One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around the year 600 BC. The town is situated in the Pianura Padana, between Milan and Turin. It is an important centre for the cultivation of rice, and is surrounded by paddy fields, which are flooded in summer. In Vercelli the world's first University funded by public money was established in 1228. Today Vercelli has a University of Literature and Philosophy as a part of the Università del Piemonte Orientale (or East Piedmont University) and a satellite campus of the Politecnico di Torino.