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“THE SANTORIO SANCTORII AWARD” – IN RECOGNITION OF THE 
MOST SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS OF APPLIED KINESIOLOGY
Naming an award or some form of recognition after an individual requires from all 
decision-makers involved much more than just a moment of inspiration and good will 
in commemorating a person, or of creating the possibility of recognising and awarding 
the efforts of other people. In the academic sphere, such a decision means wilfully tak-
ing on all responsibilities and commitments associated with creating that award. It is 
the responsibility of honouring great personalities whose names we dare to borrow and 
who have contributed to our society to a much greater extent than we generally realise. 
It is the commitment to further engage in and continue to improve upon their work and 
to consider the criteria of excellence which these great individuals had followed. Such a 
decision also requires a profound deliberation as to whether or not the persons who are 
candidates for receiving such an award or recognition have distinguished themselves 
in their field or whether or not they are worthy of receiving such recognition based on 
their work and the results they have achieved.
As is usual in such cases, the mosaic which is made up of the thousands of events in 
the life and work of this great man from Koper has been put together slowly and persis-
tently. Since it is impossible to describe the contributions Santorio Sanctorii made to the 
field of natural sciences in only a few sentences - the academy, universal thought and the 
sphere in which he worked, I shall leave this to my learned colleagues, each of whom 
brings with them the expertise of their discipline and field.  Instead, I shall try to sum-
marise the fundamental starting points which guided us to celebrate Santorio Sanctorii, 
the great but unjustly forgotten man. I shall also attempt to connect his knowledge and 
excellence to Koper as it is today, to the young university that was established a few cen-
turies after Santorio, and to the academy – lecturers and students who, even as we speak, 
are developing many of his ideas and the knowledge that he provided many years ago.
There are at least three significant reasons which justify this award or better yet, 
oblige us to return Santorio to this sphere with all honours.
The first reason is the fact that Santorio Sanctorii was most certainly one of the 
greatest and most prominent natural scientists born in Koper, who always and every-
where spoke proudly about the town of his birth. It is quite irrelevant whether or not 
his father from Cividale del Friuli was a Slovenian (Svetina – as presented by some 
sources, Šercer, 1950), since the fields to which he dedicated his life’s work never had 
nor never will see any limits. When we as children ran through the streets of Koper, 
only the name of one street which was called for a great doctor, researcher, scientist, 
and inventor reached our minds. Later on we learned at school that among other instru-
ments, Santorio contributed significantly to the development of the thermometer. Many 
other achievements of Santorio are most likely but unfortunately unknown to many 
people from Koper, to Slovenians and also to the world.
The second reason which gives special meaning to this award is Santorio’s aca-
demic work and the role which he especially appreciated and to which he completely 
dedicated himself. Most certainly, the honourable lecturer at the University of Padua, 
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which was a closest university closest to Koper (and the second oldest university in the 
world) at the time of the establishment of Accademia Palladiana, the Koper Science 
Association, did not think about on the possibility of establishing the University of 
Primorska, and this also supports the fact that the University of Primorska was estab-
lished later on. Even when he specified in his will that six out of ten students who would 
receive scholarships financed from the fund that was established after his death on the 
basis of his legacy, should originate from Koper (Grmek, 1953), he most certainly did 
not even imagine that the study programmes, the bases and knowledge for which he 
himself provided, would emerge right here.
The third reason is his great legacy of knowledge, inventions and instruments. The 
restless research-oriented spirit of his research obliges us and gives us the responsibility 
of following the criteria of excellence set by our fellow citizen, in all aspects of research 
and teaching. 
I must confess that more than decade ago we did not have Santorio in mind when we 
initiated our first research projects which presented the significant basis for the estab-
lishment of the Kinesiology Research Centre (IKARUS) at the Science and Research 
Centre in Koper. Neither was he in our minds during the development of the IKARUS 
laboratory at the Valdoltra Orthopaedic Hospital; nor later on were his ideas or methods 
the basis for establishing the new study programme of Applied Kinesiology, already 
within the scope of the University of Primorska. In truth, we did not see nor acknowl-
edge the significance and value that Santorio had set for our foundation a few centuries 
ago. Today, when we study his work and admire the ideas which led him to incredible 
inventions and experimentation, we can acknowledge his greatness and importance. 
