Abstract

This paper examines the events that characterized university expansion process in Italy’s Mezzogiorno from 1968 to the 1980s, with a focus on events leading to the founding of the University of Molise. The reconstruction was made possible thanks to an analysis of the fundamental literature of the sector and consultation of unreleased archival sources. This is the first historiographical work focussing on the University of Molise and intends to bring to the centre of the debate further reflections on government attempts to provide an organic plan for the expansion of the university system. In this context, the «Progetto speciale» of 1982, whose aim was to plan new institutions in the Mezzogiorno, assumes greater importance: it would complement the law founding the new universities, and appeared to represent a new approach by government. Legislative aspects constitute potential starting points for a renewed approach to study connections between the role of academia and development of the Mezzogiorno.