10 things you absolutely must see!

1 Two towers

Two towers – Torre degli Asinelli and Torre Garisenda – are the symbols of Bologna and are located in the city center. (Currently closed due to the risk of collapse of the Garisenda).

The Torre degli Asinelli is the tallest leaning tower in Italy, standing at 97.20 meters high. Its inclination towards the west reaches 2.23 meters. The Garisenda, on the other hand, is even more curved but much lower – 48 meters – and its inclination is 4° (3.20 meters from the vertical), thus surpassing the Tower of Pisa, which is crooked at 3.97 degrees.

The Asinelli Tower can be visited by climbing 498 steps, a challenging climb but you will be rewarded with a splendid view of the whole city. Currently, the Garisenda tower is in danger of collapsing, so visits are not possible.

The first useful thing to do is to go to the Welcome Bologna information point in Piazza Maggiore, where you can obtain maps, brochures, and information on museums, as well as purchase tickets for various attractions such as the climb up the two towers.

Bologna is the city of towers, once there were more than 100! For this reason, Bologna has been called a “medieval Manhattan.” Today there are 22 towers, many of which have been reduced in height from their original size.

The towers were built by wealthy families to symbolize the power of the family with their height, with defensive functions, and were obviously inhabited. The only example remaining today is the Prendiparte Tower (Via Sant’Alò), which is still habitable and houses a bed and breakfast. The tower is sometimes open to visitors. From the terrace, located at a height of almost 60 meters, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the city and the two towers. The Prendiparte Tower can be visited with the association Succede solo a Bologna. Opening hours and information can be found on their website https://www.succedesoloabologna.it/prendiparte-sky-experience/.

According to LEGEND, this is how the Asinelli Tower came to be built.

A farmer spent his days working in the fields, assisted by his two donkeys. He hoped to one day expand his fields for the benefit of his family, but above all to leave them as an inheritance to his only son. One day, the donkeys, as if gone mad, began to dig and dig more and more, until something emerged from the ground that surprised the farmer: a chest full of gold and silver coins and precious stones. Amazed by the discovery, the farmer renamed the treasure “the donkey’s treasure” and told no one about his discovery, not even his wife. However, he did not keep all the treasure for himself. From time to time, he gave her a little extra money for expenses, without anyone noticing his additional wealth. Their standard of living improved. Meanwhile, their son grew up to be a handsome, well-educated young man. One day, he fell in love with a girl from one of the most important families in Bologna, and the feeling was mutual. However, the social difference was too great to hope that the girl’s family would accept his choice.The young woman was distraught, while her beloved, unable to accept the situation, decided to confront the noble family. The girl’s father opposed his advances, but announced that the marriage would only take place if he built the tallest tower in Bologna, a task that was practically impossible for a boy from a poor family…
That same evening, the son confided in his father, who immediately handed over the treasure to his only son, who now had the necessary means to begin work on the tower: thus was built the Torre degli Asinelli, the tallest tower in Italy.

2. Piazza Maggiore with 10 secrets

This is the main square in the center of Bologna, known by the locals as “Piazza Grande,” a place very popular with the locals. In spring, when the sun comes out, citizens love to sit or even lie down on the warm slabs, and street artists often make this not-yet-hot period even more enjoyable with their performances. The raised paving of the square is made of white and pink granite, commonly called “crescentone” by the locals because from above it resembles a typical Bolognese focaccia. Various events are often held here, the most famous of which is Cinema sotto le stelle (Cinema under the stars), which takes place every year in the middle of summer and lasts from mid-June to mid-August. The square is surrounded by the most important buildings of the medieval city: Palazzo Podestà (1201), Palazzo Comunale (d’Accursio) (1290), Piazza del Nettuno (1565), Basilica di San Petronio (1390), Palazzo Re Enzo, and Palazzo dei Banchi (1412).

Piazza Maggiore is home to many attractions, such as the Palazzo della Podestà (1200), which will reveal two extraordinary secrets.

1.Cordless phone

The Romanesque “Voltone della Podestà” is supported at its four corners by four columns topped with statues representing St. Petronius, St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Proculus, the patron saints of the city. Stand in two opposite corners and whisper to the walls; the person in the opposite corner will hear everything very clearly. It is somewhat reminiscent of a childhood game – whispering into a vacuum cleaner tube with more or less the same sound. This technique played an important role during plague epidemics, allowing the sick to receive confession without the risk of infecting the priests.

