A Day in Bologna

If you are visiting Rome, Florence, Milan or Venice it is worth planning a detour to experience the architectural, artistic and culinary delights of beautiful Bologna. This summer was our fifth visit to this alluring, colourful city. Usually we stay for just a couple of nights but on a day trip you could manage to see several of the main attractions.

Piazza Maggiore, Bologna

What exactly can you see in just one day you may ask? Well, the city centre is quite compact so it’s easy to get around on foot. Some great things about Bologna that I like are that:

• Private cars are banned from the city centre during the day
• The museums are free to visit (except for the Pinacoteca Nazionale)
• There are many food markets and a huge weekly market (Friday and Saturday)
• The porticoes shelter you from the sun or the rain
• The food is amazing ( it is the unofficial culinary capital of Italy)
• It has the world's largest perfectly preserved medieval city centre

Piazza Maggiore, the magnificent main square is a good place to start. Get a free map of the city in the large tourist information office opposite the cathedral before you begin your exploration. First off, inside the gothic interior of Basilica San Petronio on the left of the square, there is an interesting Zodiacal sundial 67m long on the floor. It was created by astronomer Domenico Cassini in the 17th century. If you look up you’ll see a tiny window in the apse where the sun shines through illuminating the meridian line which shows the exact period of the current year.

The Palazzo Comunale (Palazzo d'Accursio), the elegant adjacent building, is home to three museums with many illustrious and priceless works of art throughout. A huge Bramante stairway leads to the first floor; the low, wide steps were to allow those on horse-back access to the upper floors. The museum of painting and decorative objects on the first floor has richly frescoed ornate rooms with lovely views of the piazza from the windows. In the Sala Farnese on the second floor, the ceiling from the 1800’s is beautifully illustrated. If you are interested in art you’ll enjoy the Morandi museum on the third floor. It contains about 200 paintings by Bologna born artist Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964) the greatest Italian still life painter of the 20th century. The collection spans his career from youth to maturity.


Museo Morandi

Leaving the building around the corner you’ll find yourself in the adjoining Piazza di Nettuno. Take the time to admire all the details of the stunning Neptune fountain.

Fontana di Nettuno Bologna
Palazzo Re Enzo on the right

Continue down the street towards the Two Towers. The russet, orange, ochre and yellow of the surrounding buildings are magnificent and most of the roofs have red terracotta tiles. If you climb the 498 steps to the top of the Asinelli tower at the end of this street you can see them and view a marvellous panorama of the city.

Bologna's iconic Two Towers
Garisenda and Asinelli

Near the Two Towers is the gorgeous, atmospheric, Piazza Santo Stefano – a must-see.

The tranquil church of Santo Stefano is a unique cluster of 7 churches and temples with two cloisters attached dating from the 8th century. It is fascinating to wander around these stunning churches and see the different styles of architecture within. Stop for a coffee at the charming café nearby and soak in the ambience of serenity. (By the way, in addition to your coffee many places here serve a complimentary glass of acqua frizzante.)

Head towards Via Clavature to see the amazing sculptures in the Santuario Santa Maria della Vita (which I wrote about in my previous post) and then explore the tiny side streets with many small food shops in the medieval market area. There are fishmongers, vegetable vendors, chocolatiers, homemade pastas, salumi (cured pork, beef, lamb or veal) and cheeses at La Baita. Check out the mouth-watering pastries and the panificio on via Orefici. Bologna has so many good restaurants, trattorias and osterias; I believe that no matter where you choose to eat in this city you’ll have a wonderful meal. If you want a quick takeaway lunch Pizzeria Il Mascalzone on via dell'Indipendenza is the place to go.

Now for one of Bologna’s secrets…If you continue walking down towards via Piella and cross a bridge you’ll come to a wall with a little window cut out in it about two feet square. When you look through this window you’ll get a surprise…


Piccola Venezia, Bologna

Last summer our friend Enrico pointed this out to us. I don’t think that we would have ever discovered it by ourselves. He said that not many tourists have come across this window, but now you know where to find it! It is also known as Piccola Venezia, the last of the canals of Bologna which date back to the 12th century.

The shops re-open about 3.30pm. One of my favourites is the Feltrinelli bookstore. I always return from Italy with Italian books, CDs or DVDs.

La Feltrinelli bookstore Bologna
via Zamboni

Lastly, you could end your day with a hike up to the beautiful Santuario di San Luca. We first went there in August 1998 so the photos below are scanned. The sanctuary is located on the hill that oversees the entire city. Take bus number 20 from the city centre to the stop at the Meloncello Arch. Bologna has a frequent and efficient bus (and train) service. From here it is a 4k walk to the church at the top under the world's longest portico of 666 arches and you'll pass 15 frescoed chapels along the way. Built in the mid 18th century it offers lovely views over the city and countryside.

You could have dinner up here in the evening at Trattoria Meloncello or back down in the centre where there is such a large choice of superb restaurants including Ristorante Biagi, Osteria al 15 and Da Cesari.

