The first ESSA Summer School in Social Simulation was held in Brescia, Italy on 13-17 September 2010. It was co-sponsored by SIMIAN-Simulation Innovation: A Node, and Project Group. The faculty included Nigel Gilbert (University of Surrey, UK), Klaus G. Troitzsch (University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany), Rosaria Conte (CNR, Rome) and Claudio Cioffi-Revilla (George Mason University, USA. It attracted more than 20 students from different countries and disciplinary background. Training included talks and hands-on excercises.