In the Archive of the University of Padua there is a remarkable book, in fact two books of the so-called Metrics of the Polish nation. They are full of beautiful illuminations showing in decorative cartouches the coats of arms of the Polish students at this university.

Metryki n acji polskiej
Poles flowed into Padua en masse in the 16th century. In 1592 they founded a student organisation called the Polish Nation. It is to their credit that the Metryki... are a testimony, the pages of which are filled with entries by Polish students - members of the Polish nation, decorated with illuminations with poetic dedications. Among them one can find elaborate heraldic compositions, not infrequently being true works of art, such as the coat of arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which opens the first volume, or the coats of arms of Bogusław Leszczyński, Franciszek and Jan Dembiński, and Józef Antoni Częczkiewicz.

University of Padua
The University of Padua was one of the most eminent intellectual centres of Europe in the humanist era. Among its students were the most eminent figures of their time, Dante, Petrarch, Torquato Tasso, Galileo Galilei and Nicholas of Cusa. Their companions were the future founders of Polish science and culture, such as Paweł Włodkowic, Jan Kochanowski, Marcin Kromer, Grzegorz z Sanoka, Klemens Janicki, Jan Łaski, Maciej of Miechów and Franciszek Skoryna. The Chancellor of the University of Padua was Jan Zamoyski, who, having imbibed the ideas of humanism within the walls of that university, materialised them in an ideal city - Zamość.

The year 2022 marks the 800th anniversary of the University of Padua. In keeping with the festive celebrations, the POLONIKA Institute has prepared a phototyped edition of the metrics of the Polish nation in Padua. In this way, we are presenting not only to Polish and Italian, but also to European audiences, an extraordinary work of art that bears witness to the centuries-old Polish presence at this academy.