BCSP Bologna

07/10/2026

Oggi vi raccontiamo dell’amicizia internazionale tra 🇬🇧Hannah Keighley (Erasmus Unibo Fall 2026, Durham University), 🇺🇸April Arabian (BCSP Fall 2026, Northwestern University) e 🇮🇹Serena Chiapparini (Studentessa Unibo and BCSP Program Assistant).
Hannah e April si sono conosciute a lezione di letteratura italiana, hanno stretto un fortissimo legame, lanciandosi subito in tante avventure, a
partire dalle Cinque Terre 🌊. Hannah e’ venuta da Londra a Bologna per studiare la lingua italiana, come April. Il prossimo semestre andrà in Francia per migliorare il suo francese e insegnare inglese nelle scuole, stessa cosa farà April a Bologna alla Scuola Media Rolandino, dove presenterà temi culturali in inglese. Serena, studentessa di giapponese e inglese, ha condiviso l’esperienza dell’Erasmus in Norvegia, dove ha potuto perfezionare il suo inglese e conoscere studenti di altri paesi.

Bologna si conferma un punto d’incontro unico dove studenti italiani e internazionali si incrociano, condividono passioni, vivono esperienze simili e creano un vero scambio culturale e linguistico che va ben oltre le ore di lezione.
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Today we feature the international friendships between 🇬🇧Hannah Keighley (Erasmus Unibo Fall 2026, Durham University), 🇺🇸April Arabian (BCSP Fall 2026, Northwestern University) e 🇮🇹Serena Chiapparini (Unibo student and BCSP Program Assistant).

After meeting in Italian literature class, Hannah and April quickly became friends and traveled together to Cinque Terre 🌊. Hannah, from London, is at Unibo this semester to improve her Italian, like April. Next semester Hannah will be in France teaching English and perfecting her French language
skills. April, this semester, will be interning at Bologna’s Rolandino middle school as an ETA and ambassador of U.S. culture. Serena has a lot in common with April and Hannah. She studied abroad in Norway, where she perfected her English and met students from other countries.

The ancient Unibo is still a crossroads of languages and cultures from the classroom to adventures beyond!

30/09/2026

BCSP alumni news returns once again today with…🎉

Laura Malagrinò (BCSP Fall 2023, Tulane University)! Laura graduated from Tulane in Classical Studies, Art History and Italian with a minor in Anthropology. Tulane recognized her involvement in the Italian department by awarding Laura the Italian government prize. Laura is now working on completing her master’s at University of Oxford in Classical Archeology, with a specialization in pre-Roman Italy.

She flew into Bologna from London to consult with curators of Bologna’s Museo Civico Archeologico and met with her former professor and leading Etruscan scholar Elisabetta Govi about her current research. During study abroad with BCSP, Laura took Etruscologia with Prof. Govi and assisted Prof. Benevolo in the archives of Bologna’s Museo Civico Medievale.
For the past three summers, Laura has participated in excavations in Pompei, and, last year, she was part of excavation work in Puglia, precisely at the Roca Vecchia site, through the Università del Salento.

Previously, while still at Tulane, Laura interned at the historic BK House in New Orlean’s French quarter, where she helped sort and organize archives from the first half of the 1900’s when, at the time, the house was actually in what was New Orleans’ Sicilian quarter.
Laura also traced artistic networks in New Spain for a professor at Tulane.

After her visit with BCSP, Laura proceeded to the Museo Nazionale Etrusco “Pompeo Aria” (formerly the ‘Misa’ site) in Marzabotto to continue her research. She intends to pursue a PhD in Archeology and hopes to widen and spread knowledge of pre-Roman Italy outside the confines of Italian universities.

Curious fact: archeologists believe that Marzabotto (once Kainua, the ancient Etruscan city) was designed according to astronomical alignments. A rock with an inscribed star map was unearthed during excavations in the city center. So the question that comes up is: how did the ancient civilization of the Etruscans have this astronomy knowledge?

Laura, we look forward to seeing you again soon in Bologna. Next time we are planning a seminar on the Etruscans for the current students!😊

28/09/2026

24/09/2026

Ieri pomeriggio Vera Rosenblum (BCSP Fall 2026, Pitzer College), Lara Orlandi (BCSP Fall 2026, University of Chicago) e April Arabian (BCSP Fall 2026, Northwestern University) hanno potuto gustare un vero gelato italiano alla Cremeria Vecchia Stalla. ✨
Mentre mangiavano il gelato, Lara e April hanno conversato in italiano insieme ad Akila e Serena, tra risate e gossip.
Purtroppo Vera è dovuta andare via prima per un impegno, speriamo comunque che le sia piaciuto il gelato. 😋
Yesterday, Vera Rosenblum (BCSP Fall 2026, Pizter College), Lara Orlandi (BCSP Fall 2026, University of Chicago) and April Arabian (BCSP Fall 2026, Northwestern University) tried out the gelato at Cremeria Vecchia Stalla in Piazza Santo Stefano with Serena and Akila.
They had the opportunity to chat in Italian in a beautiful piazza brimming with medieval and renaissance architecture.
Sadly Vera had to leave early due to an important call, but we hope she enjoyed the gelato as well. 🍨

22/09/2026

Invitiamo i nuovi studenti a seguire Akila (studentessa Unibo, tirocinante presso il BCSP) da Hotel Cavour all’ufficio del BCSP! Per esplorare i dintorni.
New BCSP students this post is for you! Follow Akila (Unibo student intern at BCSP) from Hotel Cavour around the block to the BCSP office and see what you discover.

21/09/2026

BSCP alumni is back with Rena Kingery (BCSP Spring 2011, Indiana University). 🎉

After graduating from Indiana University in 2012, Rena worked in environmental education in California, moved to Washington State, and eventually got her masters in Science Writing. Now she works in communications for the National Cancer Institute.