Santorio contributed some of the fundamental tools and keys for understanding the 
functions of the human body, the starting points for developing physiology, pathology, 
and the basis for biomechanics. As a pioneer of experimental methodology he opened 
a new chapter in the natural sciences, especially medicine. By applying mathematics, 
discussing physical and chemical processes, conducting experiments and performing 
measurements, he set the path for physiology, biometrics, thermodynamics, and also 
for the fields which developed on the basis of the challenges of researching the func-
tions of the human body in specific environments and activities, namely kinesiology, 
biomechanics, kinesiometrics, and ergonomics. His cooperation with other prominent 
persons of that time (especially with his friend Galileo Galilei) opened a wide horizon 
of various fields of knowledge and disciplines. Many years passed until we finally ac-
knowledged (unfortunately mostly still on a declarative level) that the added value of 
an interdisciplinary, or even better, of an integrative approach defines the only right and 
complete approach in the field of dealing with the human body as a dynamic and open 
system. And we cannot imagine kinesiology without such guidelines and approaches!
His greatest work De Medicina Statica would probably not have earned the grade 
of such perfection (Nullus liber in re medica ad eam perfectionem scriptus est, H. Boer-
haave, 1726), if Santorio had not deeply engaged himself in eight fundamental chapters 
in all fundamental aspects of human functions with the purpose of studying and under-
standing health as a complete balance of bodily fluids and as the harmony of internal 
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opposites. Among those eight chapters, the following parts are still very important for 
us: the chapter on the quantity and relation of visible and invisible perspiration; on food 
and beverages, on rest and activity; on motion and stillness. Numerous findings and 
expressed thoughts are still very important and also unparalleled. Perhaps by adding a 
note of contemporaneity, we will reopen the discussion and integrate those findings and 
thoughts as significant in the life of the individual and of society.
By being aware of the fact that no science (especially not a natural science) can be 
explained without a critical analysis and experiment, and by considering the fact that 
scientific theory and knowledge cannot be the result of isolated individuals, but a part 
of a historical development, we have decided to name the award which will go to the 
most successful students of applied kinesiology after this great man from Koper, San-
torio Santorio. At the same time and in the name of current and future generations we 
also take on the responsibility and commitment which relate to his name and all future 
award winners. 
The temporary senate of the UP FENIKS – Faculty for Ergonomics and Kinesiol-
ogy Studies at the University of Primorska (in the process of being established), at its 
meeting on 29 March, 2011, and on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of Santorio 
Santorio’s birth, adopted the following resolution:
“Based on the proposed argumentation, the temporary senate of the UP FENIKS 
names the award for the best students from the programmes in Applied Kinesiology af-
ter Santorio Sanctorii, the doctor, natural scientist and inventor from Koper. A detailed 
categorisation of awards, their number, the processes of selecting candidates and other 
issues related to awards are determined by the adopted Rules on UP FENIKS awards.’’
On behalf of temporary senate of UP FENIKS 
Prof. Dr. Rado Pišot
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SANTORIJEVO PRIZNANJE – PRIZNANJE ZA NAJUSPEŠNEJŠE 
ŠTUDENTE APLIKATIVNE KINEZIOLOGIJE
Poimenovati priznanje ali nagrado po nekomu zahteva od tistih, ki se o tem od-
ločajo, veliko več kot le trenutek navdiha in dobre volje, da se nekoga spomnimo in 
omogočimo drugim priznavanje njegovega dela. V akademskem prostoru pomeni taka 
odločitev zavestno sprejeti odgovornost in obveze – odgovornost do velikih osebnosti, 
katerih imena si dovolimo prevzeti, ker so naši družbi v preteklosti prispevali veliko 
več, kot običajno vemo, ter obveze do poglabljanja in nadgrajevanja njihovega dela 
in upoštevanja kriterijev odličnosti, ki so jih postavili. Zahteva pa taka odločitev tudi 
poglobljen premislek, ali so tisti, ki bodo morebiti deležni te nagrade ali priznanja, s 
svojim trudom, delom in rezultati, opravičili ime, čigar priznanje nosijo s seboj.
