Universita degli Studi di Padova was founded in 1222, making it one of the oldest universities in the world. Today it is one of the highest ranked universities in Italy and boasts over 60,000 students. Its campus is spread across the town Padova's medieval buildings. As the publications of innumerable conferences and congresses show, the modern-day university plays an important role in scholarly and scientific research at both a European and world level. True to its origins, this is the direction in which the university intends to move in the future, establishing closer links of cooperation and exchange with all the world's major research universities.