Bologna

SAIS Europe

On this Italian visit, I took the opportunity to visit a place I’ve obviously heard much about over the past two years…. the Bologna campus of SAIS Europe. Professor Mike Plummer, who runs the place, is well known to many of the Nanjing faculty, since he has considerable experience & expertise in international economics within the Asian region. The visit also allowed me to meet with Prof. Filippo Taddei, who heads the Bologna Institute for Policy Research (and is a senior advisor to the Italian government regarding labor issues); and Prof. Mark Gilbert, a specialist in European history and international relations. Scheduling conflicts did not allow me to see Prof. Manfred Hafner, who teaches ERE courses in Bologna…. a very unfortunate situation since I had last seen Prof. Hafner about twenty-five years ago, when he was a student in one of my energy/environmental courses at Penn! I’m sure I’ll get another chance to visit, though – and look forward to meeting up with him once again.

Bologna towers

I was fortunate as well to have an opportunity to spend several hours as a Bologna tourist… and what a wonderful experience that was! SAIS Europe is located at the University of Bologna, which – dating to 1088 — is considered to be the oldest university in the Western world. The city is especially well-known for its porticos, and I was able to walk from the University area to the historic district in the city center under such cover (even though it was a beautiful day, & such protection wasn’t needed). There were a number of notable highlights: the two towers (the Asinelli & Garisenda towers, much like those found in San Gimignano in a previous posting); the unfinished façade of San Petronio; the statue of Neptune; the Biblioteca Salaborsa, with its glass floor showing centuries of Roman roads & infrastructure underneath; the Archiginnasio, an earlier site of the University, with its famous Anatomical Theater for the medical school; the Basilica of Santo Stefano, a complex of religious edifices; and the truly amazing (and moving) Compianto sul Cristo Morto, by Niccolò dell’Arca, at Santa Maria della Vita. This latter sculpture portrays the death of Christ, and the artist captures the emotions of mourners in a manner unlike anything I’ve ever seen.