The ancient city of Bologna is one of Europe’s great centers of learning and a superbly preserved jewel of medieval charm. The Brown Center in Bologna, is located in the heart of city.  After an intensive one-month orientation, students attend the University of Bologna (UniBo), the oldest in Europe, whose famous alumni include Dante, Petrarch, Erasmus, and Copernicus. Housing is provided in a student residential facility that is within walking and biking distance to the city center and the University. The program includes guided tours of the city as well as excursions to other historic cities of the Emilia-Romagna region.

Students enrolled in this five-week program experience the Cinema Ritrovato Film Festival in Bologna while studying World cinema at the University of Bologna and the Bologna Cineteca, one of the most important centers for film restoration in Europe and the home of the Charlie Chaplin and Pier Paolo Pasolini film archives. Students attend lectures and seminars in English taught by Brown and University of Bologna film scholars and learn how to write, shoot, and edit a film under the direction of one of Italy’s young award-winning directors.