The story of UPO began officially in 1998 but the first Studium Generale in Vercelli dates back to 1228: the seventh such institute in Italy, and twelfth in Europe.

The inspiration derived from a group of students in Bologna and Padua, who undersigned the Charta Studii in a house in the Venetian city, which led to the founding of the University of Vercelli.

The experience was short-lived: lasting only to 1341 with various interruptions and relaunches. It was not until 1961 that university life returned to Vercelli, when a joint initiative of the Hospital of Vercelli and the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in the University of Turin allowed the activation of parallel courses – initially in Vercelli and, after a few years, also in Novara.

In the 1980s, the idea began to circulate of a new University in Piedmont. Courses were set up in Business and Economics in Novara; in 1987-88 Alessandria launched the courses of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences, Law, and Physical Sciences. From 1989-90, courses in Literature and Philosophy were introduced in Vercelli.

In the four-year academic period of 1986-90 at the University of Turin, the development project of faculties in Alessandria, Novara and Vercelli was introduced under the name of “Piemonte Orientale”; from that moment onward, the project was truly underway to creating an independent university, in fairly quick stages.

In 1992, the “second faculties of Literature and Philosophy (Vercelli), Medicine and Surgery (Novara), and Maths/Physics/Natural Sciences and Political Sciences (Alessandria) were created. These changed their names and structures in the move from Turin. During the next academic year, the faculty of Law (Alessandria) and in 1993-94 the faculty of Economics (Novara) were also added to the family. At the same time, the region welcomed the creation of consortiums and committees for the development of university education in the three cities.

The Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro" was officially born on 30 July 1998, when the Minister of Universities and Scientific Research and Technology, Luigi Berlinguer, signed the charter. The choice of the illustrious Piedmont scientist (who taught in Vercelli for a number of years) for the university’s name was due to his worldwide fame following his formulation of the Number of particles in a mole.

Seven faculties were set up: Economics, Pharmacy, and Medicine and Surgery in Novara; Literature and Philosophy in Vercelli; Law, Mathematics/Physics/Natural Sciences and Political Sciences in Alessandria. The break from the University of Turin was followed by the transfer of all assets, equipment, staff, students and legal relations to the new University, which had belonged to the original university.

Following the Minister Gelmini’s Reform, in 2011 the faculties were dissolved and seven new departments were set up, which manage both teaching and research activity, as well as the School of Medicine. The eighth department was born in 2022.

The UPO has now achieved an excellent position in the national University ranking: the collaboration of the local communities has been key to this success, as the university has become a point of reference in these areas for scientific production, technology transfer, teaching and cultural debate.