The University of Padua, founded in 1222, came under the jurisdiction of Venice when Padua was annexed to the Venetian Republic in 1405. Administration of the university, previously exercised by the nationes, relatively autonomous groups of students organized according to national origins, fell increasingly to the rettore, a Venetian nobleman nominated by the government to administer the city of Padua as a part of the mainland territories of the Republic.Tiepolo, 'Venezia', p. 977
