Collegio Borromeo

The Almo Collegio Borromeo stands in Pavia, Lombardy, beside the Ticino river. Built in the 16th century, it overlooks landscaped gardens and the Borromeo Gardens. Designed by Pellegrino Tibaldi, the building is praised by Giorgio Vasari as a ‘palace of knowledge’. It remains Italy’s oldest operating university hall of residence. A sharp rivalry links it with Collegio Ghislieri in the same city. The college selects students through a public competition held each year. The college offers more than food and lodging. It hosts the Center for General and Applied Ethics and organises conferences and book presentations. Exchange programmes exist with Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and Saint John’s University. A women’s section opened in 2009 to accommodate gifted female students. The artistic and musical seasons enrich student life. The Fondazione Collegio Borromeo still supports promising students facing economic hardship. Inside, rooms are named after compass points and levels such as Mezzanino and Paradiso. The White Room and Hall of Frescoes host seminars and concerts. The chapel, completed in 1581, contains early frescoes by Giovanni Battista Muttoni. The library preserves over 40,000 volumes, including a 1488 Petrarch printed in Venice. Two contrasting gardens lie beside the building: a formal Italian garden and a romantic English garden. Beyond them, the Horti Borromaici stretch along the river, blending nature, art and history.