Daily life
Codice fiscale
KO-dee-cheh fees-KA-leh
Your Italian tax code — free, same-day, and required before a lease, a bank account, a SIM or a doctor.
Permesso di soggiorno
per-MES-so dee sod-JOR-no
The residence permit. Non-EU arrivals file for it within eight working days of entry, on paper, at a post office.
Contratto per studenti
kon-TRAT-to per stoo-DEN-tee
The student tenancy, six to thirty-six months under the local territorial agreement. The most common contract in this city by a wide margin.
Canone concordato
ka-NO-neh kon-kor-DA-to
A rent-capped contract under the local agreement. Bologna's version is unusually well used, and the landlord gets a lower tax rate for it.
Città 30
chit-TA TREN-ta
The city-wide 30 km/h limit introduced in January 2024, making Bologna the first large Italian city to adopt one. It is enforced.
Culture
Portico
POR-tee-ko
The covered arcade. Bologna has some 62 kilometres of them, UNESCO-listed since 2021, and you can cross most of the city dry.
Dotta, grassa, rossa
DOT-ta GRAS-sa ROS-sa
'Learned, fat, red' — Bologna's own three-word self-description: the university, the food, and the politics and the rooftops both.
Social
Fuorisede
fwo-ree-SEH-deh
A student living away from their home town. In Bologna it is a demographic category that shapes the rental market and half the city's services.
Osteria
os-teh-REE-a
Historically a place that sold wine and let you bring food. In Bologna the old ones survive and are where people drink before dinner.
Food
Tortellini in brodo
tor-tel-LEE-nee in BRO-do
In broth, never in cream. Emilia-Romagna's food orthodoxies are precise and locals will correct you kindly but firmly.
Emergency
112
uno uno due
The single European emergency number. Emilia-Romagna's unified answering centre went live across the region between December 2024 and April 2025.
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