For the 100th anniversary of the University for Foreigners of Perugia, the new degree course brand is born

On the occasion of the centenary of its foundation, the University for Foreigners of Perugia is renewing itself by looking to the future while maintaining strong ties to its centuries-old history. The University, which was founded with the mandate of spreading knowledge of Italy's language and culture abroad, but which since 1992 has also offered degree courses aimed at Italian students, entered its 'long centenary' in 2021, which brings together the birth of the first High Culture courses, in 1921, and the establishment of the University, in 1925.

On this occasion, as a further step towards next year's celebrations, a new project phase was launched, under which the new "Unistra Perugia" brand was created today for the bachelor, master and doctorate courses for Italian and international students, which was developed by the multidisciplinary agency Brand Culturale and which will go alongside the historic logo, a heritage of undoubted international significance. The purpose of this new communication project thus stems from the need to give specific visibility to that part of the University's educational offer that is not only aimed at foreign citizens. The University for Foreigners of Perugia will therefore retain the historic logo with the griffin enclosed in a circular shape, but will abandon the traditional payoff "Ambassador of Italy in the World" in favour of the new "Italian and International University" to represent Italian language and culture courses for foreign citizens and the institution as a whole.The bachelor, master and doctorate courses for Italian and international students will instead be identified by the new "Unistra Perugia" brand, again complemented by the payoff "Italian and International University", which will be reproduced together with the logo with the griffin to preserve the historical and cultural value of the institution.

These are the main innovations presented on Tuesday, 26 March, in the Sala Goldoni of Palazzo Gallenga in Perugia, the University's headquarters, in the presence of Rector Valerio De Cesaris; the University's Director General Giuliano De Stefani; and Filippo Fettucciari and Daniele Venturini representing Brand Culturale. "Our University's Bachelor's and Master's degree courses," says Rector De Cesaris, "obtain very high ratings from enrolled students and are truly international, with around 60% Italian students and 40% students of other nationalities. Moreover, student mobility is the highest in Italy: thanks to the University's many international agreements, all our students have the opportunity to spend a period of study abroad with Erasmus. However, the university's historical name can be misleading and lead one to believe that it is only 'for foreigners'. For this reason, we wanted to initiate a rebranding process, which will allow us to communicate more effectively an aspect that we consider crucial: our University is for everyone, Italian students and students of all backgrounds, and is the place where everyone is welcomed and accompanied to experience the University not only as a course of study, but also as an opportunity for human as well as cultural growth'.

The new brand is only the first step in a process that will represent the distinctive identity of the university's degree courses: it will be accompanied by a series of communication initiatives aimed at illustrating the university's mission and values, together with the educational objectives of the individual courses. Starting with the brand, work will also be done to further qualify the identity of the university campus, with the creation of spaces and services that reflect the needs and plans of students.
"We are proud to contribute to this new chapter in the university's history," comments Brand Culturale, "and confident that the new degree course brand will become a point of reference for students, lecturers and the academic community on their path to success.

The University for Foreigners of Perugia is the oldest and most prestigious Italian institution engaged in the teaching, research and dissemination of the Italian language and culture in all their expressions. Its history began in 1921, when Astorre Lupattelli, a Perugian lawyer, established the first higher education courses in Perugia with the aim of spreading knowledge of Umbria and its natural and artistic beauty in Italy and abroad. In 1925, Royal Decree 1965 of 29 October officially sanctioned the birth of the 'Regia Università Italiana per stranieri' (Royal Italian University for Foreigners), whose motto 'Antiquam exquirite matrem' ('Seek out the ancient mother'), which in the logo is held up by the Grifo symbol of Perugia, is inspired by the response received in the Aeneid by Aeneas when he begs the god Apollo to show him where to direct his course. Since 1927, the University has been housed in the prestigious Palazzo Gallenga, which is now flanked by the four buildings Prosciutti, Lupattelli, Orvieto, Valitutti and the former Senology building, currently undergoing restoration, which will become a new space available to students and citizens alike, all located in a splendid park in the heart of the city, and the prestigious Villa La Colombella, a historic patrician residence immersed in the green hills near Perugia, which completes the institution's valuable heritage.