Bologna is known for many things — food, porticoes, medieval towers — but the world’s first and only Gelato University, currently celebrating its 20-year anniversary, might be its coolest claim to fame. In more ways than one.  

Every year, thousands of students from across the world enroll at the university’s campus, studying in state-of-the-art laboratories where scientific rigor meets artisan eccentricity, all in pursuit of one of Italy’s most unusual diplomas. But who are these devoted students? And what drives them to travel all the way here to study ice cream?