Nov. 19 & 20
To say that Bologna is a college town is to understate the weight and scale of its university – the oldest in Europe.
It feels as if the tenor and content of this city, and especially the well-preserved city center, is visibly influenced by the young population walking its cobbled streets, biking from here to there and zipping by on scooters. At the same time, it would seem foolish to ignore how these students, from all over the world, are affected by the churches, museums and college buildings that date back hundreds of years.
The University of Bologna isn’t a campus that sits out on a rural landscape. Not at all. It’s many buildings form the ancient walls of the inner city itself. Thousands of locals and tourists weave through the university’s covered arches every day at every hour.
These are just a few things observed as Dessa and I walked to churches, markets, museums and coffee shops.
Sylvia