The University of Studies was established in 1626 during the reign of Philip IV, King of Spain. In 1764 military engineer Saverio Belgrano of Famolasco drew up plans to arrange the University building, the Tridentine Seminary and the Theater into a single complex, the latter of which was never built. It is one of the most important buildings constructed by the Savoy administration in the eighteenth century on the Island and is linked to the Enlightenment program of Charles Emmanuel III. The wide stone portal opens onto the atrium, from which there is access to the square central courtyard. A symmetrical double staircase from the courtyard leads to the rampart behind, while a simple side staircase leads to the upper floors where the great hall with coffered ceiling and interesting paintings on the walls, and the rectory rooms are located. In the main hall are the 18th-century bas-relief depicting Charles Emanuel III, the University’s official banner with the coat of arms and two large canvases by Filippo Figari (The Myth of Prometheus, Sardegna Industre, 1925). On the ground floor, in the room originally intended ” per vestirsi li signori professori ” is the Historical Archives. Embellished with paintings depicting Minerva and the allegory of the historical Colleges (Medicine, Laws, Philosophy and Fine Arts, Theology), the Archive mainly preserves documents produced and received by the University since the Savoy reform.
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