Bergamo: Getting started

        by Anuradha Choudry

Citta Alta - view from my balcony

To start with - Bergamo is a beautiful little town where most of the places can be reached by foot or by buses called 'Pullman'. It would be simplest if you saw a map of the place online to understand distances in terms of time etc.

 

A little info about the place - The city has 2 parts - Citta Alta which is on a small 'mountain' - about 20-25mins upward climb by foot as well as by bus from the Centre which is called Porta Nuova (In photo - view of Citta Alta from Porta Nuova almost).

 

Our classes are held in different buildings that are scattered across Citta Alta which are from 5 - 15/20 mins walking distance from each other depending on the courses you choose as there is no single Campus for all the University buildings. If you enjoy walking this is a great place to be in as there is ample opportunity to trek up and down Citta Alta to get to the different classes in the shortest time possible since every class lasts for 1-2hrs. The courses you choose might happen consecutively with no gap between their time slots (it is acceptable to go late to classes and even leave before they are over!!) or even worse they might happen simultaneously, which means you would have to choose to attend one and be a non-frequenting student for the other course .

Citta Bassa with mountains on the distance

 

Selecting a good accomodation is important as you can minimise your travel time accordingly. It would be simplest to fix your accomodation with the Student's accomodation at the earliest and request for a place with internet as well (important). If you have the possibility of going there earlier, you could be in the Ostello (Youth Hostel which is a little expensive - 17Euros a night with an International student's id card) and see the adds on the Notice boards in the University buildings regarding rooms on rent (affitto) for reasonable rates in Citta Alta itself. The advantage of living in Citta Alta itself is that you can go to the University buildings whenever you wish and use their internet services till 7 pm which are available in just 2 of the buildings though most of the others have wi-fi in them.

Citta Bassa from Citta Alta - the main road goes from Citta Alta to the station

 

Regarding social life there - if you enjoy parties - the organization called Seriate International for Erasmus students is very active and organizes parties twice a week in different pubs. You can find them on Facebook as well.

 

Food is very good in Italy and the Student's Mensa (canteen) serves very good lunch at a discount with the Univ Student's card.

 

There are beautiful lakes around Bergamo - which I didn't have the opportunity of visiting though as I had a very hectic study schedule and travelled outside Italy during the short breaks.

 

On the whole I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Bergamo ... would be ideal if you could meet a former Mundus student on arrival and have a guided tour to the different places and be explained the study system as it is very different in every University and can be quite a challenge at times to figure out for oneself!! I was very fortunate to have met former students Kamna Suri and Kamal Chhetri who were very sweet and helpful and their showing me around was an invaluable boon for my first few days at the University.   

 

I will be there around the 9th of September for an exam and will be happy to help if you or any other Mundus student is there during that period.

 

Otherwise Mrs Giovanna Della Cioppa, our international coordinator, is very helpful and will give you the details to find your way around as soon as you reach.

 

Last but not the least - do brush up your Italian as not many people speak English... I found the people friendly and helpful though... and thus survived my first few months with basic spoken Italian.

All the best 
Let me know if i can be of any other help,

 

Warm regards,

Anu

Farewell treat