In all that time she never lost her love for Italy and the Italian language. She has returned to Italy to fulfil her dream of riding her bicycle from north to south of Italy.

After a little more than two weeks of riding from Innsbruck, she arrived in Bologna to stay with a dear friend, Francesca, whom she met while studying here in 2011 with BCSP. They met in Rena’s first days in Bologna when she heard Francesca playing What’s Up by Four Non Blondes across the cortile of their apartment building. Rena yelled across the cortile that she was also a musician and had her violin, so Francesca invited her over to play music, and they were inseparable for the semester. She is so happy to be back in Bologna visiting the city and her friend!

She came by the BCSP office to say hi to Danielle and reminisce about her semester here. After Bologna, she will take the eurovelo 7 to Firenze then to Siena where she will catch the Via Francigena to Rome. From there, Napoli, the Amalfi Coast, and finally to Puglia where she has always wanted to go.

Scroll to see pictures of Rena back in 2011!

17/09/2026

BCSP alunni news returns today 🎉
This time with...

Giuliana Vassalli (BCSP Spring 2023, University of Michigan).

Giuliana has returned to Bologna to pursue a master's degree at the University of Bologna in Italian Studies. Originally from California and Hawaii, she studied Business Administration and Italian at the University of Michigan.

After graduating, she moved to San Diego and began a career in infrastructure investment research. For a long time she viewed her italian studies as more of a personal passion. Over the course of her undergraduate degree, she began to realize she was not only interested in learning the language to connect with her Italian family, but also studying the culture, literature, and history of Italy. After beginning her career in finance, the desire to return to Italian studies only grew, and this year she took the leap to reimmerse herself in the field by working toward a master's in Italianistica.

Giuliana’s career advice for future students is that while it is important to consider eventual careers paths throughout your university pursuits, don’t discount certain interests just because they may not initially lead to an obvious career. The key is to find intersections between your passions and practical careers. Giuliana hopes to find avenues where she can apply her business skill set to her interests in Italian studies, for example through education, research, etc.

Giuliana also met our current BCSP students: Lara Orlandi Lara (BCSP Fall 2026, University of Chicago), Ella Bentley Ella Bentley (BCSP Fall 2026, Northwestern University) and Akila Sutharson (UniBo student intern at BCSP). They were very enthusiastic to get to know Giuliana and listen to her advice!!

15/09/2026

Venerdì scorso, con la guida del Prof. Benevolo, i nostri studenti hanno visitato il centro storico di Urbino, luogo che rappresenta il culmine dell’arte e dell’architettura del Rinascimento.
Attraversando un serie di stradine e scalinate, il gruppo ha raggiunto il Palazzo Ducale, oggi sede della Galleria Nazionale delle Marche. Al suo interno nella parte sotterranea sono ancora ben preservate le stanze adibite anticamente a impianti di raccolta delle acque piovane. Nei piani superiori del Palazzo, invece, i ragazzi hanno potuto immergersi nell’arte rinascimentale.  
Dopo una piacevole pausa pranzo alla Trattoria del Leone, gli studenti sono saliti fino alla Fortezza Albornoz: punto panoramico, dal quale hanno potuto ammirare l’intero centro storico di Urbino in tutto il suo splendore. ✨
Last Friday, our students visited the historic center of Urbino with Prof. Benevolo. After exploring the city’s charming winding alleyways, they entered the Ducal Palace, an ideal example of Renaissance court life housing masterpieces of Renaissance art. 🎨
A delicious lunch break at Trattoria del Leone gave everyone the fuel needed to tackle the climb up to Fortezza Albornoz — and the breathtaking panoramic view over Urbino was worth every step! 🏰

08/09/2026

After an informative introduction to Ravenna’s history and its role as the former Byzantine capital in the BCSP classroom, we took the train together to go see the sites in person. We began our day at the Basilica of San Vitale, where Professor Benevolo shared more about the mosaics that are so characteristic of Ravenna. We then visited the nearby Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, where we once again marvelled at the vibrancy and detail of its historic mosaics. After a brief break from the heat, we headed to Osteria Passatelli for a delicious three-course meal, finishing with an espresso. Re-energized, we continued on to the Battistero Neoniano and then the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, where we admired more architecture and mosaic-lined walls before heading home. Ravenna was a wonderful adventure!

Thank you Lara Orlandi Lara (BCSP Fall 2026, University of Chicago) for penning this post and for working with Serena on the translation! And thank you April Arabian April Arabian (BCSP Fall 2026, Northwestern University) for the photographic documentation of the day :-) Vera Rosenblum vera (BCSP Fall 2026, Pitzer College), thank you for assisting both Lara and April.
Dopo un’introduzione alla storia di Ravenna e al suo ruolo come capitale bizantina, sabato scorso tutti gli studenti del Fall semester hanno preso il treno per raggiungere la città e visitare dal vivo i luoghi studiati in classe.
La giornata è iniziata alla Basilica di San Vitale, dove il Prof. Benevolo ha mostrato e spiegato il tratto distintivo dell’arte locale: il mosaico. In seguito, il gruppo si è spostato al vicino Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, rimanendo colpito dalla ricchezza cromatica delle sue tecniche musive.
Per pranzo, si sono diretti all’Osteria Passatelli per gustare i piatti tipici della tradizione, concludendo il pasto con un ottimo espresso. Una volta ricaricate le batterie, la visita è proseguita verso il Battistero Neoniano e la Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo.
È stata un’esperienza straordinaria per gli studenti, che si sono immersi nell’arte e nella cultura italiana in una delle cornici più suggestive della Romagna.