While in the United States the debate around artificial intelligence revolves around OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, Europe is building its own response, with Italy betting on Bologna as its epicenter. The city has been officially nominated by the Italian government to serve as one of the primary centers of Frontier AI, the forthcoming European network that will facilitate the development of sophisticated AI models. The announcement was made during a meeting between University Minister Anna Maria Bernini and the European Commissioner for Innovation in Bologna on May 11. Why Bologna? The city is already home to Tecnopolo, Europe's leading supercomputing powerhouse. Leonardo, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, runs there and will shortly be upgraded with a program called LISA, which is specifically developed for AI applications. It is also home to IT4LIA, the sole Italian "AI factory" that the European Commission has recognized. In a single year, IT4LIA has initiated nearly 500 initiatives and made over 550 million computing hours available at no cost, a value of approximately $130 million. The setting is a European race to keep up with the United States and China: the EU has also established Choose Europe for Science, an initiative to attract overseas scholars, seizing in part on the current uncertainties surrounding the American scientific community. For Italy, Bologna is more than just a future promise; it is now in operation, demonstrating that the old continent is playing its AI game with real infrastructure.