The heraldic cartouches of representatives of the Polish nation are one of the richest compact heraldic ensembles in the history of Polish culture. This unique monument is a remarkable testimony to the presence of Polish scholars in Italy, to the centuries-old relationship between Padua and Poland, and a trace reflecting the important place of the Poles in the history of European science.

For Padua's Athenaeum - a unique European university of sciences - the late Renaissance and Baroque periods were a time of particular development. It coincided with massive educational journeys by citizens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Immediately after the German-speaking nations, ennobled youths from remote areas of the Commonwealth constituted the second largest group of overseas scholars. To this day, numerous coat-of-arms cartouches remain of Poles and Gdanskers whose genealogy may suggest Polish origin. The historical material is scattered throughout almost the entire former university building of the Palazzo del Bo. Polish coats of arms can be found on the outer walls of the university, as well as indoors (including in the prestigious Aula Magna - the most famous hall of the Paduan Athenaeum). They can be found in two forms - stone coat-of-arms cartouches (sometimes enriched with an elaborate sculptural composition) and inlaid paintings. Several Polish coats of arms date back to the 16th century, while the remainder date back to the 17th century. One of the most valuable Polish heraldic signs is the coat of arms of Jelita Jan Zamoyski (1542-1605), a rector of jurists still highly regarded in Padua, who became rector in 1563.

In 2023 there was published in the scientific series "Studies and Materials" the publication "Coats of arms of representatives of the Polish nation at the University of Padua. Catalogue of heraldic signs'.

It mainly presents a catalogue containing biographies and descriptions of coats of arms, the compilation of which was entrusted to Dr Olga Kucharczyk on the basis of a research reconnaissance carried out at the University of Padua in 2019 with the support of Professor Mirosław Lenart.

The book Coats of Arms of the representatives of the Polish nation at the University of Padua is already the second publication of the Polonica Institute, following the 'Album Polonicum. Metrics of the Polish Nation 1592-1745', which falls within the initiatives related to the 800th anniversary of the University of Padua falling in 2022.

In addition, Professor Franco Benucci, an Italian historian and linguist who has repeatedly researched the role of student nations in the academic structure and in the social and cultural life of Padua from the Middle Ages to modern times, was invited to join the publishing project. Commissioned by the Polonica Institute, he compiled the essay "Student Heraldry in Padua a Mirror of Universitas. The Polish case, outlining in it the history of the university through the prism of the history of Polish students.

See also:

Polonics of the Week: A book full of Polish coats of arms

Exhibition at Google Arts & Culture: Paduan coats of arms of citizens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Work carried out in 2024

In 2024, the Institute's publishing palette includes the third and final volume of publications related to the University of Padua.

The book 'Arma virosque cano... The Polish nation in Padua: people and coats of arms (1552-1687)' by Franco Benucci is an overview of the Polish student coats of arms that have survived to the present day and are preserved in the university corpus. The fate of their owners is shown against the background of the history of universitas and the natio to which they belonged.

As the topic concerns institutions, the descriptions will be presented in a fixed order: from the coats of arms of the figures occupying the highest positions, through the next in the hierarchy, to the lowest in the academic community.