Boston University Study Abroad Padua

Inside the City: learning Padua through real voices 🏛️✨

Students from the Padua Conflict & Crisis Reporting program, led by Professor Greg Marinovich, took part in a dynamic on-site class at the City of Padua Town Hall (Palazzo Moroni).

Hosted by Councillor Francesca Benciolini the session became a truly engaging and interactive dialogue: students actively asked questions and explored key topics shaping the city today—from Padua Carbon Neutral 2030 to public budgeting, housing policies, migration, and homelessness.

The discussion offered a valuable opportunity to understand how global challenges are addressed at the local level, through the perspective of city governance.
We are grateful for the openness, expertise, and generous availability of Councillor Benciolini, who created a space for meaningful exchange and reflection.
A sincere thank you to the City of Padua. for hosting this enriching experience.

✨ A perfect ending to an unforgettable Spring Semester in Padua.

During the final End-of-program reception of the Business Internship Program at BU Padua, students, faculty, internship supervisors and key members of the program came together to celebrate months of learning, growth and international experiences.

Through coursework at both BU Padua and the University of Padua, combined with hands-on internship experiences, students embraced academic excellence while discovering the cultural richness of Italy.

Arrivederci Padova and good luck for everything that comes next! 🇮🇹💫

If you’d like to learn more about the Business Internship Program and discover our students’ internship experiences, the latest posts are now live on our profile 💼

📅 Applications for the Spring 2027 semester open on June 1st!

AH 349: Between the Lily and the Lion visited the Sala dei Giganti in Padua, and it was such an incredible find! The massive frescoes, filled with Roman emperors and classical imagery, reflect the city’s rediscovery of the ancient world in the sixteenth century. The scale and use of portraiture bring out a strong sense of civic pride, intellectual life, and political ambition.

Stay tuned for the program trip takeovers to Florence on our story Friday & Saturday! Tomorrow we will be visiting the Uffizi Galleries and Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, and Saturday to San Gimignano. 🌟

Students in AH 349 Between the Lion and the Lily visited the Scuola del Santo, where frescoes, including early works by Titian, bring Saint Anthony’s story to life!

We each chose a fresco, created our own presentations, and shared them with the class, making it an interactive and engaging experience. Professor Petrioli then added deeper insight to each piece, showing how visual culture shaped popular piety and institutional identity in Renaissance Padua.

LI130 Introduction to Italian Language and Culture:

As part of the BIP program, they took learning beyond the classroom with an Italian language scavenger hunt through Padua’s city center, all centered around the iconic Caffè Pedrocchi. By interacting with locals and navigating the city in Italian, students learned pieces of Padua’s history in a hands on way. It was such a fun and immersive experience that pushed them to step outside their comfort zones, practice the language in real time, and see the city from a whole new perspective.

The CAS HI 263 Conflicts, Protests & Terrorism: An Italian History class visited the villa where the Armistice of Villa Giusti was signed on November 3, 1918, ending the fighting between Italy and Austria Hungary on the Italian Front of World War I. After two intense days of negotiations in these very rooms, the agreement brought the war on this front to a close.

The villa is still privately owned by the same family, who preserve the historic photographs with the current ones, keeping the past and present under the same roof.

Business Internship Program and Italian & European Studies Program students had the opportunity to see “Mirandolina” at Teatro Verdi in Padova, a classic by Carlo Goldoni brought to life in a way that felt both thoughtful and insightful.

The story highlights a strong and witty female lead navigating power, independence, and social expectations, themes that still resonate today. It was such a meaningful way to experience Italian culture through live theater together!