◆ Sapienza · University rules
The Sapienza title page, the way the university wants it
Sapienza publishes an editable title page file and a rule almost nobody reads: the composition must be left-aligned, never centred. The mistake that reaches our counter is always that one — the logo placed in the middle at the top. We bind around 600 Sapienza theses a year: if we see it, we tell you before printing.
600
Sapienza theses bound every year
2 hours
Hardcover, guaranteed
5 min
Thermal binding
€ 0
Title page check
The rule the university writes down (and almost nobody reads)
On its thesis layout and logo page Sapienza provides the editable title page in A4 and A5, the cover and the trademark, and asks you to “respect the left-aligned, ragged-right composition (centred composition is not allowed, not even on the cover)”, aligning the text “to the S of Sapienza, which acts as the text cursor”.
On that same file, customisation is limited: “all the elements in the file provided must be kept”. And the trademark is not to be tampered with: do not separate the Cherubino from the wording “Sapienza Università di Roma”, which together form the logo.
There is even a passage addressed to printers: “some copy shops offer covers with a centred composition of the trademark/logotype and of the titles. This is an autonomous and mistaken reinterpretation by commercial businesses […]. Copy shops are therefore invited to follow the instructions on this page.” We follow them: that is why this page exists.
The mistakes that reach our counter
In order of frequency, across roughly 600 Sapienza theses a year. None of them is serious in itself: they become a problem only when you notice after the binding is done.
The logo centred at the top
The most common of all. The centred layout is the classic Italian one and feels natural, but for Sapienza it is exactly the composition the university rules out. If we see it, we flag it before printing.
The Cherubino detached from the wording
The symbol and the logotype are one single mark: splitting them, boxing them or rescaling them by eye changes the trademark — that is not layout work.
Title page and cover mixed up
They are two different files: the title page is the first inside page, the cover is the outer one. The university publishes them separately, and that is how they are meant to be used.
The official file rebuilt from scratch
Rebuilding it in Word “identically” almost always ends with different fonts and spacing. The editable file exists for a reason: fill it in, don't rebuild it.
What actually happens if it's wrong
Let's be straight about it: when you submit the PDF there is no office that stops you over a centred title page. The delicate moment is the defence: that day your copy ends up in the committee's hands, and that is where you can be pulled up on it. Unpleasant — and above all too late, because by then the thesis is already bound.
That is also why this page exists: fixing a title page before printing costs nothing; fixing it afterwards means reprinting the copy.
What we actually do
We do not distribute Sapienza's trademark — it is registered and the university publishes it. What we do is make sure it sits where it belongs.
You bring the logo file
You download it from the university page, in high resolution. It serves to signal that you belong to the university community: that is its only intended use.
We re-proportion the cover
Going from the file size to the hardcover size changes proportions and margins: we redo those, without touching the relationship between the Cherubino and the wording.
If the logo is centred, we tell you
With the rules in hand, before printing. The call is yours: most students prefer to fix it, and it takes two minutes.
The title page is the last thing, and it shows
Almost every student arrives a few days before the defence, and not out of laziness: the supervisor's approvals come at the end, and until the title is final the title page cannot be closed. It happens at Sapienza as everywhere else.
That is why the most useful thing is to send us the PDF as soon as your title is approved: we check it for free, and if the alignment needs fixing you find out while you still have time. The hardcover then takes 2 hours and thermal binding 5 minutes — but that is the easy part.
If you still have to compose it, our title page generator now lays it out left-aligned when you pick Sapienza, exactly as the university asks.
Frequently asked questions
Should the Sapienza title page be centred?
Where do I download Sapienza's official title page?
Can I use the Cherubino logo on my thesis?
What do I risk if I hand it in centred?
Are the title page and the cover the same thing?
Do you also print and bind the thesis, not just check the title page?
Title page ready? Let's take two minutes
Send it over and we'll tell you whether the alignment is what Sapienza asks for. Free, before printing.