Memorie di una libera Università. L’Ateneo camerte nell’Italia unita

The thesis aimsto provide an insight into the study of free universitiesfor a broader reflection on the relevance of the principles of autonomy and independence in the field of higher education. What impact did the ‘free universities’ (università libere) had both in the period understudy and in the contemporary world? The research structure therefore begins with an investigation of the varying expansion of the nineteenth-century debate and the various declinations of freedom, adopting as its guiding thread the dialectic between academic autonomy, the legalstructure of private universities, and models of university governance in Italy between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The university question is then interpreted through the myth of “free universities in free municipalities” - thanks to the structure outlined by the Quod Divina Sapientia - and the comparison between state and non-state universities. Within this framework, due consideration has been given to differing doctrinal positions, as well as issues of public opinion and the professors self- representation: elementsthat further enable usto understand the tensions between autonomy, governance, statutory authority, and the legal definition of the university institution. The thesis project reconstructs the evolution of the University of Camerino over a century, through a timeline that reflects the transformations of its legal structure, with particular reference to the documentary collection. To complete the reflection, the research opens up to a comparison with the Iberian experience, particularly with the tradition of Spanish Krausism, commonly identified as a true “theoretical laboratory” and an institutional one of extraordinary importance for questions about academic freedom. The conclusions ultimately converge on some key research questions: the evolution of academic freedom as a dynamic concept, constantly redefined by the relationship between state and university; the specific role of the “free” phase in the history of the University of Camerino, whose legacy is reflected in its institutional identity (likewise, at the national level) even after nationalization; the importance of archival sources for assessing the gap between normative aspirations and university governance practices, and the potential for further exploration in future studies, especially comparative and prosopographical ones.