2.Ornamental tiles/Panels

The Palazzo del Podestà preserves thousands of ornamental tiles with relief decorations, known locally as “formelle,” which are rectangular and square in shape and feature floral motifs and, less frequently, human faces, animal heads, and coats of arms. Legend has it that there are two identical tiles with the same ornament, but so far no one has been able to prove it. There is also a relief depicting King Enzo’s attempt to escape from Palazzo Re Enzo, where he was held prisoner. After numerous and controversial calculations, a 1927 article by Giulio Ricci established the definitive number of decorated tiles, totaling 7,476.

3.THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS OF SALABORSA

Salaborsa is a public library inaugurated in 2001, located opposite the Neptune fountain.

Under the glass flooring, you can see archaeological finds from various civilizations:

The ruins of the ancient city of Bononia (2nd century BC) with traces of the Etruscans can be visited free of charge by simply entering the main building, turning immediately left, and going down the stairs.

4.ANCIENT UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

On the wall of Palazzo D’Accursio (the municipal building) opposite the Neptune fountain, you can see an unusual measuring instrument. Hundreds of years ago, starting around 1200, a large weekly market called piazzola was held in this square. Originally, the following measurements were used to determine the length of the human body: 1. coppo, 2. mattone, 3. piede, 4. doppio braccio, 5. braccio, 6. pertica (measuring 10 braccia). The Bolognese foot was about 38 centimeters, the arm 0.64 meters, the double arm 1.28 meters, and the perch about 3.80 meters.

In the same square there is a beautiful fountain with a statue of Neptune, known in the Bolognese dialect as “Zigànt” (“the giant”).

Speaking of Neptune… let me reveal the embarrassing secret of this giant!

5. NEPTUNE’S EMBARRASSING SECRET – Giambologna’s cunning and genius

Not everyone knows that… The “shame” tile leads to Neptune’s embarrassing secret.
The black stone—
which stands out from the rest of the pavement—allows us to observe the play of perspective. This stone is called “shame” because the Neptune fountain hides an… erotic secret.
A particular perspective creates an optical effect, which can only be seen when looking at the fountain from behind, from the position of the tile. From that point, we can see the thumb of the left hand stretched forward, protruding
from the lower abdomen, which looks like much more than a finger…

According to legend,
the sculptor Giambologna, who created it in 1565
wanted to create Neptune with larger genitals, but the Church refused. The sculptor, not accepting this interference, cleverly designed the statue in such a way that from a particular angle, the thumb of Neptune’s outstretched hand appears to protrude directly from his lower abdomen, suggesting an erect penis. As proof of this, a black stone, also known as the ‘stone of shame’, is placed in a specific spot in Piazza del Nettuno (at the foot of the steps leading up to the Salaborsa library, to be precise), making it easy to see.

There are those who claim to have actually seen a little bird… and they’re right!

6.Birth lamp?

The large wrought iron street lamp in Art Nouveau style, attributed to Gaetano Samoggia, is located at the corner of Piazza Nettuno and Via Rizzoli at a height of 3.5 meters.

Unfortunately, many of you will not want to accept the truth… Lampione is not the messenger of life… it was wonderful to think that its flashing light could signal a new birth…

It was installed in 1920 after the restoration of King Enzo as a street lamp to illuminate the road. It is a real jewel of the city and belongs to the Municipality of Bologna. In 2012, the street lamp was restored. For years, it had no longer illuminated the corner of the square, but thanks to a restoration project led by architect Francisco Giordano, the light was restored to the delight of all the inhabitants.

Street lamp – messenger of life – a project never completed

A legend that has been circulating throughout Italy since 2012 says that the street lamp is a messenger of life, connected to two of Bologna’s most important hospitals, Sant’Orsola and Maggiore, and every time a new birth is celebrated in the delivery room, a special button immediately lights up the street lamp to announce this immense joy to all those passing by…

Unfortunately, it is only a legend, or rather a project announced by the Municipality of Bologna but, to date, never completed… As reported in a document from the Municipality of Bologna,

“The remote control system managed by Alma Mater never came into operation because the street lamp was considered difficult to see, especially during the day, and it was also deemed too demanding for the healthcare personnel involved in the real-time communication of birth data.”

We loved the idea of this wonderful and meaningful project so much that today, thinking that it is not true hurts and disappoints us… How many of you, seeing the light flashing, believed that a child had been born at that very moment?

Basilica of San Petronio (1390) and its two secrets

It is the largest and most important church in Bologna, and one of the largest churches in Europe. Its imposing size makes it the sixth largest church in Italy (including St. Peter’s in the Vatican).

