INAF - Institute for Radioastronomy

The Institute for Radioastronomy (IRA) is part of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics and comprises three sites (Bologna, Medicina and Noto). The "Bologna headquarters" are located in a strategic place within the National Center of Research (CNR), in the "Navile District". It is, therefore, easy to join interdisciplinary discussions and interact with different Institutes. IRA is internationally recognized as a center for scientific research, technological development and state-of-the-art radio astronomical observations. The research developed at INAF-IRA is wide, from transients, active galactic nuclei to cosmology (more info here).

The Navile District also hosts the INAF - Bologna Observatory of Astrophysics and Space Science (OAS), the Headquarters of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna. These institutes offer several seminars every week and they organize altogether the weekly Joint Astronomical Colloquium.

Bologna

Living in Bologna means immersing yourself in one of Italy’s most dynamic and intellectually stimulating cities.
Bologna’s University (the "Alma Mater Studiorum") is the first European University and also offers a rich programme of cultural activities. From a radioastronimical point of view, Bologna is special as it is the city of Guglielmo Marconi, one of the many brightest minds born in Bologna, who received in 1909 the Nobel Prize in Physics for “his contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy.”

There is a genuinely vibrant social fabric where it’s easy to meet people, as the city hosts international students and researchers. English is widely spoken and, for instance, the Cinema Lumière regularly screens films in their original language (with Italian subtitles).
Bologna is internationally renowned for its rich culinary tradition — from tortellini and tagliatelle al ragù to bustling food markets — and this further enhances daily living. Finally, Bologna is well connected by trains and hosts an international airport.
Finding housing in Bologna can be one of the trickiest parts of settling in, largely because the strong student and research population keeps demand high. It’s a good idea to start searching well in advance by browsing listings on popular portals (like idealista, immobiliare.it, subito.it) or joining local Facebook groups focused on housing in Bologna.