The gallery is the entrance to the Rectorate. On its walls, a cycle of frescoes represents the cities of the Venetian Republic, academic symbols, university buildings, and former students who have been canonized or beatified. The author, Piero Fornasetti, was called to arms in 1943 and the fresco was not completed until 1956, by Fulvio Pendìni.

The rooms that follow, collectively known as the Cìrcolo dei Professori, were designed in the 1930s by Carlo Anti and Gio Ponti, who developed a strong artistic partnership. The idea was to create not only a place for political and institutional representation, but also a meeting and leisure area for professors.

The Scala della Sapienza and the sequence of white halberd-lamps in this space are by Gio Ponti. Other prominent artists also engaged in the scheme included Achille Funi, Piero Fornasetti, Gino Severini, Carlo Scarpa, Arturo Martini, and Massimo Campigli.