The Department
The Department of Veterinary Sciences (DSV) at the University of Pisa was established in 2012, following compliance with Law No. 240 of Dec. 30, 2010, replacing the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, which had been present at Viale delle Piagge 2 since 1965.
The History
The foundation of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine dates back to the second half of the 19th century. In 1818 Vincenzo Mazza, veterinarian of Napoleon’s Grande Armée, opened a Small Veterinary School in Pisa. In 1839 the Chair of Veterinary Medicine was established at the Faculty of Medicine in Pisa, and in 1859 it was attached to the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In 1923 the School of Veterinary Medicine was transformed into the Royal Institute of Veterinary Medicine, with an autonomous organization independent of the University. In 1934 the Institute became the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and returned permanently to the University, maintaining its headquarters on Via Savi, thus associating its history with that of the Hospital
The Viale delle Piagge location
By Bill C.3338 of November 29, 1957, the construction of new facilities on Viale delle Piagge was approved. Work, based on plans by Italo Gamberini and Loris Macci, began in 1962 and was completed in 1964. The following year the faculty moved to its current location on Viale delle Piagge.
The headquarters in San Piero a Grado
Within a few decades, the need to move activities to a more decentralized location became evident, and in 2000, the first premises of the future DSV headquarters were officially opened in San Piero a Grado. The Teaching Veterinary Hospital (ODV) was fully realized in 2009. The full realization of the premises for the DSV, and thus the completion of the relocation project to San Piero a Grado, is scheduled for 2026.