On April 18, at 6 p.m., the event UNIVERSA UNIVERSIS PATAVINA LIBERTAS – 800 years of culture at the University of Padua as narrated by its Bay Area Alumni was held at the headquarters of the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco.

The event was meant to celebrate 800 years of the University of Padua, but also to be an opportunity to revive the activities of the San Francisco Bay Area Alumni Chapter after the interruption caused by Covid.

The event opened with greetings from the authorities: Annamaria di Giorgio, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco; Sergio Strozzi, the Consul General of Italy in San Francisco; Grazia Busà, President of the San Francisco Bay Area UniPD Alumni Association; Gianni dal Pozzo, President of the University of Padua Alumni Association; and Cristina Basso, Pro-Chancellor of International Relations, University of Padua.
Veneto Region Governor Luca Zaia also sent his greetings, which were read by Grazia Busà.

This was followed by a talk by Valentina Roberti and Giulio Peruzzi of the University of Padua, From the scientific to the digital revolution at the University of Padua; from the birth of modern science to the 20th century, which traced the history of the people and events that helped make the scientific and technological disciplines at the University of Padua great.
Katherine Newman, Provost and Executive Vice President of the University of California, and Vivian-Lee Nytray, Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of the University of California Education Abroad Program told about the 40 years of exchanges between the University of Padua and the University of California, and their pivotal role in bringing talent from the University of Padua to California and the University of California to Padua.

Then the Papyri Honoris Causa ceremony took place: the original mysteriously found papyri of Galileo Galilei and Elena Cornaro Piscopia were exhibited and auctioned; and honorary papyri were awarded to Annamaria di Giorgio and Sergio Strozzi, in keeping with the best tradition of the University of Padua.

Finally, 3 Alumni of the University of Padua, Lorenza Moro, Alessandro Uccelli, and Ezio Valdevit, told the story that brought them from Padua to Silicon Valley, their memories of their years in Padua, their wealth of knowledge and experience, and their successes.

The event was a great success and made the community more aware of the importance of the Padua academy over the centuries and the active role of the San Francisco Bay Area Unipd Alumni Association in the California territory.

Thanks to the Board members who worked on the event: M. Grazia Busà, Salvatore Gallo, Alberto Malvestio, Roberto Manduchi, Morris Novello, Carlo Tedesco, Ezio Valdevit.