The roots of the Degree Programme in Physiotherapy at UniTS date back to 1976, when Flavia Ruzzier established the School for Rehabilitation Therapists. The initiative grew out of the experience of the Centre for Motor and Functional Rehabilitation, founded ten years earlier by Professor Vincenzo Zuccon, and led to the creation of what remains one of the most distinctive features of physiotherapy education at the University of Trieste: the Palestra Didattica, its clinical teaching facility.

For almost half a century, this facility has provided a unique environment within the Italian higher education system, where clinical care, teaching and research have always coexisted. Each year, second- and third-year students take an active role in the care of patients referred by specialist services, under the supervision of clinical tutors, physiotherapists and university lecturers. Rather than merely observing clinical practice, they participate in the entire rehabilitation pathway: from medical history-taking and physiotherapy assessment to the definition of therapeutic goals, treatment planning and final reassessment, gradually developing greater professional autonomy.

Clinical activity is supported by a comprehensive educational ecosystem that combines peer learning, cooperative learning, clinical simulation, role-playing, multidisciplinary case discussions, journal clubs and advanced technologies, including a virtual anatomy table and motion analysis systems. This approach places particular emphasis on the development of clinical reasoning and decision-making skills, which are now essential competencies for physiotherapists.

“The fiftieth anniversary of the Degree Programme in Physiotherapy offers an opportunity to highlight a history built on expertise, innovation and vision,” says Luigi Murena, Director of the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences at the University of Trieste. “The Palestra Didattica demonstrates how our University succeeded, well ahead of the models now recognised internationally, in developing an environment where teaching, research and clinical care are effectively integrated. It is a legacy that continues to educate highly qualified professionals capable of combining clinical expertise, critical thinking, technological innovation and person-centred care.”

Indeed, it is only in recent years that international scientific literature has begun to describe comparable models under the term Student-Led Physiotherapy Clinic, recognising their educational and clinical value. Many of the features that now define these experiences have been part of the University of Trieste’s Palestra Didattica since 1976: real patients, students actively involved in patient care, continuous supervision by experienced professionals, progressively increasing autonomy, collaborative learning and the integration of care, education and research.