Ca' Foscari names a Ca’ Bembo classroom after Elena Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman graduate in the world

A classroom in Ca’ Bembo will be named after Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman in the world to graduate. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday 28^th March at 4pm.

On 25^th June 1678, in the cathedral of Padova, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was proclaimed Magistra and Doctrix in Philosophy (instead of Magister et Doctor, using the feminine version of the nouns). The first woman in the world to achieve this degree, she was given, as they used to do for men, a book and a ring, symbols of the doctrine and her ‘marriage’ with science, a laurel oak wreath, as sign of triumph, and an ermine cloak.

The Academic Senate has accepted the request from the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies to dedicate a classroom to this pioneer in academic and university studies, because of the belief in the necessity for positive role models for both women and men and of the strong symbolic power in the entitlement of a place.

The figure of Elena Cornaro Piscopia is particularly close to Ca' Foscari's Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies because her studies of philosophy and theology were completed by an open approach to other fields such as modern languages, as well as classical languages, the study of foreign languages and interaction with the sciences. Her being named Magistra et Doctrix demonstrates how the feminine noun can be applied naturally and not compromised when the title holder is a woman. Her being part of the European Academia places her on an international scale that is well-suited to scholars and students of the department.

Ceremony Programme

Institutional Welcomes

Michele Bugliesi (Rector Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)
Anna Cardinaletti (Director Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies)
Adalberto Perulli (President CUG Ca' Foscari University of Venice)
Patrizia Tomio (President Conferenza Nazionale degli Organismi di Parità delle Università Italiane)
Ermelinda Damiano, President of the City Council of Venice

In connection fro, Potenza:
Aurelia Sole (Rector Università della Basilicata)

Giuliana Giusti
Dare nome ai ruoli e ai modelli culturali

Daria Perocco
Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia: la libertà attraverso la cultura

Bruna Bianchi
Acquisire l’auctoritas per sé e per le altre donne. Le prime laureate in Europa e negli Stati Uniti

Round table: L’importanza di modelli di ruolo autorevoli e inclusivi dentro e fuori l’ambito accademico

Interventions:

Nadia Cario (Veneto Region)
Caterina Marcantoni Cherido (President Soroptimist Venezia)
Chicca Coccitto (Vicepresident Distretto Nordest Fidapa BPW Italy)
Roberta De Rossi (Alumna, Author of Le donne di Ca’ Foscari. Percorsi di emancipazione)
Franca Orletti (Linguist, Università Roma Tre)
Marco Sgarbi (Vice Provost for Communication and Development - Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)

Poster