Two centuries of Veterinary Medicine in Perugia - A short history
At least two doctors dealt in veterinary sciences in Perugia at the end of the 18th century: Annibale Mariotti (1738-1801) and Giovanni Angelo Cocchi (1730-1803).
The first university courses date back to 1808, when a lectureship on the art of veterinary medicine was introduced in the Faculty of Medicine under Napoleonic regulations. In 1824, as in the other universities of the Papal State, the introduction of a two-year “second class” course for veterinarians in “basic veterinary medicine” was instated. Students studied the theory of anatomy and horse shoeing in the first year, then in the second, the practical aspects of dealing with animal diseases.
The regulations changed with the annexation of Perugia to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, when a three-year course of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery was held under the School of Human Medicine and Surgery.
A School of Higher Learning in Veterinary Medicine was eventually established with the Royal Decree of June 27th 1864, nonetheless, it was still part of the Faculty of Human Medicine and Surgery. In fact, the course in Veterinary Medicine was one of the three and consisted of a 4-year study course, divided into two, 2-year periods. Lessons were shared with both Human Medicine and Agriculture. The School was reformed again in 1896, and May 22nd 1898, marks the official inauguration of the veterinary clinics.
In 1924, the School became a University Faculty and Professor Giovanni Battista Caradonna served as the first dean. A year later, with the Royal Decree of October 29th 1925, the Faculty became the Royal Institute of Veterinary Medicine, governed by the Ministry of National Economy.
Due to the increase in teaching and scientific research needs, the Faculty was relocated just outside the old city walls, where the Department of Veterinary Medicine currently stands. The Faculty building was inaugurated on October 27th 1929, and was completed with a Veterinary Teaching Hospital, opened during the academic year 2006-2007. In the 1980s an additional group of buildings, including a library and teaching rooms, was built. The Department of Veterinary Medicine was founded in the academic year 2012-2013, after the reform of the Italian University System.
List of Heads
VALDONIO Pietro (from 1886-1887 to 1905-1906), ARUCH Eugenio (from 1906-1907 to 1908-1909), CARADONNA Giovanni Battista (from 1909-1910 to 1914-1915), NEGRI Pietro (from 1915-1916 to 1918-1919), CARADONNA Giovanni Battista (from 1919-1920 to 1930-1931), DE GASPERI Federico (from 1931-1932 to 1933-1934), ROOK Ottorino (1934-1935), MESSIERI Albino, (from 1935-1936 to 1939-1940), NAI Desiderio (from 1940-1941 to 1943-1944), CHIODI Valentino 1944-1945), NEGRI Pietro (from 1945-1946 to 1949-1950, BARBONI Elio (from 1950-1951 to 1967-1968), DOZZA Giancarlo (from 1968-1969 to 1973-1974), BALDELLI Bruno (from 1974-1975 to 1982-1983), AVELLINI Guido (from 1983-1984 to 1997-1998), GAITI Alberto (from 1998-1999 to 2004-05), MORICONI Franco (from 2005-2006 to 2012-2013), CECCARELLI Piero (from 2013-2014 to 2015-2016) and MECHELLI Luca (from 2016-2017).