Kot je običajno in kot se v takih primerih tudi spodobi, se mozaik, ki v sebi nosi 
tisočero dogodkov, tudi v življenju in delu velikega Koprčana gradi počasi in vztrajno. 
Ker je njegov zgodovinski prispevek naravoslovni znanosti, akademiji, univerzalni mi-
sli in prostoru, v katerem je delal, še posebej pa Kopru, nemogoče predstaviti v nekaj 
odstavkih, pa tudi zato, ker bodo to storili kolegi, ki so po stroki primernejši, bom 
poskušal v tem kratkem povzetku osvetliti le nekaj temeljnih izhodišč. Ta so nas vodi-
la do odločitve, da proslavimo Santoria Sanctoria, velikega, žal večkrat pozabljenega 
Koprčana, in ga prek mostu znanja in odličnosti povežemo s sodobnim Koprom, mlado 
univerzo, ki se je rodila nekaj stoletij pozneje, in akademijo – s profesorji in študenti, 
ki še danes razvijajo prenekatero njegovo misel in davno tega njim ponujeno znanje. 
Obstajajo vsaj trije pomembni razlogi, ki opravičujejo dejstvo, ali morda bolje re-
čeno, nam nalagajo odgovornost in obvezo, da Santoria vrnemo v ta prostor z vsemi 
častmi. 
Prvi je dejstvo, da je Santorio Sanctorii prav gotovo eden največjih in najpomemb-
nejših naravoslovcev, rojenih v Kopru, ki je svoje rojstno mesto vselej in povsod s po-
nosom izpostavljal. Ali je bil oče iz Čedada tudi po rodu Slovenec (Svetina – kot pred-
stavljajo nekateri viri, Šercer, 1950) niti ni pomembno, saj področja, katerim je posvetil 
svoje delo in življenje, nikoli niso in niti ne bodo poznala meja. Ko smo se kot otroci 
podili po koprskih ulicah, je do nas seglo le ime ene od teh, ki je nosila ime po velikem 
zdravniku, raziskovalcu, znanstveniku, izumitelju. Pozneje smo v šoli izvedeli, da je 
med številnimi drugimi instrumenti pomembno prispeval k razvoju termometra. Veliko 
več od tega, in tega je ogromno, pa je žal številnim Koprčanom kot tudi Slovencem in 
širšemu svetu še neznanega. 
Drugi razlog, ki priznanju daje poseben pomen, je Santorijeva akademska zavest in 
vloga akademizma, ki jo je posebej cenil in se ji povsem podredil. Prav gotovo se takra-
tni častitljivi profesor najbližje Kopru (v svetovnem merilu druge najstarejše) padovan-
ske univerze ob ustanovitvi koprskega znanstvenega društva Accademia Palladiana ni 
ukvarjal z mislijo o primorski univerzi, kar pa ne zmanjša njegovega prispevka, da se 
je ta veliko pozneje tudi zgodila. Tudi ko je v svoji oporoki posebej izpostavil, da mora 
biti kar 6 od 10-ih študentov iz Kopra, katerim finančno podporo naj omogoči sklad, 
ki naj bo po njegovi smrti ustanovljen iz njegove zapuščine (Grmek, 1953), si gotovo 
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ni zamišljal, da bodo ravno v tem prostoru nastali študijski programi, katerih osnove in 
znanja je pričel razvijati prav on.
Tretji razlog pa je njegova velika zapuščina znanja, izumov in instrumentov. Nje-
gov nemirni raziskovalni duh nas posebej obvezuje in nam nalaga odgovornost, da pri 
svojem raziskovalnem in pedagoškem delu sledimo kriterijem odličnosti, ki jih je že 
dolgo tega postavil naš someščan. Ko smo pred dobrim desetletjem pričeli s prvimi 
raziskovalnimi projekti, ki so pomenili pomembno osnovo poznejšemu Inštitutu za ki-
neziološke raziskave (IKARUS) na ZRS Koper, nato razvoju laboratorija IKARUS v 
Ortopedski bolnišnici Valdoltra in nato v okviru Univerze na Primorskem tudi novim 
študijskim programom Aplikativne kineziologije, moram priznati, da še nismo uvide-
li teže in vrednosti, ki jo je našim osnovam pred nekaj stoletji postavljal Santorio. 
