Italian Erasmus

[Declan]

Hey all

As I'm studying Italian at uni, the time has come to arrange our ERASMUS year, which I'll be on from September 2009 until June/July 2010. Like most Italian departments, ours is ridiculously underfunded and small and therefore our options for places to spend what they've assured us will be the best year of our lives are fairly limited. The choices are:

• Bologna
• Genoa
• Turin

So, what I was wondering is if any of you have been to/lived in/are from/spent time in any of these places as a vegan and how you found it. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Anything anyone can tell about other places in Italy would also be great, since I intend to do a fair bit of travelling and we've also somewhat ambiguously been told "there may also be a few other places" in other cities so any information anyone from anywhere in Italy would really be fantastic!
Thank you all in advance

[fiamma]

Well I live in Bologna, and they've just opened up a new high speed rail link - 1 hour to Milan It also goes to Rome and to Naples - Bologna-Rome 2 hours I think.
Bologna, in transport terms, is a bit of a "hub" - you can be at the beach or in the mountains in an hour and a half or so.
I love Turin - only been a couple of times but I like the atmosphere there. It's also a thriving city from an artistic point of view, lots going on. On the other hand it's a bit of a pain to get to transport-wise; Bologna-Turin is around three hours by train.
Don't know anything about Genoa, unfortunately.

Bologna has various health food shops and restaurants, and a big market Fridays and Saturdays. I think out of the three it'd be your best choice.
Just my two (Euro) cents

Any info you need, just ask

[Loss]

Hi there!
First of all, good luck for your Erasmus
On this year's ranking about quality of life in Italy, Bologna, Turin and Genoa scored respectively 21°, 50° and 77°. Bologna is more student-friendly but Turin is much more tidy. However Genoa ranked higher than both for the quality of its university.
I don't think you're going to have too many problems in getting vegan food in any of the three - I checked the website of the health food shop I usually buy from (http://www.naturasi.it/) and there's at least a couple of stores in all of the three You can get soymilk, tofu and seitan in any normal supermarket anyway, but mind that the variety is not that great.
However, we do have a lot of wonderful cheap veggies
I've lived in Bologna as a student and I can recommend it. It's the most "universitarian" city in Italy :P
The high speed line Fiamma talked about is very fast but also very expensive. Local trains are slower and dirtier but much, much cheaper. It takes you about 2 hours to go from Bologna to Venice with a local train and it costs more or less 9€ (and you should definitely visit Venice).
I definitely agree with Fiamma about Turin, lots going on there

[fiamma]

I don't think the TAV (hi speed train) is so expensive; it's not much more than the Eurostar, and the journey time is almost half. You're also much less likely to be delayed than on the intercity and regional trains.

[Declan]

Thank you both so much for your thoughts I need to draw up some sort of pro/con table or something. Do any of the places have particularly strong regional accents or prominent dialects? Anything's better than Sicilian I suppose but I'd still like to be comprehensible when I come back :P

[fiamma]

I've lived in Italy for going on twelve years now and still have trouble distinguishing accents. Each city, province, region has its own dialects, and you will inevitably pick up a little of the accent of the place you're living, but I don't think it's something you should really be worrying about.

[Loss]

Yes, you shouldn't worry too much, in big cities accents are not a problem.
Well, I must admit I had a lot of problems understanding people when I went to Naples o_o

PS: Fiamma, I think that the TAV is expensive because I'm a student and I'm broke

[JC]

But you're only 18 - do you do erasmus in the 2nd year at your uni? I don't know anything about those cities, but have to agree with the others about trains being good. I went to Perugia for a month in summer, and managed to see lots of other places easily whilst i was there, so definately make good use of it! And i have a friend who's sicilian, yet she's had to learn italian like the rest of us because they're so different, so try to avoid places with strong dialects. Does anyone know anything about Ancona (la marche region)? I'll be going there for work experience this summer, and i worry that it won't be v. vegan friendly :s

[fiamma]

I think that the TAV is expensive because I'm a student and I'm broke

LoL - I can understand that

Does anyone know anything about Ancona (la marche region)? I'll be going there for work experience this summer, and i worry that it won't be v. vegan friendly :s

Define "vegan friendly"... If you're expecting a ton of vegan cafes and restaurants, forget it. Generally eating out as a vegan in Italy is not terribly easy, or can be limiting, unless you have a basic grasp of the language. Practically all pizzerias will have Marinara pizza (just tomato, garlic, and basil, oregano or parsley depending on the pizzeria) and most will have chips or roast potatoes plus veggie side dishes. But the veggies can come with added butter or cheese, so you'd need to be able to ask if that was the case, plus eating chips and salad can get pretty boring if you eat out a lot, unless you're able to ask for a risotto with no butter or cream... normally the chef will be perfectly happy to oblige, and because things are rarely prepackaged things can often be personalised. Generally there are more vegan options the further south you go; I had some wonderful spelt and bean soup in Assisi, and pasta with chick peas, tomato and rosemary in Calabria...

If you're cooking for yourself, however, there is a huge variety of fresh fruit and veggies, lots of brands of chocolate that are vegan and many biscuits too. Many supermarkets stock tofu and seitan, and veggie burgers which are vegan. I suppose it all depends on your circumstances and what your expectations are...

[Declan]

But you're only 18 - do you do erasmus in the 2nd year at your uni?

We do it in the year between 2nd and (officially) 3rd year (so it's a five-year course all in all), and I'm in 2nd year just now. I live in Scotland so went to uni when I was 17

[applepie]

I did my Erasmus year in Bologna, and it was the best time ever - I wish I could go back! Out of the three places you've listed it would definitely be my first choice. If you need any tips about finding your way around uni, student life in Bologna or how to find a place to live, let me know!

[Declan]

I think I'm fairly settled on the idea of Bologna now (if I get to go there!) so thank you to everyone!! And applepie, you'll be hearing from me a LOT come April

[vegetarian_cat]

I agree with everyone else Declan, Bologna is the best choice.

What's worth visiting around there is also Lake Garda, during the summer.
And you can get really good olive oil there.

And olives. Lots of olives lol
Make bread with olives your new staple

[Declan]

Well the Italian Department FINALLY organised our placements - It turns out I'm being shipped to Turin after all. Does anyone have any experience of this city specifically? It seems an ok place... even though it was my last choice!

[Loss]

According to an ex-roomate of mine who's currently living there, the district near the train station (I think the name's San Salvario, if I remember correctly) is the most multiethnic - and thus most interesting It's also quite green and close to the city centre.

[fiamma]

It turns out I'm being shipped to Turin after all.

I really like Turin from the couple of times I've been there - it's got wonderful architecture, great location close to the mountains and is a thriving city art-wise. I'm sure you'll have a great time there

[Declan]

I know, I was looking forward to having a vegan friend BUT in good news, a Spanish girl who did an erasmus to Glasgow last year is going to be doing another in Forlí from October, so I'll be visiting her and coming to Bologna anyway