The City of Bologna, capital to the Emilia Romagna Region, has a population of about 400,000 inhabitants within the city boundaries and one million in the metropolitan area.

With its strategic location, Bologna has been a primary crossroad of goods and people since the Roman times. Today, thanks to its expanding infrastructures, it’s the centre of a transport and business network of vital importance to Italy and Europe. It is the major hub in the country for highways and rails.

Bologna’s industrial system stands out for the presence of special clusters, like automatic machinery, motor industry, electronics, fashion. Agro&food is another traditional cluster that research and investments have led to a position of excellence. Besides these, a few emerging sectors, such as logistics, medical technology, multimedia and creative industries, are contributing to creating an excellent mix of culture and technology, which makes Bologna a benchmark for innovation and technology development, offering a quality of life among the highest in Italy.

Bologna is a melting pot of European culture and Italian heritage and home to a number of prestigious cultural, economic and political institutions. Among these, the Teatro Comunale: one of the major Lyrical-Symphonic Foundations acknowledged by the Italian State.

The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is the oldest in the Western world and one of the most important in Italy, with a core district located in the heart of the city historical centre.

The old town with porticoes stretching for 40 kilometres, which has recently applied for the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is one of the most beautifully preserved medieval centres in the world. Today, its historical and artistic heritage is kept in over 50 museums. Among these, the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna (MAMBO), dedicated to contemporary art and located in an area called the ‘Manifattura delle Arti’. This is one of Europe’s main cultural districts spread over an area of about 10 hectares which also hosts the Department of Communication Sciences and the Music and Performing Arts Laboratories of the University, together with the Bologna Film Archives, ‘Cineteca di Bologna’, a worldwide renowned centre for film programming and restoration and preserving important collections like the Charlie Chaplin archive.