Ciao! I’m Issy, a rising sophomore ECE major. I’m spending a month in Bologna, Italy as part of the ISEED program. It’s been a week, so here’s a quick run down of my time here so far.
I arrived over the weekend yet slept most of it away, so my first real day exploring Bologna was Monday. I walked downtown along Via dell’Indipendenza and saw the iconic two towers, sadly now enclosed by construction.
Sights in Bologna
I spent the following few days walking around the city. On Thursday, I decided to go further and walk to San Luca, a sanctuary located on top of a hill at the end of the world’s longest portico (666 arches!). I still can’t really feel my legs, but the view was totally worth it.
On the way to San Luca
On Friday, our class visited the Ducati museum and factory on the city’s outskirts. I never had much of an interest in motorcycles before, but it was still really cool to see the production lines of these luxury motorbikes.
Cool motorbikes
On Saturday, I hopped on the regional train and headed to Ravenna, a small city about an hour away, the former capital of the Western Roman Empire (!). I took a walking tour to see the ~1500 year-old mosaics, which I highly recommend. While there, I also visited the grave of the famous poet Dante.
Ravenna mosaics, Dante’s grave, and King Theodoric’s mausoleum
(On a less happy note, my train back to Bologna that night was delayed for more than an hour, possibly due to the F1 festivities happening in Imola. Oh well…)
For Sunday, I went even further, catching a bus in the morning to go to Milan. I visited the famous Duomo, the pinacoteca di Brera, Castle Sforzesco, drank an extremely overpriced coke in Navigli, and had overall a great time. The Duomo, with all its details, was extremely impressive up close.
Milan!
Somewhat unexpectedly, my favorite thing I saw in Milan was the funky instruments displayed in the castle.
Look at these weird instruments!
Overall, it has been a tiring yet fun week. I can’t wait for the next!