Museum System and Widespread Heritage of the University of Padua: Perspectives for Enhancement

In the course of their history, European universities - especially the oldest ones - have accumulated extraordinary collections, the result of a vast research activity involving many disciplines. Despite its intrinsic value, this heritage is still waiting to be fully recognised and legitimised and needs adequate management tools. The potential of university museum heritage has not yet to be adequately understood and utilized due to their "hybrid" nature, institutions linked to research but at the same time open to the territory; the difficulties deriving from the lack of recognition of the crucial figure of museum keepers within the university staff structure; the persistence of a fragmented and polycentric management system; and the lack of a shared cataloguing system. This article analyzes the emblematic case of the University of Padua: in the course of its long history, the university has accumulated both scientific collections and objects and buildings of historical and artistic interest. The extent of this heritage has raised issues of conservation and management that are not easy to solve, requiring qualified personnel, long-term strategies and an overall vision, also concerning the increasingly urgent need to share this widespread heritage with the city and the territory. At the same time, the scientific vocation of museums and collections, which is coessential to their creation, must not be sacrificed, as it is linked to the aim of increasing knowledge in the various disciplines and supporting teaching.