route of the borgias: francisco de borja, antiga universitatgandia; ca. 1542In another central squar
route of the borgias: francisco de borja, antiga universitatgandia; ca. 1542In another central square of Gandia, the Pious Schools, is the former Antiga Universitat (University of Gandia) founded in 1542 by the IV Duke and General of the Society of Jesus, Francisco de Borja, as the first ever Jesuit university. It was originally established as a college and in 1547, when the building work had yet to be completed, Pope Paul III agreed to the request of Francisco to transform it into a university. Francisco de Borgia himself and other figures such as Baltasar Gracián and the botanist Antonio Cavanilles spent time in the classrooms of the university. It’s doors closed in 1772 when Carlos III expelled the Jesuits from Spain. The former university today is a Piarist educational institution.But the memory of the Borgia educational tradition in Gandia is not lost. At the foot of the gates of the university are five bronze sculptures by Manuel Boix, representing the five figures of the family who have had the most significance in history. The statues of the Borgia family were placed in the plaza of the old University in 1998.— “Ruta dels Borja per Gandia,” Ajuntament de Gandia -- source link
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