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Barbara Ariatti and her fellow peer educators are all medical students at the University of Bologna. It’s a very special place to study as it’s said to be the oldest university in the world!

Almost a thousand years’ worth of students have attended its faculties, most of which are still located in beautiful medieval buildings in the historic city center.

No surprise then that one of the city’s nicknames is Bologna la dotta: “Bologna the Learned.”

The Faculty of Medicine has its own very special history too. During the 17th century, medical professors performed some of the earliest dissections of human cadavers in the Anatomical Theater.

It was one of the first universities to teach anatomy this way, much to the displeasure of the Catholic Church, which opposed the practice.

Made of wood, with a marble dissection slab in the center, the Anatomical Theater was almost completely destroyed by bombs during World War II, but was then perfectly reconstructed, using as much of the original wood as possible. And you can still visit it today. Look out for the so-called spellati – two “skinless” naked wooden statues on either side of the teaching chair, literally showing off all their muscles!

Here’s the University of Bologna’s website.