Conference Venue
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The University of Calabria (UNICAL)
The University of Calabria (UNICAL) is a major public research university located in Arcavacata di Rende, near the city of Cosenza, in Southern Italy. Founded in 1972, it has grown to become one of the most important and dynamic universities in the country, often ranking highly among large Italian state universities.
UNICAL is notable for having the largest and best-equipped residential campus in Italy, often referred to as a “Campus for Excellence.” The campus extends over a green area of approximately 200 hectares in a hilly setting. The distinctive architecture, designed in part by Vittorio Gregotti, features a unique, long structure called the “Pietro Bucci” bridge, which connects various departments housed in cubic-shaped buildings (“Cubes”).
It is a true residential campus, offering numerous facilities, including a Residential Centre with accommodation for students (around 1,800 beds), canteens, a Health Centre, a Library, a Sports Centre, and even two theatres and two movie theatres, fostering a lively campus life.
With around 25,000 enrolled students and about 1,000 academic staff, UNICAL offers a wide range of study programs. It comprises 14 Departments that provide a total of 80 Degree Programmes (Bachelor’s and Master’s levels), as well as PhD Programmes. The academic offer covers fields like Engineering, Sciences, Humanities, Economics, and Social Sciences.
The University has a strong focus on internationalisation. It hosts a significant and growing community of international students (over 950 from more than 80 countries) and promotes numerous exchange and mobility programs like Erasmus+ and MoST, thanks to many international cooperation agreements. It also offers several Master’s Degree courses taught entirely in English.
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Conference Rooms
The “Beniamino Andreatta” Main Hall (Aula Magna) serves as the primary conference and event venue for the University of Calabria, located in Rende (Cosenza), and is the centerpiece of the university’s large Convention Centre complex.
The hall is named in honor of Beniamino Andreatta, a key founder and the first Rector of the University of Calabria, whose vision shaped the university’s development as an extensive, residential, and integrated “campus-style” institution.
This notably spacious hall provides 660 seats, making it perfectly suited for large-scale academic ceremonies, major conferences, and significant cultural events. Designed to host modern, high-level functions, the Aula Magna is fully equipped with: a video projection system and a dedicated PC workstation, a professional sound system with both fixed and wireless microphones, specialized stage lighting and a complete climate control (air conditioning) system, and two dedicated reception stations for event management, offering full internet and telephone connectivity.
The Aula Magna is typically utilized in conjunction with the adjacent spaces that form the rest of the Convention Centre, which include:
“Sala A” (Room A) – An ideal room for seminars and training courses, with a capacity of 50 people;
“Sala Stampa” (Press Room) – Equipped with 80 seats and full multimedia projection and audio capabilities;
“Sala Mostre” (Exhibition Hall) – This versatile area is used for cultural events, such as art exhibitions, and is specifically designed to accommodate catering services (coffee breaks, lunches) for convention attendees.
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