It was dedicated to St. Petronius, bishop of the city in the 5th century, who is now the patron saint of the city and whose statue can be found literally everywhere. The most famous one is under the two towers. Every year on 4 October, the people of Bologna celebrate their patron saint’s day. 👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2021/10/02/4-ottobre-festa-di-san-petronio-storia-e-curiosita/

On that day, after a solemn mass in the cathedral, a procession takes place and the day is a day of celebration for the citizens.

In addition to the main chapel, there are 22 other chapels in the rich interior of the temple. The most interesting and well-known is the Chapel of the Magi, or Cappella dei Bolognini, the only one with an important cycle of late medieval frescoes, painted between 1410 and 1415, probably by the Bolognese painter Iacopo di Paolo. Another artist, Giovanni da Modena, stands out among the most interesting with his work “Inferno” (1410): it depicts a Dante-esque hell, with a gigantic Lucifer in the centre devouring sinners and a half-naked Mohammed being tortured by a monstrous winged demon, visible in the right-hand corner.

In addition, the Basilica possesses two remarkable record-breaking objects:

–7.Longest sundial in the world

In the centre of the church, on the left side of the floor, there is an extraordinary sundial, the longest in the world, the ‘Cassini Sundial’ from 1657, measuring 66.6 metres. A masterpiece by Gian Domenico Cassini, a teacher at the Bologna studio. Built around 1655 after the church was extended, it replaced the one by Egnazio Danti, who in 1575 created a similar instrument to verify the length of the year in view of the revision of the JULIAN CALENDAR (which was still in use).

-8.The oldest organ in the world

It is located in the music chapel and is the oldest functioning organ in Italy. It was built in 1471-75 by Lorenzo da Prato and then slightly modified by Giovanni Battista Facchetti in 1531. After restoration in the 1970s, it is still functioning and intact.

9.Fake Saint Petronius

On the façade of the Town Hall is a bronze statue of Pope Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni from Bologna), which everyone confuses with Saint Petronius, but there is a reason for this…

The sculpture, placed there in 1580, is the work of the Bolognese sculptor Alessandro Menganti, described by Agostino Carracci as “Michelangelo in disguise”.

With the arrival of French troops in Bologna (1796), fearing the destruction of the statue (the revolutionary ideology from beyond the Alps was hostile to religion and opposed to symbols of papal power), the Bolognese disguised the statue to make it resemble the patron saint of Bologna, Bishop Saint Petronius. They replaced the papal tiara with a bishop’s mitre and added a plaque with the name of Saint Petronius.

The original design was only restored in 1895, but the upper plaque mentioning the “papal” was replaced by another. The inscription “DIVUS PETRONIUS PROTECTOR ET PATER” has been retained to this day, thus confusing tourists who visit the city.

10.Panoramic view of Piazza Maggiore – free of charge

There are two ways to enter the municipal building: 1. Enter through the main gate from the square and go to the right of the courtyard. You will see a beautiful monumental staircase that was designed for horses’ hooves because horses used to enter the building. Go to the 2nd floor.

2.On the other side of the courtyard, from the gate towards the second exit on the left, there is a lift that takes us to the 2nd floor.

3 Basilica di Santo Stefano

-The oldest ecclesiastical complex in Bologna is called the Seven Churches. Saint Petronius, bishop of Bologna in the 5th century, built the basilica on the site of the ancient temple of Isis. The building was intended to resemble the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Since 1880, numerous renovations have been carried out, changing the previous shape of the complex and combining the original seven churches into four:

1.The Church of Saints Vitale and Agricola is the oldest part of the complex. 2. The Church of the Martyrium, also known as the Church of the Trinity. 3. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 4. Church of the Crucifix.

The church has two courtyards, one of which, called the ‘Courtyard of Pilate’, symbolises the place where Jesus was condemned. The courtyard is a fine example of Bolognese Romantic architecture and at its centre is the Catino di Pilato (Pilate’s Basin). According to legend, Pilate washed his hands after condemning Jesus to crucifixion.

Under the portico, you can admire truly unique gravestones, such as that of a tailor, with scissors engraved on it..

Another interesting feature of the building is the 14th-century stone cockerel on a column in the centre of the window. The cockerel has been named “St Peter’s cockerel” in memory of the Gospel story of Peter’s denial of Jesus. The canonical Gospels state that during or immediately after the Last Supper, Jesus announced that Peter, the most important of the apostles, would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed the following morning. After Jesus’ arrest, Peter denied Jesus three times in front of the people. After the third denial, Peter wept bitterly. However, it is not known how he managed to avoid arrest.

