Edoardo Volterra 'Rettore della Liberazione' a Bologna

After dedicating himself to actively fighting the regime, Edoardo Volterra was chosen by the CLN as pro-rector of the University of Bologna, an office which he should have taken on the day of liberation. The CLN also choose as honorary rector Bartolo Nigrisoli, then eighty-six years old, the only one amongst Bologna’s professors that rejected the oath of 1931. Edoardo Volterra, because of the opposition of some of his “ex-fascist colleagues”, managed to take hold of his office only on the fifth of May 1945, two weeks after the arrival of the Allies in Bologna. Even the elections of 19 June 1945 demonstrated the great strength of the opposition: Volterra was elected on the second count with 33 votes, against the 29 conferred to Felice Battaglia. The Rector of liberation held office until 31 October 1947, realizing the difficult endeavour of rebuilding. Guido Guerrini, who had already been Goffredo Coppola’s pro-rector, succeeded him at the helm of the University.