Bologna: The Red, the Fat, the Learned, and ME!
Bologna: The Red, the Fat, the Learned, and ME! I was so fortunate to receive the IU Faculty Exchange with the University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy. UniBo, established in 1088, is the oldest university in Europe and it is nestled in the region Emilia Romana. Bologna is known as both the land of slow food and fast cars and as the red, the fat, and the learned. Red is for their red wine, fat is from their famous cured meats, and the learned is for UniBo. While I was there, I personally experienced the red wine, the fat (though as a vegetarian it was just from the overall DELICIOUS food), and the learned as I conducted scholarly research on medieval women in Iberian/Mediterranean food culture. I could not have imagined a better place to research food studies. The major focus of my research exchange was a 15th century text housed in the Palatine Library in Parma, Italy. It was a short train ride from Bologna. It was an amazing opportunity and had this been the only part of my researc