Bologna's mayor welcomes SAIS students

Earlier this week, Mayor Virginio Merola welcomed SAIS Bologna students to Bologna. This traditional welcome was launched by Giuseppe Dozza, who served as mayor from 1945 to 1966, as a friendly means of telling SAIS students what makes Bologna special.

Giacomo Tagiuri
and
Harriet Di Francesco

Bologna is home to the oldest operating university in the world. Since medieval times it has been a temporary home to students from all over the world, including this year's SAIS students. Our more than 6,500 alumni remember their time in Bologna as a life-changing experience, and many of their memories connect to the friendliness of the bolognesi, their open-mindedness and the beauty of the city.

(For a record of some of our alumni's memories, have a look at photos, videos and text that they have posted on our website here.)

Mayor Merola discussed his experience as il primo cittadino di Bologna and the challenges he's faced since coming to office. At the end of the speech students asked questions. Graffiti are normally a popular issue our students address, but this year they engaged the mayor on his battle against corruption, recycling and parks in the centro storico.

Below is a short video that captures a brief bit of the speech and comments by two students, Giacomo Tagiuri and Harriet Di Francesco, after listening to Merola.



If you are reading this on email, you can view the video here.

Amina Abdiuahab