This church houses the oldest life-size wooden nativity scene *to find out more, read 👉https://arte-4-you.com/2021/12/16/piu-antico-presepe-del-mondo-si-trova-a-bologna/

Admission is free with a voluntary donation and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 09:30 to 12:30 and from 14:30 to 19:00, although the main church is open earlier and the entrances to the other buildings are closed on Mondays.

4.Corte Isolani and Strada Maggiore

From Strada Maggiore, you can see the medieval wooden portico ‘Palazzo degli Isolani’, which still preserves three medieval arrows on its high ceiling. Then walk down Strada Maggiore to Portico dei Servi, the widest portico in Bologna, which is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Few wooden porticos remain, and those that do are remnants of the city’s medieval architecture. The Isolani portico is the tallest of these.

Legend has it that a nobleman lived in this very building who had been betrayed by his wife during his long travels. The cuckolded husband could not bear such humiliation, so he planned to have his wife murdered by hiring three archers. But just as they were about to carry out the deed, the unfaithful wife dropped her clothes and stood before her executioners as God had made her. The archers, dazzled by her extraordinary beauty, shot their arrows at the vaulted ceiling of the portico, missing her completely.

One of my surprising discoveries was at the National Art Gallery in Bologna, where there is a painting (1329) by Pseudo Jacopino, “The Martyrdom of Saint Christina”, which depicts a very similar scene and the arrows are just like those in Corte Isolani’s painting.

Martirio di S.Cristina 1329 -Pseudo Jacopino-Pinacoteca -Bologna

Unfortunately, in the Middle Ages, due to the lack of sewage systems, the waters brought not only benefits but also cholera, which struck the city.

In the evening, they are illuminated and on one of the walls you can watch an animation depicting the ancient occupations of the waterways, including the famous Bolognese washerwoman.

6 Archiginnasio Palace

7. Santuario della Madonna di San Luca and Porticoes

Bologna is first and foremost a portico, the largest in the world with a total length of about 40 km in the heart of the city! They will lead you to the Sanctuary of San Luca, an entire passage under the porticoes, at the top of which you can also climb up to the church’s belvedere. It is the third symbol of Bologna and also the main object of religious worship and pilgrimage. Every time you return to the city, it greets you from the hill, especially in the evening, with its yellow light to welcome you back from your journey… It is no coincidence that in Bologna they say, “When you see San Luca, you are home”.

Curiosity

The miracle of rain.

In the 15th century, spring was so rainy that the people of Bologna asked the Madonna of San Luca for a favour, carrying her image in procession to the city centre. But as soon as they reached the end of the portico, the rain miraculously stopped. Even today, during Ascension week, annual processions are held in which the Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child is carried through the city. The devil/number of arches forming the portico is 666: the number of the devil. The choice was not accidental, as the portico of San Luca in Bologna is shaped like a snake that extends into the Sanctuary, where it is “crushed by the feet of the Madonna”.

San Luca is connected to the city centre by porticoes that start from Porta Saragozza and the stairs that lead to the top from the gate called Meloncello. The porticoes, with over 600 arches, are the longest porticoed street in the world and in July 2021, the porticoes (12 sections) were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The sanctuary is located on the hill of Monte della Guardia, once accessible by ski lifts from 1931 to 1976, now accessible on foot or by tourist “train” which will take you from the main square, Piazza Maggiore. From Via Casaglia, you can also access it by car, as there is a no-entry sign in front of the main entrance on Via San Luca.

If you have enough time to visit the city, walking up the hill will be an interesting experience, especially if you don’t know what to do in case of rain, and you won’t get wet under the arcades. If you start from the centre, the walk takes about 1.5 hours, but it is often better to go to Via Saragozza under the arcade of the Arco del Meloncello, from where it takes about 40 to 50 minutes.

How did porticoes come about?

