Indians in Bologna & Italy A simple guide for Indians visiting Bologna
Sunil Deepak, (Updated June 2011)
If you are planning to visit Bologna (Italy) for a short or long period, this page is for you. Bologna is in the northern part of Italy, halfway between Rome on the south, and Milan and Venice on the north. Bologna has a famous university, among the best universities in Italy and Europe. It is a beautiful and hospitable city.
Bologna has a rich programme of cultural events including films, music, dances, etc. through out the year, even more so during summer. There are so many museums to see. On most weekends, they have guided tours in the museums, though they are mostly in Italian. Ask the reception offices in the museums if there are any English language tours.
Indian or south Asian cuisine is common. It is easy to find dals, rice, Indian spices, specific ingredients for north or south Indian cooking at the numerous shops run by persons from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, one thing lacks in Bologna - there is no idli-dosa restaurant. However, recently an Indian/Pakistani sweets shop has opened in Via Mondo 5. South Asian and Bengali sweets are also available in many food stores.
South Asian shops renting or selling Indian or Pakistani DVDs (unfortunately mostly pirated) are many. People do put up parabolic (dish) antenna for watching some of the Indian pay-channels such as Zee or Sony, beamed from UK. Some persons are also using their internet connection with Alice and a paycard to watch Indian channels, by paying 200 Euro/year.
For the free TV channels, with your normal TV antenna and a cheap digital decoder, you can catch lot of free Italian channels, but also BBC world and France 2, in English and French respectively (from November 2010, TV transmissions in Bologna will be exclusively in digital format, directly from satellite to home, so you need a TV with in-built digital decoder or need to have a decoder separately even for free channels. Note June 2011: Unfortunately with digital direct to home transmissions, now we do not get free BBC world service any more, which is a pity.)
Besides, many of the Indian TV programmes and serials are now available also on internet.
There are two Indian associations in Bologna, you can check their web pages - Sanatan Sanskritik Parishad (Bengali Association) and Namaste India that can also be contacted by Email: rajesh(at)namasteindia.it
There is also the Indian Association of North India based in Milan that can be contacted at indianassociationofmilan(at)gmail.com
Consulate General of India also has a Facebook page for getting updated information about their initiatives.
There are many Indian students at Bologna University, especially in post graduate and doctorate courses. You can check them and get in contact with them through Orkut Group - Indians in Bologna. Facebook also has an active group called Indians in Europe, where people share their daily problems like residence permit (Carta di Soggiorno) driving licence, etc.
Other Support
Bologna has a very active Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) support system. The office of GLBT centre called Cassero is close to railway station on Via Don Minzoni 18, next to MAMBO (Museum of modern art). They are in old medieval building of Port of Bologna, that is interesting from archeological point of view. They have a good library on GLBT and human rights themes and their restaurant in the basement is a lively place with lot of cultural initiatives in the evenings and weekends. For knowing more about them check their website (opens in a new window).
If you are looking for simple accommodation in Bologna, using in home-sharing with other students, remember to check the sign board in Via del Guasto in the university area, off Via Zamboni, close to Piazza Verdi.
For places to see in and around Bologna, apart from other things, remember to check this blog post on Arre Kya Baat Hai (Opens in a new window).
