The University of Salento (Italian: Università del Salento, called until 2007 Università degli Studi di Lecce) is a university located in Lecce, Italy. It was founded in 1955 by Giuseppe Codacci Pisanelli. The university of Salento commenced activities in the academic year 1955-1956 under the "Salentine University Council". In 1960, it became the "Free University of Lecce" and passed to Government authority in the 1967–1968 academic year. Since 2005, the University of Salento is a partner of the Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change (CMCC). University of Salento is ranked 251-275 among the top world's university and fifth in Italy, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings released on 2015. In 2018, it was ranked 501–600, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Source: Wikipedia (en)