University of Orihuela  The University of Orihuela was located at the Convent of Santo Domingo, in Orihuela. It was the second university in the ancient Kingdom of Valencia, founded 40 years after the University of Valencia. The official name of the institution was Pontificia y Real Universidad de Orihuela (Pontifical and Royal University of Orihuela). The aforementioned university was governed by the Order of the Preachers (Dominicans) who had their convent inside it. Its building is currently occupied by the Diocesan School of Santo Domingo. Its origin lies in the establishment of Cardinal Loazes, who created the so-called College of the Patriarch in accordance with his rank as Patriarch of Antioch, in the year 1547. He himself offered the management of his college to the Order of Preachers, while he was still bishop of Lérida. The Order accepted this appointment in the general Chapter of the Order of Rome in 1543. Through a papal bull from Pope Julius II (1510) and a favor from King Ferdinand the Catholic, the University would be built near their convent in the city - the convent of the Virgin of Succour—which once stood on the site now occupied by the church. In 1552 Pope Julius III granted, by papal privilege, the rank of University to the College. In the year 1569, Pope Pius IV granted it Pontifical University status via papal bull. In 1569, Pope Pius V granted the College the full category of Public University of all sciences and arts for those who wanted to attend, be they clergy or secular, comparable to the Universities of Salamanca, Alcalá, Valencia and others, with the same prerogatives and rights. However, they had to wait until 1610 for studies to begin and until 1646 for King Philip IV, by the Royal Warrant of 1646, to grant the title of “Royal” to the Pontifical University of Orihuela, declaring it a Regal, Public, and General University in spite of pressures from the University of Valencia, which wanted this declaration for itself and not for Orihuela. It thus became the only existing university in the arc that spans Alcalá de Henares (founded by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499), Valencia (founded by Ferdinand the Catholic in 1502), and Granada (founded by Carlos I of Spain in 1531). During the 18th century, coinciding with the population increase and the revitalization of agriculture, the University of Orihuela experienced a Golden Era.