Italy has some of the oldest universities in the world and its university heritage is among the most significant in Europe. Botanical gardens and anatomical theatres developed in fifteenth and sixteenth century and were later introduced in other European universities. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in Italian university heritage, both from the Italian academy, the Italian Council of Rectors (CRUI) and from national and international organisations such as the ANMS (Associazione Nazionale Musei Scientifici), UMAC (the international committee for university museums and collections of ICOM) and Universeum, the University Heritage European Network
