Mensa in Perugia

We are back with another insightful article this time talking about food, glorious food. And you know what, we all need to eat some food: weather you are enjoiyng a vacation in the Bahamas or persuing your dreams for a better tomorrow or just like many (including me) getting by with your studies, food is there to provide energy for your body. When you are living in a country were people consider food not only as a source of energy but also a source of pleasure you know where you are-geographically speaking: beautiful Italy. Though there are some culinary differences between the various regions, you have the garanty that each one of them can offer you a feast for your test buds. Be it the typical sweets and sea food from the south of Italy or the many assortments of cheese, pork, bread and pasta from the central and northern Italy, there is something for everyone's taste. The university canteen does justice to the many varieties of dishes they prepare every day for lunch and dinner. So today's article will focus on the university canteens in my city, Perugia. 

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How does it work

First of all you need to get your card  from the agency called Adisu (you can find more information about this agency in the previous article I posted). In order to get this card it is necessary to fill out an online application module for canteen services and also provide a document which states your family's annual income. According to how much your family makes a year this agency will put you in an income bracket therefore based on which income bracket you belong to, you will be eligible for some reduced prices or in the best case scenario (a.k.a. if you are a scholarship holder) the agency covers all of the costs of your meals. Given the fact that I was a scholarship holder, I was so gratefull to have had two meals a day (lunch and dinner) totally covered by this agency. This one of a kind agency therefore stands for nothing but the student's wright to study in the university and the improvement of the quality of the student's life.

Where can you find a canteen in Perugia

In this iconic city of Perugia these are the following canteens:

• Mensa centrale, located in Via Pascoli 23
• Mensa agraria, located in Via Romana 4/B
• Mensa ingegneria, located in Via G.Duranti 131
• Mensa di Medicina, located in Piazzale Gambuli 1
• Mensa Uni Stranieri, located in Viale Carlo Manuali

These canteens, open for university students-staff and pretty much anybody, are located near the big campuses so Mensa centrale = Central canteen (the biggest and the busyest of all canteens) is in the epicenter of the various faculties which are at a five to ten minutes walking distance. For faculties like agricultural sciences faculty, engineering faculty, medicine faculty and for the University for foreigners since they are located in different parts of the city, they have their own canteen in the campus area. The best way to find this canteens is to download an application called BuonApp where it is also possible to see the timetable and the daily menu, which takes me to the next step of explaining how it is.

What to expect for lunch and dinner 

All of the above listed canteens are open for lunch while only two canteens (Mensa centrale and mensa agraria) are also open for dinner. The daily menu includes pasta, pizza, sandwiches, desserts, fruit, yogurt, rice, soups, meat dishes, fresh salad and vegetables without forgetting our vegeterian and vegan friends -lactose intollerant people are also considered in the equation. What can I say... there is something that meets the dietary needs of almost everybody.

There are many dish combinations you can choose from: the maximum amount of food you can get is the so-called first combo consisting of a first course, a second course, a side dish, bread, fruit/yogurt and a beverage of your choice. If you are not very hungry you can choose the so-called second combo which consists of a first course and a side dish with bread and fruit/yogurt or a  second course and a side dish with bread and fruit/yogurt. The alternative to all of this is to go to the fast food lane where you can gate two slices of pizza, french fries, a dessert/fruit and a beverage  of your choice. The menu for lunch and dinner is somewhat similar. What I explained here is just what I often choose to eat but once you are here and you try things out you can find what works best for you.

source: this is the typical menu on the fast food lane and boy it's good !

Though many of my collegues point out that there is a difference when it comes to the food served in the different canteens, I have never had to complain about the quality of the food nor its taste. I believe that as long as you have warm and nutriscious food at your disposal the rest may be sorted out easily.

Tips and tricks

My experience tells to treat the people working in the canteens with respect and a lot a love. First because they are working hard to provide a service for the hungry people coming in for some lunch or dinner. Second - between me and you - if you happen to show up with a big smile on your face and you greet them warmly as they give you out the food then they tend to be sympatetique and add a little bit more. These will definetly brighten up your day, when specially it is cold and wintery outside.

And of course if you happen to come to Perugia for an Erasmus or just visiting this beatiful city, feel free to hit me up and I am sure I will give you a custom tour of the canteens in Perugia and much more.

Just one disadvantage

As many fellow students are juggling lectures and day to day studying, having a place where one can sit down and enjoy a ready-made warm meal (if one meets the requirements can even have free meals) is fantastic. The only arguement that I have when it comes to eating always at the canteen is that you start forgetting the real world where people cook and prepare the food they want to consume. I am saying this because for the time that I had two meals a day at the canteen during my study period I was really enjoying it a lot. But let me tell you, when I decided to study abroad as an Erasmus student I had to cook my meals every single day. At that point it felt like coming back to earth because unless you are ok with eating at restaurants every day, the real case scenario is people preparing their own food at home. So my advice is to enjoy fully the canteen service here in Perugia but do know that the real world awaits and sooner or later you have got to prepare your meals by yourself.

Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope you found it useful. Cheers !!!

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