Bust of Pablo Neruda

A bronze bust of the poet Pablo Neruda, work of Neapolitan sculptor Roberto Marino, is located on the first floor of the building on Via Gobbi, in the Library. Bocconi hosted Neruda during his exile in Italy, holding a series of seminars for the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature which were later followed by a memorable lectio magistralis – the only one in Italy – held the day after he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1971.

In 2003 the Chilean Embassy donated the bust to the University during a ceremony commemorating the poet's presence at Bocconi and the significance of his creative work. Event attendees included, among others, Giuseppe Bellini – founder of Spanish-American Studies in Italy, Professor of Spanish Literature at Bocconi, and Italian translator and friend of Neruda.