Take a look at this postcard from Italy! 95% of the info I’m about to share is from the sender herself… and I’m gonna take full advantage of that! This is a multiview of Padua University, established in 1222, the second-oldest university in Italy (right behind the University of Bologna, which is Europe’s oldest university). Let’s talk a bit about these panels! The “Teatro Anatomico” in the upper-right is the Anatomical theatre, which was conceived by Girolamo Fabrici d’Acquapendente, an anatomist and surgeon. At the entrance of the room, there’s a Latin inscription that reads “This is the place where death delights to help the living”, as it was there that corpses were dissected to teach anatomy lessons. It’s a dream to be able to help the world even after death… maybe I’ll reconsider my choice to be cremated! The Aula Magna in the bottom-left is the Great Hall, where a certain famous teacher was allowed to teach – Galileo Galilei! Galileo taught at the University of Padua from 1592 to 1610, and his main subject was math. One of the most renowned historical icons of the university is the Cattedra Di Galileo in the bottom-right, which is the podium that Galileo did his lectures at. His lectures were in laymen’s terms, so both academics and average joes could reap knowledge from them. Likewise, the sender did well to share all this info with me in simple terms, so this average joe (me) has also reaped much knowledge! While Galileo was here, he improved his telescope, which allowed him to make the first sky observation and discovery of four of Jupiter’s satellites (now known as the Galilean moons). In the upper-left is the entrance of the university, and in the bottom-center is the courtyard, which make up a few more of the many beautiful sights this university has. See, you don’t need to a telescope to see how cool this learning place is… and of course how awesome the sender is! Thank you so much Antonella for all your generosity and kindness!
