Urbino has been preserved by its physical isolation. Notoriously bad roads - modernised now, have protected it from the ravages of tourism. The town is set in some of the most impressive scenery in Italy.
The University was founded in 1506 and today it is one of the few academic institutions to have a close association with graphology. There are three University degrees in Italy, the Diploma (short degree), the Laurea and the Doctorate. Urbino University offers a course which leads to the Diploma in Graphology. In September 1999 the Moretti Graphological Institute hosted a study week. It was jointly organised by the International Graphological Colloquium, the Moretti Institute and Lumsa University, Rome. It was attended by a group of people extremely well-versed in graphological methods from nine different countries.
The organisers were top-calibre experts in Italian graphology. It was the first formal session to offer an understanding of Moretti's method to English-speaking graphologists. The degree program can be as long as four years, so clearly a seven-day session could never be comprehensive.
The Institute is contained in an old building in Piazza San Francesco, there are four offices, two lecture rooms, a library and an archive. Such a dedicated facility must be the envy of most graphology organisations worldwide. Indeed, the intake of 50 students each year makes it essential to provide such facilities.
The library contains over 500 theses, which have been presented by previous students as a final pre-requisite for the diploma award. This alone is a valuable and important resource. Another major resource is the archive of all analyses done by Institute staff since the centre was established. These include analyses carried out for private clients, who may include law firms, the police and companies. Each is numbered sequentially, there are currently over 17,000 such analyses.
The library has bookshelves from wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. The collection of graphology journals and newsletters from all countries of the world usually dates back to the first issue. There are texts of historical interest, conference proceedings, pamphlets, encyclopedia holdings, dictionaries and so on. This is one of the key world graphological libraries.
Copyright 1989 -2002 by Nigel Bradley. First published as: (1989) Places of Graphological Interest: Urbino, Italy (Write Extension, (Jun), 2(4)
University of Westminster Graphology Information Centre
Last modified 25 March 2002. Please report any corrections to me at this email address bradlen@wmin.ac.uk
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