Prime Minister Mario Draghi at BBS to dedicate the Aula Magna to Nino Andreatta

Yesterday afternoon at Villa Guastavillani in Bologna, the historical headquarters of Bologna Business School, a ceremony was held to honor the memory and legacy of Beniamino Andreatta, an unforgettable protagonist of the Italian Academy, the political history, and the University of Bologna.

The Aula Magna of the headquarters of BBS, the school of managerial training of the University of Bologna, has been dedicated to him. In memory of the economist and academic, BBS has named the most evocative and representative room on its Campus, bearing witness to Andreatta’s teachings, his indelible contribution to the Bologna university community, his academic and institutional work inspired by the relationship between economics, politics, and society.

The Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, invited to Villa Guastavillani to take part in the inauguration of the Aula Magna, attended the ceremony, contributed with his address and remembrance to Nino Andreatta.

The memory of Nino brings me back to the beginning of my career when, still not having met me personally, he proposed me to work with him to teach first at the University of Calabria and then at the University of Trento, both founded by him. An example of great generosity, which together with his moral rigor has always fascinated and inspired me,” said Prime Minister Mario Draghi. “Andreatta was a patient and far-sighted reformer, but his personality was much more than that. He wanted to reform the State starting from people’s behavior and values, without considering any personal profit but with a sharp and far-sighted vision. He went through the political storms of the time with autonomy, independence, and straightforwardness, saying many ‘noes’ and few ‘yeses’. The politics of the time marginalized him, and we’re still paying for it today. His interest in young people, which has always characterized his political and academic career, is now a great lesson to us to meet the challenges of Next Generation EU, reminding us of our sense of responsibility to invest efficiently and honestly for the future of the next generations, the same generations that will sit in this room dedicated to him.”

The inaugural ceremony was attended by leading representatives of Bologna’s academic institutions, together with the Andreatta Family, the authorities and Nino Andreatta’s colleagues and students.

“We are very honored that Prime Minister Mario Draghi is with us today remembering Beniamino Andreatta, who has always supported the growth and development of Bologna Business School, and wishing our school the best possible future,” said Romano Prodi, President of the Supervisory Body of Bologna Business School.

With his passionate motivational force, he made a decisive contribution to the birth of BBS, as well as to its connotation as an interdisciplinary school,” said Massimo Bergami, Dean of Bologna Business School. “Andreatta saw the need to link science and technology to businesses, as an indispensable condition for the development and birth of a new wave of technological enterprises. His words convey a strong sense of responsibility towards future generations and, after more than 20 years, are still relevant. Last Friday, on the occasion of Eric Schmidt’s honorary degree, we heard similar calls for a stronger link between academia and business, science, and technology with management. Today, we still look to his teachings, and although we live in a volatile world, we are fortunate to be moving along a path charted from afar, and to refer back to important values and teachings, which we have the responsibility to pass on.”

Three years ago, one of the central streets of the university citadel was named after him. From today, the Aula Magna of the Bologna Business School will also bear the name of Beniamino Andreatta. A figure of extraordinary importance in the political life of our country, he was one of the founders of our Political Sciences Faculty and the Institute of Economic Sciences, which later became a Department. Open-mindedness about the world, curiosity, the innate ability to be interested in human relationships: this is how those who had the good fortune to have known him describe him. These are traits that he shared with the distinctive character of our Business School, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary,” said Francesco Ubertini, Rector of the University of Bologna.

The Aula Magna in Villa Guastavillani, presented yesterday for the first time to the public, was designed by Mario Nanni and realized by Viabizzuno. It contains a collection of 2,500 volumes donated by the publishing house Società Editrice Il Mulino in memory of Nino Andreatta.