Šele ko danes premišljamo njegova dela in občudujemo zamisli, ki so ga vodile do 
neverjetnih izumov in poizkusov, se zavemo njegove veličine in pomena. Santorio je 
namreč prispeval nekaj temeljnih orodij in ključev za razumevanje delovanja člove-
škega organizma, izhodišča za razvoj fiziologije, patologije, podlage biomehaniki. Kot 
začetnik eksperimentalne metodike je naravoslovni znanosti, posebej medicini, odprl 
novo poglavje. Z vključevanjem matematike, obravnavo fizikalnih in kemičnih proce-
sov, eksperimentov, merjenjem je zarisal pot fiziologiji, biometriji, termodinamiki … in 
področjem, ki so z izzivom po obravnavi delovanja človeškega organizma v specifičnih 
okoljih in aktivnostih razvili: kineziologiji, biomehaniki, kineziometriji, ergonomiji. 
Njegovo sodelovanje z nekaterimi drugimi velikani svojega časa (še posebej s prijate-
ljem Galileom Galileiem) mu odpira široko obzorje prepleta različnih znanj in disci-
plin. Veliko let je minilo, ko smo (žal še večinoma le na deklarativni ravni) ponovno 
doumeli, da je dodana vrednost interdisciplinarnega ali morda še bolje, integrativnega 
pristopa, tisto, kar je v obravnavi človeka kot dinamičnega in odprtega sistema edini 
pravi in celosten pristop. In ravno kineziologije si brez takih usmeritev in pristopov ne 
moremo zamisliti!
Njegovo največje delo De medicina statica si ocene take popolnosti (Nullus liber in 
re medica ad eam perfectionem scriptus est, H. Boerhaave, 1726) verjetno ne bi prislu-
žila, če se ne bi s ciljem preučevanja in razumevanja zdravja kot popolnega ravnovesja 
telesnih tekočin, kot harmonijo notranjih nasprotij, skozi VIII temeljnih poglavij Santorio 
natančno poglobil v vsa temeljna področja delovanja človeka. Med njimi so za nas še 
posebej pomembna poglavja o količini in odnosu vidne in nevidne perspiracije; o hrani in 
pijači; počitku in aktivnosti; gibanju in mirovanju. Številne ugotovitve in izrečene misli 
so še danes ne le izredno aktualne, temveč še vedno tudi nepresežene. Morda jim bomo z 
dodano noto sodobnosti ponovno odprli obravnavo in jih kot pomembne končno umestili 
v življenje posameznika in družbe.
Ob zavedanju, da nobene znanosti (sploh pa naravoslovja) ne moremo razlagati brez 
kritične analize in eksperimenta, ter ob dejstvu, da znanstvene teorije in znanje nasploh 
ne morejo biti plod osamljenih posameznikov, temveč del zgodovinskega razvoja, smo se 
na osnovi predstavljenih dejstev odločili poimenovati priznanje za najuspešnejše študente 
aplikativne kineziologije po velikem Koprčanu Santoriu Sanctoriu. Hkrati sprejmemo v 
imenu sedanjih in prihodnjih generacij tudi vso ustrezno in pripadajočo odgovornost in 
obvezo do njegovega imena in vseh prihodnjih nagrajencev. 
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Začasni senat Fakultete za ergonomske in kineziološke študije Univerze na Pri-
morskem (v ustanavljanju) je na svoji seji, na dan 29. 3. 2011, ob 450-letnici rojstva 
Santoria Sanctoriia sprejel naslednji sklep:
  »Začasni senat UP FENIKS na osnovi predložene utemeljitve imenuje priznanje za 
najboljše študente študijskih programov Aplikativne kineziologije po koprskem zdrav-
niku, naravoslovcu, znanstveniku in izumitelju Santoriu Sanctoriiu. Podrobna oprede-
litev vrste priznanj, njihovo število, postopke izbora kandidatov in druga vprašanja, 
povezana s priznanji, se določijo s posebnim pravilnikom o priznanjih UP FENIKS.«
V imenu začasnega senata UP FENIKS
prof. dr. Rado Pišot
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