The Italian language can now be learned in Bahrein. The first Italian language course, promoted by the Italian Embassy in Manama was inaugurated on 13 February at an event at the Royal University for Women in Riffa in the presence of Domenico Bellato, the Italian Ambassador in Manama. This initiative was also made possible thanks to the “Laureati per l’Italiano” (“Graduates in Italian”) project promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to make the Italian language more widely known abroad. Bahrein, therefore, has introduced the study of Italian in the first private university attended only by female students. Founded in 2005, the Royal University for Women offers degree programmes set up in association with McGill University in Canada and Middlesex University in the United Kingdom. In just a few days, forty students have already signed up to study Italian, making it the most popular optional subject in the Liberal Arts Faculty. Given its success, the possibility of introducing Italian courses also in other Universities is being looked into so as to further boost the teaching of Italian in Bahrein.