 1222, after a group of students and teachers decided to go there from Bologna. They 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 rettore (rector, or 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.

It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second oldest in Italy. 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. Today, Padua continues to be one of the most prominent universities in Italy and Europe. It is made up of 32 departments and eight schools, which co-ordinate the courses managed by each department, as well as 49 specialisation schools and 43 research and service centres.