[Pediatric history in Pisa and the birth of world pediatrics]

The University of Pisa was the first in the world to nominate a professor of pediatirics. It was Gaetano Palloni who was nominated professor of ''children diseases'' on April 8(th), 1802 and was assigned to one of the two branch offices of the Pisan University, the one in Florence. He was assigned to ''Ospedale degli Innocenti'' where he taught and also supervised the clinical part. In 1923, he was nominated director of the Gennaro Fiore paediatric clinic and stayed there until 1952 when Augusto Gentili took over. In half a century there were only two professors and this didactic continuity made it possible for Pisa to become one of the greatest Italian pediatric schools.