From 1539, when Padua’s various university schools were grouped together in Palazzo del Bo, the Cortile Antìco courtyard and its refined double loggia became the beating heart of the city’s university.

It was also used for a centuries-old rite called the alzabàra, dealing with hearts that beat no longer. Although less frequently than in the past, the tradition of paying homage to professors when they pass away continues. After eulogies from academic authorities and colleagues, the casket is lifted three times while the tower bell tolls in mourning.

In its eight centuries of life, the university has certainly developed a series of bizarre traditions, some of which are still present today.

A quick visit to the GAUDEAMus exhibition in the Cortile Nuòvo provides plenty of examples.

However, the University of Padua is better known for breaking traditions.

For instance, the city vaunts the world’s first woman graduate: Elena Lucrezia Cornàro Piscòpia, seen in a statue at the base of the staircase named after her: Scalòne Cornàro.

Elena was born in 1646, into an ancient Venetian noble family. From a very young age she was a keen scholar and her father supported her passion, employing excellent tutors. He knew that by cultivating his daughter’s amazing talent, he would bring great prestige to the entire family.

Elena was at ease conversing about theology, dialectics and philosophy, and she knew Latin, Greek and Hebrew, as well as Spanish, French, Arabic, and even Aramaic.

When she applied to study for a degree in theology, the university chancellor, Cardinal Gregorio Barbarìgo, refused in no uncertain terms. “It is absurd for a woman to study for a degree,” he declared. Most of the university didn’t agree and applauded enthusiastically when Elena did manage to graduate on the 25th of June 1678. But her degree was not in theology, it was in philosophy.

Elena Lucrezia’s exceptional intelligence earned her respect in a university setting which, like many others, remained a male domain for a long time to come. Elena died aged only thirty-eight, and she is buried in the Basilica di Santa Giustìna.