-Porticoes arose spontaneously from the need to increase living space. Initially, the volume of houses was increased by extending the upper floors with the creation of wooden overhangs supported by the extension of the load-bearing beams of the attic and, in the case of large overhangs, by corbels known as “beccadelli”. Over time, the overhangs increased in size and it became necessary to build supporting columns from below to prevent them from collapsing, thus creating the porticoes. The porticoes offered shelter from the weather and the sun, allowing people to walk the streets in all weather conditions. They also provided a means for the expansion of commercial and craft activities and made the ground floors more liveable by isolating them from the dirt and sewage of the streets. The first historical evidence dates back to 1041. In 1248, the first regulation was issued, establishing that a portico had to be built in front of all existing and newly constructed dwellings because the population was increasing due to the arrival of students and scholars, but also due to immigration. The construction of the porticoes had to comply with standard measurements that allowed a man on horseback to pass through. However, in 1567, a decree was issued requiring all wooden columns to be replaced with stone columns.

Today, only seven wooden porticoes remain that are worth seeing: 1. Corte Isolani (Strada Maggiore), 2. Former San Leonardo Orphanage (Via Begatto 19), 3. Casa Azzoguidi (Via San Nicolò 2) 4. Palazzo Grassi (Via Marsala 12) 5. House opposite Palazzo Grassi (Via Marsala 17) 6. Casa Gombruti (Via de’ Gombruti 7) 7. Casa Ramponesi (Via del Carro 4)

Casa Isolani (Strada Maggiore 19) Typical 13th-century house – The portico, supported by very high wooden beams (about 9 metres), was built around 1250. It is one of the few surviving examples of 13th-century civil architecture in Bologna and is in the Romanesque-Gothic style. The beams are made of oak and support the third floor of the building.

In the city centre, in the Casa Seracchioli building in Piazza Mercanzia 3, there is another portico, apparently made of wood, which is very similar to that of Corte Isolani, but it is not original. The columns were replaced with concrete during the last reconstruction and then covered with what appears to be wood.

In the city, however, if you walk with your head up, you will come across other wooden constructions, but starting from the centre of the building, from which the new floors diverge. If you are curious about how ancient porticoes were built, read here.

8.The Pincio Steps and the ancient city walls

The staircase is located right next to the bus station, in the first section of Via Indipendenza. Designed by Titto Azzolini and Attillo Muggia, the staircase leading to Parco della Montagnola was inaugurated in 1896 by King Umberto and Queen Margherita! It was the Queen who gave her name to the famous Margherita pizza, created in her honour with the colours of the Italian flag! The entire building consists of three parts: the staircase, the portico on Via Indipendenza and the portico along the walls. The central section consists of two overlapping fronts, with a panoramic terrace at the top, accessed by a side staircase. The main façade is decorated with two bas-reliefs: Bologna Docet by Arturo Colombarini and Bologna Libertas by Ettore Sabbioni. In the centre is a fountain, created by Diego Sarti (1859-1914) and Pietro Veronesi, based on a design by Muggia and Azzolini, depicting a nymph attacked by an octopus. The king of the seas urges her to emerge from the depths of the water, but he does not realise that the nymph is tormented by an octopus that drags her into the depths of the sea and will never let her emerge… Carducci describes the nymph as a mermaid.

In the nearby Piazza XX Settembre, there is one of the ancient entrance gates, Porta Galliera, and just below the gate, you can see medieval cannonballs, weighing about 30 or 40 kg each. Seventy of these sandstone cannonballs were found during excavations carried out to lower the road surface near Porta Galliera in 1896. Some of these cannonballs were recycled for the construction of the road, others are preserved in the City Museum, and only a few remain under the gate today.

9. Quadrilatero – old streets and shops in the city.

Behind Piazza Maggiore, you will find yourself in the Quadrilatero, as this part of the city is called, the ancient merchants’ quarter. In this very charming area of the city, you will smell the aromas of Bolognese cuisine, with many establishments offering platters of local cold cuts and cheeses. In Via delle Pescherie Vecchie, Via degli Orefici and Via Clavature, you can soak up the typical atmosphere of Bologna, with interesting streets and alleys such as the Portico della Morte (Portico of Death) with one of the oldest bookshops in the city, “NANNI”, not far from the medieval stretch of Via de Foscherari.

The Portico della Morte was named for two reasons: in medieval times, those condemned to death by hanging were hanged at the corner of the street between the church of San Petronio and Via de Musei. Here, in 1336, a hospital of death was founded by the “Compagnia dei Devoti dello Spedale di S.Maria della Morte” (Company of Devotees of the Hospital of St. Mary of Death), dedicated to the care and assistance of those condemned to death.

10.Historic monumental cemetery – CERTOSA

It is located just outside the city walls, near the Renato Dall’Ara stadium.

It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Europe, with a worldwide reputation. It was founded in 1801 by reusing the existing structures of the Certosa di San Girolamo di Casara (mid-14th century).

