University of Messina
The University of Messina was officially founded in 1548 thanks to the intervention of Ignatius of Loyola and the papal bull of Paul III. After a long period of conflicts with the Jesuits, local politics, and the University of Catania, it obtained the right to confer degrees between 1593 and 1596. It experienced a season of development until its closure in 1679, following the anti-Spanish revolt. Reopened in 1838 by the Bourbons, it went through new difficulties but later managed to consolidate itself, becoming a central point of the cultural and scientific rebirth of the city.
"Mediterranea" University of Reggio Calabria
The University of Reggio Calabria was established between 1967 and 1968 as the University Institute of Architecture, with classes initially held in temporary locations and with a limited number of students. In 1970 it became a state institute and in 1982 it was officially established as a university, expanding its educational offer with new faculties such as Engineering and Agriculture, in addition to the Catanzaro campuses. In the 1990s it was strengthened with the construction of the campus and in 2001 it took the name "Mediterranea", underlining its international vocation and its role as a cultural bridge in the Mediterranean context.