The CSMBR was established in January 2018 after the endowment of the Institutio Santoriana – Fondazione Comel to carry on the scientific legacy of the Italian physician, scientist, inventor and philosopher Santorio Santori (1561-1636), who introduced the quantitative method to medicine and is reputed the father of quantitative experimental physiology,[2][3][4] pursuant to the will of Prof. Marcello Comel (1902–1996)[5][6][7] founder of the institution.

The core mission of the CSMBR is to further the values of humanism and the advancement of scientific knowledge as inspired by the intellectual, cultural, and social development of the European Medical Renaissance (1300–1700).

In accordance with these principles, central to the CSMBR academic practice is the recovery and revival of classical tradition while the scholarly work at large is intended to allow each individual to form their own opinion, as freely and independently as possible.

[11] In partnership with Palgrave-MacMillan (Springer) the CSMBR sponsors the series Palgrave Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Medicine (PSMEMM) The series focuses on the intellectual tradition of western medicine as related to the philosophies, institutions, practices, and technologies that developed throughout the medieval and early modern period (500-1800).

It seeks to explore the range of interactions between various conceptualisations of the body, including their import for the arts (e.g. literature, painting, music, dance, and architecture) and the way different medical traditions overlapped and borrowed from each other.