HISTORICAL HINTS
HISTORICAL HINTS1. The origins. Grammar and Law. Pillio da Medicina.
The University of Modena was established at almost the same time that the city of Modena became a Municipality, that is, in the first half of the twelfth century, after the death of Countess Matilde of Canossa (1115). If, in fact, its origins have been set by historians as 1175, around which year the Town Council called Pillio da Medicina to be lecturer for Law and gave him a regular wage - we can claim, with reasonable certainty, that the University of Modena must have been a reality already half way through the century. Pillio himself confirms this indirectly when he claims that Modena « iuris alumnos semper diligere consuevit », proving with these words that a juridical tradition existed even before his arrival. The state schools in Modena also flourished in the following century, not only because of the good teachers but also because the number of students began to grow when, in 1222, teachers and students began to leave Bologna. 1283, the period in which fierce battles led to the Estensi domination, saw the close of the first period of life of the local University. In fact, the last documented facts on Niccolò Matarelli, law lecturer, are found with this date. In this period worthy law scholars were teaching at Modena - among whom we remember Alberto of Pavia, Guido of Suzzara and Matarelli from Modena - just to mention some of the most famous.
