On 6 December 1967 , on the initiative of the Prefectural Commissioner of the Consortium for the University Institute of Architecture of Reggio Calabria , the process of establishing the University of Reggio was started.
Official legal recognition came with the Decree of the President of the Republic of 17 June 1968, n. 1543 , which established the birth of the Free University Institute of Architecture .
On December 18, 1967, Prof. Salvatore Boscarino, a lecturer at the University of Catania, held the inaugural lecture, entitled "Elements of architecture and relief of monuments" .
The first academic year registered 81 students. The initial lessons were held in the Council Chamber of the Provincial Administration of Reggio Calabria, and then continued in various temporary locations: Palazzo Delfino in via Logoteta, the Municipal Library in via Demetrio Tripepi and, from October 1969, in the premises of the Archbishop's Curia in via Cimino.
With the Decree of the President of the Republic of 14 February 1970, n. 750 , the Institute took the name of State University Institute of Architecture (IUSA) .
Pending the establishment of the academic bodies, the management of the Institute was entrusted to a government commissioner, Dr. Franco Pontorieri.
At the same time, the functions of the Faculty Council are exercised by a Committee of three professors appointed by the Ministry of Public Education: Prof. Ludovico Quaroni, full professor at the University of Rome, Prof. Ugo Fuxa, full professor at the University of Palermo, and Prof. Gianvito Resta, full professor at the University of Messina.
In 1972 the official coat of arms was adopted, inspired by the ancient coins of Rhegion, in particular the silver staters and tetradrachms minted between approximately 488 BC and 386 BC, the year of the conquest of the city by Dionysius I of Syracuse.
The most representative example, for artistic quality and state of conservation, is kept at the National Museum of Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria.
The obverse of the coin, depicting the head of the Nemean lion , inspired the academic seal of the Institute.
This figure, a symbol of strength and perfection, recalls the link with the cultural and intellectual heritage of the city, underlining the flourishing of the arts and sciences at the Pythagorean school of Reggio, active around 400 BC, a period of great cultural ferment that left a lasting mark on the history of the city.
The tetradrachm features, on the reverse, the laurel-crowned head of Apollo and an olive branch with the ethnic legend ΡΗΓΙΝΟΝ.
In 1976, with the appointment of five tenured professors, the IUSA was no longer managed by a commissioner and Prof. Antonio Quistelli , holder of the chair of Industrial Design, was elected Director.
The transition of IUSA to a State University took place with effect from the 1982/1983 academic year, following the law of 14 August 1982, n. 590 , which established the University of Reggio Calabria.
This provision is aimed at " promoting the development and progress of culture and science through research and teaching and contributing to the civil, cultural, social and economic development of Calabria and the country ".
Law no. 590/1982 responds to two main needs:
- strengthens the single-faculty structure of Reggio Calabria with the establishment of the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Agriculture ;
- takes into account the needs of the Catanzaro area, where a Consortium for the promotion of Culture and University Studies has been operating since 1979.
In the city of Catanzaro, two faculties are established, Medicine and Surgery and Law , as branch offices of the University of Reggio Calabria , with a formal commitment by the national government to activate, in the medium term, the didactic and administrative autonomy of the Catanzaro faculties.
The University of Reggio Calabria therefore takes on a new structure, with an inter-provincial profile and a wide range of study options:
- Faculty of Architecture, Engineering and Agriculture, located in Reggio Calabria ;
- Faculty of Law, Medicine and Surgery , located in Catanzaro, to which the Faculty of Pharmacy was added in 1992 .
The first rector of the University was Antonio Quistelli , former director of IUSA, who held the position until 1989.
The Dean of the Faculty of Architecture is Rosalba La Creta; the Dean of the Faculty of Law is Alessandro Corbino; the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery is Prof. Vincenzo Bocchini.
The Faculties of Agriculture, Pharmacy and Engineering, pending the establishment of their respective Faculty Councils, are entrusted to the direction of a Technical Organizing Committee:
- for the Faculty of Agriculture it is made up of professors Carmelo Schifani, Giovanni Giovannozzi Sermanni and Salvatore Foti;
- for the Faculty of Pharmacy it is made up of professors Pietro Monforte, Giuseppe Laconica, Girolamo Cirrincione;
- for the Faculty of Engineering it is made up of professors Arturo Polese, Paolo Finocchiaro and Antonio Paoletti.
The first Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture was Carmelo Sturiale, elected in 1985.
The first Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy was Domenicantonio Rotiroti, elected in February 1996.
In 1986, Rosario Pietropaolo , full professor of Chemistry, was elected the first Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, before becoming Rector of the University in 1989, a role he held until 1999.
January 1, 1998 marks a turning point with the establishment and autonomy of the University of Catanzaro.
Reggio Calabria therefore has three faculties: Agriculture, Architecture and Engineering, to which is added a Law Teaching Centre which, in 2001, separated from Catanzaro to become the fourth faculty in Reggio.
Initially, academic activities were hosted in locations spread across the city. In the 1990s, the transfer to the modern and spacious facilities of the University Citadel began, adjacent to the Annunziata torrent valley.
In 1999, Alessandro Bianchi , full professor of Urban Planning, was elected Rector, leading the University until May 2006, when he was appointed Minister of Transport in the Prodi Government.
Starting from the Academic Year 2001/2002, the Faculty of Law of the University of Reggio Calabria was established. During the same year, the University took the name of “ University of Mediterranean Studies of Reggio Calabria ”, with the aim of becoming a cultural and scientific point of reference for the entire Mediterranean basin.
In 2007, Massimo Giovannini , full professor of Drawing and former Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, was elected Rector. Reconfirmed in 2010, he resigned in November 2012, following the approval of the new Statute in compliance with the Gelmini Reform (L. 240 of 2010), published in the Official Journal no. 87 of 13 April 2012.
The subsequent elections, held in 2012, led to the appointment of Pasquale Catanoso , full professor of Financial Science at the Faculty of Law and director, since 2007, of the Department of Historical, Legal, Economic and Social Sciences.
On November 14, 2018, Santo Marcello Zimbone , full professor of Agricultural Hydraulics and Hydraulic-Forestry Systems, becomes the first Rector from the Faculty of Agriculture.
From May to August 2022 he will assume the role of Rector rei gerendae causa , Dean of the University, Prof. Felice Antonio Costabile, Full Professor of Roman Law at the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, former Director of the Department of Law and member first of the Academic Senate and then of the Board of Directors, as well as one of the founders of the Faculty of Law and Director, from 2002 to 2012, of the School of Advanced Training in Archaeology and Architecture of the Classical City and Honorary Member of the Archaeological Society of Athens and Member of the German Archaeological Institute.
On August 3, 2022, the current Rector, Giuseppe Zimbalatti, Full Professor of Agricultural Mechanics at the University of Reggio Calabria, took office, where he held the role of Director of the Department of Agriculture for two three-year periods: 2015-2018 and 2018-2021. He was the Coordinator of Italian Full Professors for the SSD Agr/09 - Agricultural Mechanics from 2019 to 2021.