L’edizione dei verbali di laurea dello Studio senese: stato dell’arte e prospettive di ricerca

This preface retraces the historiography and archival research surrounding the graduation records of the University of Siena, emphasizing their importance for reconstructing university populations, scholarly mobility, teaching networks, and the international reputation of the Studium. From the pioneering studies of Lodovico Zdekauer to the work of Isaac Zoller, Fritz Weigle, Paolo Nardi, and Giovanni Minnucci, it outlines decades of investigations conducted across the Archivio Arcivescovile, the Archivio di Stato, and the Archivio dell’Opera della Metropolitana of Siena. Particular attention is devoted to the editorial work carried out since the 1980s on the Libri bastardelli, whose records preserve not only the names of graduates, professors, and witnesses, but also valuable evidence concerning examination practices, academic rituals, and intellectual culture in early modern Siena, while also demonstrating the importance of integrating official university documentation with notarial and ecclesiastical sources that preserve otherwise unknown traces of academic life and degree ceremonies.