My Exchange at The University of Bologna
I visited Bologna in the second semester of 2023 and found it to be an even more exciting and eye-opening experience than I had hoped. While not everything was straightforward, the challenge of moving on my own to a new city proved to be very rewarding.
I arrived in Bologna after travelling around Europe for the month beforehand without a plan for permanent accommodation. I was immediately struck by how old and historic the entire city felt. Walking though the central square, Piazza Maggiore, I was surrounded by buildings built well before New Zealand became an independent country, but they were now treated like any other building in the centre of a city. With three weeks until my classes started, I booked myself a hostel on the city’s outskirts and spent each day walking between cafes, trying to get a sense of the city. Bologna is a circular city with a large central district encircled by the remains of an old city wall and a wide boulevard. Within this perimeter, the streets are narrow and characterised by the wide porticoes that soon became one of my favourite architectural quirks.
Finding somewhere to live in Bologna is notoriously hard. While I was studying, there were near-weekly protests and demonstrations about the unaffordability of student housing in the city, and it was easy to hear horror stories about scams and terrible accommodation. I had already lost a little money in a housing scam while still in New Zealand – a room convincingly advertised on Facebook was totally fabricated. Fortunately, I was able to line up many room tours in person while I stayed in a hostel and found a place through SAIS, a service specifically for providing housing to international students. I was fortunate to get a large room outside the city limits and share it with two other short-term international students for only €550 a month, including utilities, which was far less than what many of my friends were paying. The apartment was a half-hour walk from the city walls and about 40 minutes from uni. Because Bologna has so many historic buildings, student dorms and apartments are few and far between. Most accommodation is in private flats, with owners or other students.
Although Bologna is covered by a frequent and extensive, although a little unreliable, bus service, I went the entirety of my stay simply walking and biking. The entire central city is highly walkable. The porticoes provide beautiful shelter year-round, and on weekends, the main roads are pedestrianised and filled with walkers and bikers. Not walking would miss out on the beautiful architecture, the hidden alleyways, and the little surprises around each corner. For longer distances, I used a bike hire service called RideMovi, where for €10 a month, I had unlimited access to the fleet of bikes scattered around the city. Bike infrastructure is poor, and the roads are often chaotic, but there is a driving culture that mostly respects bikes, and I found it safer than biking on the streets of Auckland.
As expected in Italy, the food was nothing short of fabulous. The local specialties, Ragu alla Bolognese, lasagne and tortellini, can be found for as little as $15 (NZD) at most restaurants or can be made at home for much less than in New Zealand. A particular favourite among students was the takeaway pizza. For less than $6, you can pick up a Margherita from several small stores around the city, all open until 3 in the morning. Given the size of the pizzas, this is as cheap as cooking for yourself, though I wouldn’t recommend living off pizza alone. It was hard to beat the breakfast of €1 espresso and cheap pastries, and lunch was often the refrigerated leftovers from last night’s pasta dish.
The Italians are somewhat infamous for their bureaucracy, and in my experience, I found this characterisation to be frustratingly true. This was true both at a government level and within the university itself. Getting the residence permit needed for an extended stay requires trips to unspecified post offices, forms in only Italian and meetings with police that could occur anytime, all with very poor communication and 3-month wait times. I often sent emails to professors or administrators that would go entirely unanswered, and the information about which classes we were allowed to enrol in remained a mystery for students and professors. Despite this, there was a strong community of international students, both in the European Erasmus programme and from abroad, who were always very willing to help out and provided much help to me. I would advise any student coming to the city to involve themselves with the ESN (Erasmus Student Network), a volunteer organisation for international students that organises social events, sightseeing and tourism trips, and provides general help. With many thousands of members in Bologna, they were a great way to make friends in the city, even before I began my classes.
During my stay, I travelled within Italy and to the surrounding European countries. Bologna is situated centrally, which allowed me to pick up low-cost train and bus tickets to Florence, Venice, Verona, Padua, Parma and Moderna, all within 2 hours or less of Bologna. Travelling these cities in groups and alone were some of my favourite memories from the entire exchange; in particular, I found Padua particularly calm, charming and fascinating, with its long history of academic and political importance. To the north, you can also visit the city of Trento and the surrounding Dolomites. I visited in the summer when it was excellent for hiking and swimming, but in the wintertime, it turns into a popular place for skiing.
I would fully encourage anyone considering an exchange in Bologna to go for it. It is a city rich in history and culture, but above all, it is a city built around students. With so much to see within and outside the city, my time in Bologna was engaging, exciting and ultimately fulfilling.
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
The teaching at Bologna was excellent. There was much more of a focus on reading important texts in the field in order to understand the subject as compared to Auckland. I particularly enjoyed the different perspectives I encountered when taking a class on Public Economics. A clear distinction was drawn between the ‘Anglophone’ economic approach of the US and the UK that informs most of the textbooks we use here in Auckland, and the ‘continental’ approach taught throughout Europe.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Bologna is known for its extensive network of porticoes. While these are excellent for keeping cool and dry throughout the year, the walk up to San Luca, the longest continuous stretch
of porticoes in the world, is particularly beautiful. The walkway is about three and a half km long and winds its way up a hill to a cathedral on top. It requires some fitness, but the view on the way up and at the top is incredible. Visiting at sunset in summer provides panoramic views of the sunset.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
- Travel as much as possible. With the rest of Italy only a short train ride away, being in Bologna provides unique access to many famous destinations. While on exchange, I travelled to places such as Venice, Florence, Trento, Padua, Moderna and many other cities. Go as a group or on your own, and learn about all the regional differences in culture and cuisine.
- Make friends with a wide variety of people. Bologna has many thousands of exchange students each year. Almost all of these will speak English and be having the same difficulties and experiences. This is an excellent group to meet new people and make friends. Additionally, try to get to know some of the locals. Although it is harder to break into established Italian friend groups, getting to know someone who is familiar with Bologna opens up a whole world of opportunity.
- Be flexible. Moving to a different country, especially one with a different language, social norms and practices will result in some unexpected circumstances. I found that the times I found the most valuable were when I was willing to adjust my expectations and enjoy the experience as it happened.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
My rent was €550 a month (230 NZD per week). Additionally, food was slightly cheaper than in Auckland, though not all of the same things were available. Because of this, I ended up saving money in my day-to-day life. Alcohol was very cheap, even to drink out in student bars, so it was common to get a spritz with friends after class.
Much of my remaining budget went on travel expenses. Flixbus does buses to other Italian cities for as little as €5 per person, and you can get a nice train ride for €10 or €15. Hostels were generally €20 per person per night. Eating out is slightly cheaper in Italy than it is here, and you can get delicious pasta for €8 in most places.
The expensive part of the exchange was the travel, especially the time spent in Western capitals, such as Paris, Zurich and Berlin. I travelled to Bucharest for a few days and had a lovely time for a fraction of the price. There are many lovely places in South-Eastern Europe that are much cheaper than the tourist hotspots.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I got a small taste of the scale of the world. Travelling so far away, I met many people who had rich and exciting lives, often quite different to mine. I may never meet them again, but I know that their paths will continue and that all around me are multitudes of exciting stories waiting to be listened to. There is so much to see and learn, and my exchange reinvigorated me to explore more.