Ca' Foscari University of Venice

Ca' Foscari University is a university in Venice, northern Italy. It was founded in 1868 as the first Italian business college. The main building of the University, Ca’ Foscari Palace, is placed in a strategic position on the bend of the Grand Canal, in the heart of the city. Nowadays Ca' Foscari University offers four main subject areas of teaching and research activities: economics, languages, sciences and humanities.

The main seat of the University is Ca’ Foscari Palace, the Venetian Gothic building placed in the largest bend of the Grand Canal. The palace was purchased and renewed by the Doge Francesco Foscari in 1452.

Established on 6 August 1868 as a “Scuola Superiore di Commercio” or business college by the economist Luigi Luzzatti, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice was the first educational institution in Italy to offer higher education in commerce and economics. The institute still occupies its historic premises in the great Venetian-Gothic Palazzo that was the home of the Doge Francesco Foscari in the 15th century.