EXHIBITION ON BOLOGNA FC 1909 STUDENTS OPENS AT PALAZZO POGGI FROM SATURDAY | OneFootball

From Saturday 11 April to Tuesday 2 June, the exhibition “Campus di calcio. Studenti del Bologna FC dall’Università alla città” will take over the corridors of Palazzo Poggi at Via Zamboni 33, telling the story of the early years of the 20th century when football first began to take hold in the city thanks to university students.

One of the first leather footballs brought from England to Bologna was introduced by Benito Álvarez Buylla y Lozana, a student at the Real Colegio de España, who earned the nickname “the man of the ball.”

Among the prominent figures of that era was Antonio Bernabeu y Yeste, brother of Santiago Bernabéu, after whom Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is named. Also featured are Aldo Gradi, later a notary and a pioneer within the Società Sportiva Studentesca, as well as brother of Arrigo Gradi, who helped establish the club’s red-and-blue colours; Vittorio Puntoni, son of the university rector of the same name and later a renowned physician; Emilio Sala Rosa, who lost his life during World War I; and Giuseppe Della Valle, an engineer, Italy international and member of a family dynasty of players.

The exhibition, promoted and curated by the Historical Archive of University of Bologna, is organised across a series of panels combining texts and images. It features copies of documents from student files preserved in the university’s historical archive, alongside iconographic material provided by Bologna FC 1909, the Real Colegio de España and Fondazione Carisbo. The exhibition traces the biographies of several of these young students, who came from different social and geographical backgrounds but were united by their passion for the emerging game.

The story also follows the evolution of football venues in the city: from the improvised pitch at the Prati di Caprara to the first purpose-built facilities and ultimately the construction of the Littoriale, now known as Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a symbol of football’s definitive place in Bologna’s public life.

The exhibition is completed by a selection of materials from the Umberto Costanzini collection preserved in the university’s historical archive, documenting the design of sporting spaces across the city and illustrating the close relationship between urban development and sporting culture.

The exhibition invites visitors to rediscover an important chapter in Bologna’s history, where sporting passion emerged within the lecture halls of a dynamic and culturally vibrant student community before spreading across the city and contributing to the formation of its collective identity.

“Campus di calcio. Studenti del Bologna FC dall’Università alla città”, promoted and curated by the Historical Archive of the University of Bologna, is organised with the patronage of Bologna FC 1909, the Comune di Bologna and the Real Colegio de España.

Scientific committee: Marino Bartoletti, Gianluca Battacchi, Riccardo Brizzi, Carlo Caliceti, Carlo Felice Chiesa, Francesco Citti and Mirko Trasforini.

The exhibition will be open to the public until 2 June 2026. Admission is free, with visiting hours Monday–Friday 07:00–19:00 and Saturday–Sunday 10:00–18:00.