During July and August there are free films outdoors on a giant screen in Piazza Maggiore at 10pm. With a gelato in hand, sitting in the piazza, watching a movie in the open-air on a warm summer’s night is a magical way to end a day in Bologna. You could easily spend a week here and still not see all it has to offer!

Open-air cinema Piazza Maggiore Bologna
image courtesy of http://www.tafter.it/

If you are here for more than one day you could visit the  three main museums: the Medieval City Museum, the Archeological Museum and the wonderful Pinacoteca. Bologna gives you so many things to do and see but it's up to you to choose how to experience this fascinating city. Have you been to Bologna yet? What would you include as a must-see here?

Update: For a walking itinerary in Bologna complete with an interactive map have a look at this excellent post at https://delightfullyitaly.com/2015/03/08/bologna-in-one-day/

My other post about Bologna: A Night in Bologna

A Night in Bologna

There was a warm, lively atmosphere in the heart of the city as we took a stroll after a wonderful dinner. Being a university city (home to the oldest university in Europe) Bologna is buzzing with young students in the streets in the evenings. They gather in groups in the squares and under the porticoes, the typical arcades of Bologna (all 38km – about 24 miles of them). At night the porticoes seem like the insides of long, softly lit serpents wending their way into the blackness.

This harpist took advantage of the great acoustics under the porticoes

Because it is not on the usual tourist trail, Bologna retains an earthiness not found in other similar sized cities like Florence or Venice. Walking through the illuminated medieval town centre is a magical experience. There is a small-town feel in this big city. We started our stroll in Piazza Maggiore, dominated on the left-hand side by the impressive Basilica of San Petronio, the fifth largest church in Europe.

San Petronio Bologna

On the opposite side of the square is the Palazzo del Podestà.

Palazzo del Podesta'

Adjacent to it is Bologna’s city hall (palazzo comunale) with its magnificent clock tower and carillon clock.

Palazzo Comunale Bologna (also called Palazzo d'Accursio)

The magnificent Fontana di Nettuno in the adjoining piazza

Leaving the square we passed these cute Vespa scooters posing on Via Santo Stefano.

Vespa scooters on Via Santo Stefano

The beautiful Palazzo della Mercanzia on Via Santo Stefano

Turning into Via Clavature, behind Trattoria Da Gianni (which looked like a lovely place to eat outdoors) we noticed that the door of the church behind it was open.

Santuario Santa Maria della Vita with
Trattoria da Gianni in foreground

It was the Santuario Santa Maria della Vita and the Baroque interior was elegant and airy.

Interior Santuario Santa Maria della Vita



When we went towards the right of the altar we saw a group of people gathered around a guide who was describing some extraordinary terracotta statues. These figures look so dramatic, emotional and awe-inspiring that I had goose bumps when I looked at them; they took my breath away. It was an unexpected surprise...



The six life-sized terracotta figures are standing around the body of Christ, lamenting his death. They are highly realistic with expressions of grief and torment on their faces, a mixture of motion and emotion, in dramatic poses with the women’s robes flying out behind them. I was particularly in awe of the two Marys on the right.

Joseph of Arimathea, Mary Salome, the Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist, Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene in visible distress.

This masterpiece was created by Niccolò Dell'Arca an early Renaissance sculptor in 1463. (If you look closely, you’ll see his name engraved on the tasselled pillow.) The poet Gabriele D’Annunzio was so moved after seeing these scupltures that he wrote about them in his story ‘Le Faville del Maglio’ (The Sparks of the Hammer) and described this work perfectly as a ‘scream turned to stone.’ The Compianto sul Cristo morto is an exceptional work of art and one that I feel will remain in my memory forever.

Leaving the Sanctuary we turned into Via Farini. If you like to shop for clothes, you're going to love the Galleria Cavour on this street. It has a lot of chic high fashion shops including Armani, Gucci, Prada,Yves Saint Laurent and Versace. In August during the sales there are reductions of 50-70% in most of the stores. It reminded me of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II in Milan.

Autumn collection in Galleria Cavour

Nearby in Piazza Ravegnana are the Two Towers, the main symbols of the city. Torre degli Asinelli is 97m tall with 498 steps to the top from where, on a clear day, you can enjoy spectacular views of the red roofed city. Torre dei Garisenda is not open to the public as it has a lean of over 3m (10 feet). Both were built in the 12th century.



Bologna's Two Towers

On the way back on this balmy night we stopped for ice-cream at Cremeria Funivia on Via Porrettana. It is so named because there used to be a cableway from this point up to the Santuario San Luca on the hill (Colle della Guardia). Enrico, a lifelong Bologna resident said that it was one of the best places for gelato in the city. All of the homemade gelato is made fresh daily on the premises. I tried the nocciola and it was excellent!

The spacious interior of Cremeria Funivia, Bologna

Santuario San Luca overlooking the city on Guardian Hill

We returned to our hotel feeling very content after this enchanting night in Bologna. My next post will be about what you can see and do if you only have one day in Bologna…