Nicolaus Copernicus came to Ferrara because of the lower cost of living and study than in Padua and Bologna. Ferrara was an important scientific and cultural centre attracting students from all over Europe.
At the University of Ferrara, a plaque praising the astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, philosopher of medicine and lawyer, who obtained his degree in canon law at Ferrara on 31 May 1503, was dedicated to Copernicus by the Library.