Alicia · Sweden
University of Cagliari · Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Semester abroad via Asia Exchange
Alicia had a specific picture in her mind when she started thinking about where to study abroad in Italy. Study abroad Italy searches bring up Rome, Florence, Milan. Cagliari rarely appears. She wanted city life and beach access. She wanted history and culture and somewhere she could actually walk everywhere. Cagliari checked every box before she even arrived. What she did not fully anticipate was how quickly the city itself would start to feel like home.
Why Sardinia, and why now
Alicia had not gone abroad during her bachelor’s degree. It was something she always felt she had missed, a gap that stayed with her as her studies progressed. By the time the opportunity came around again, she had also finished the courses she had been required to take. That mattered. It meant she finally had the freedom to choose what she actually wanted to study, rather than what was compulsory.
The destination came down to a combination she had been holding onto for a while: city life alongside easy access to the sea. Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, fit that description precisely. For students who want to study abroad in Italy but want something beyond the usual tourist trail, Sardinia is genuinely worth considering. Beautiful beaches within reach of the city center, a walkable historic core, and a warmth of place that is difficult to describe in a brochure but immediately apparent in person.
The city that recognizes you
One of the first things Alicia noticed about Cagliari was its scale. This is not a city where you disappear into the crowd. It is compact enough that, after just a few weeks, familiar faces start appearing on your regular walks. You recognize your neighbors. You see someone from class at the café. An older woman on the street strikes up a conversation about a driver who has been leaning on his horn, and somehow that turns into a genuinely lovely exchange.
"You start recognizing people when you go out, and even on a random walk you often meet someone you know. It creates a very warm and familiar feeling."
That texture of everyday life, the smallness and the warmth, is one of the things that makes studying abroad in Italy feel different from bigger, more anonymous cities. Cagliari has character in the way that only cities with centuries of history behind them tend to have. And it is not a city that keeps that character locked up for tourists. It just lives it, in public, all the time.
Campus life across the city
The University of Cagliari spreads across several campuses rather than consolidating everything on one site. Alicia found she had classes at two of them: the Economics campus, which quickly became her favorite, and Campus Aresu. Her favorite, the Economics campus, has an outdoor café, plenty of space to sit outside between classes, and libraries that actually invite you to stay and study. Beyond that, the multi-campus structure means that when you want a change of scene, you can simply study somewhere new without leaving the university system.
The classes themselves are smaller than what she had been used to in Sweden. Around thirty students per course rather than the lecture hall sizes she was familiar with back home. That difference changes the social dynamic entirely. In a room of thirty people, you cannot stay anonymous for long. You notice who sits where, who asks interesting questions, who you keep ending up near on the way out. Friendships start more naturally, and faster.
The social life that builds itself
Alicia had connected with other Asia Exchange students through a group chat before she even arrived. Two of the people she met there became among her closest friends during the semester, which she found quietly remarkable: strangers from an app chat who turned into the people she spent most of her time with.
Beyond that, the social calendar in Cagliari essentially runs itself. Bar nights, karaoke evenings, day trips, beach days, hiking plans already forming for the weeks ahead. The Erasmus community is active and the city supports it well.
"I've really enjoyed all the new memories I've made with new friends, but also how much I've learned about myself, who I am as a person, how I handle challenges, and how I can grow into the best version of myself."
The small things that add up
Some of what Alicia describes most warmly is not the big experiences. It is the texture of ordinary days. Walking to campus with a cornetto and a coffee. Spending an afternoon at the beach on a Tuesday. Wandering streets she had not been down before and finding something worth stopping for. Those moments accumulate into something that is harder to name than a highlight reel, but more durable too.
What surprised her most
Alicia had expected the adjustment to take longer. In practice, she found herself adapting faster than she anticipated: to the academic system, to the rhythms of the city, to a daily life that looked nothing like the one she had left. That speed of adaptation surprised her. So did the confidence that came with it.
"I've been surprised by how quickly you adapt to a new place, especially when it comes to understanding the school system and daily routines. I've also noticed how much confidence you gain, both personally and academically, once you step into a completely new environment."
That shift in confidence is something students who study abroad in Italy consistently describe in similar terms. Unfamiliarity pushes you into situations you would not have chosen deliberately, and you discover, faster than expected, that you can handle them. The academic version is finding your footing in a different university system. The personal version is harder to pin down, but equally real.
What she would say to someone who is nervous
Alicia was not particularly anxious before she left, but she has a clear answer for those who are. Stop building scenarios in your head. That was the best advice she received before she went, and it held up in practice. The things you imagine going wrong rarely do. The things you do not imagine going wrong sort themselves out anyway. You find your way.
"Don't overthink it. It's easy to create a lot of scenarios in your head about how things might turn out, but things always work out in the end. You will find your way."
Inspired by Alicia’s story? Explore Asia Exchange programs in Cagliari and across Europe.