Pope John XXI, born Pedro Julião, was the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church from 8 September 1276 to his death. He is the only Portuguese pope in history. He is sometimes identified with the logician and herbalist Peter of Spain, which would make him the only pope to have been a physician.

The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany, is the first publicly funded university as well as one of the oldest in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the institution was founded in 1240. It had around 16,000 students in 2022, which is nearly one-third of Siena's total population of around 53,000. Today, the University of Siena is best known for its schools of law, medicine, and economics and management.