It is a unique place that brings together art and history, architecture and sculpture from the 19th and 20th centuries. The surprising discovery in 1869 and 1871 of the Etruscan cemetery of Certosa contributed to the start of a series of archaeological excavations,
led by the Bolognese archaeologist Antonio Zannoni. Thanks to him, the historical reconstruction of the city’s topography has been clarified. The excavated materials are estimated to date from the mid-6th and 4th centuries BC, originating from Etruscan tombs and now preserved in the Civic Archaeological Museum. The cemetery contains at least 6,000 artefacts of historical and artistic importance, works by over 200 artists. An enormous wealth of paintings and sculptures by all the most famous Bolognese artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. This place continues to inspire. The work of contemporary artists, not only Italian but also foreign, is also evident.

We will feel as if we are in a quiet city of art full of magic and secrets, with wide porticoed streets and small corridors in the depths, with passages through numerous gardens, chapels and cemetery sections. We will discover many surprises around every corner… watch out for the cats! They stand like sculptures and suddenly giggle, giving us a fright!

We will see numerous sculptures that seem to be praying, expressing emotions, and some of them, frozen in motion, create an incredible sense of existence, a hope for life after death. We get the impression that they will come to life at any moment…
An incredible breath of history that will draw us into a state of curiosity and discovery in every corner of this sacred place.

There is a variety of rich family tombs in different styles and colours, numerous frescoes on the walls of the chapels and walls. In addition to the rich, well-kept and perfected part, there is also a poorer part, where the tombs are more modest, the sculptures have gone from enormous to tiny, some invaded by twisted plants or moss, the tombs are a little crooked, the roads are overgrown with grass, with protruding stones. Details give a sense of the passage of time, in contrast to the rich part where time seems to have stood still. The cemetery is huge, there are also tunnels and underground passages, and in some places it is possible to enter the floors where the urns are located.
At the centre of the cemetery is the 14th-century church of San Girolamo di Certosa, which separates the old cemetery from the new one, and at the centre of the cemetery is a huge mortuary dedicated to fallen partisans (over 3,000 bodies from the First World War), designed by architect Piero Bottoni, who was married to a Polish woman, Stella Korczyńska, who, together with Genni Wiegmann Muccim, designed and then created the sculpture of the fallen partisans. The sculpture was placed next to the tomb of the fallen soldiers in 1959.
It should be added that the cemetery contains graves not only of Catholic believers, but also of other faiths, such as the Jewish cemetery, as well as a cemetery for non-believers. It is a gathering place for all the dead, regardless of faith or wealth.

Here are some of the famous Italian figures buried in the Certosa cemetery:

Marco Minghetti – Italian politician, painter – Giorgio Morandi
Carlo Broschi Farinelli – opera singer, Giuseppe Respighi – pianist
composer – Ottorino Respighi and singer Lucio Dalla
founders of Maserati, Ducati and Weber, and publisher Zanichelli.

To experience the magic of the cemetery, I recommend visiting at the beginning of the week, on Monday or Tuesday, to avoid the crowds of visitors, which detract from the unique atmosphere of being alone with the art.

Address of the cemetery – Via della Certosa, 18, 40133 Bologna.

🌲Green Bologna/Recommended parks

At first glance, Bologna seems like a city lacking in green spaces, but in reality there are small public parks in the city centre and many private ones that are inaccessible. However, on the outskirts there are huge green areas where residents enjoy spending time and where tourists do not go, limiting themselves to the central part of the city.

City centre parks

L’Orto botanico -The Botanical Garden

It is a wonderful place, located in Via Irnerio. It is a real green treasure in the centre of Bologna, one of the oldest in Italy and the world after Pisa, Padua and Florence, founded around the middle of the 16th century by Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1568. More photos 👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2021/04/10/orto-botanico-di-bologna-uno-dei-piu-antichi-ditalia/.

Free admission / Opening hours – Winter season (1st October to 31st March): Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 15:00. Summer season (1st April to 30th September): Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00.

No camping or sitting on the grass

Park in Piazza Cavour.

It is a small enclosed park and its special significance is linked to Lucio Dalla. Lucio Dalla, a well-known and beloved musician from Bologna, spent his childhood and youth here and composed, among other things, a song about this square, calling it “Piazza Grande”, https://youtu.be/4E-1rkj60Z0. This park is home to one of the living specimens on the list of Italian natural monuments: the 30-metre-high Biloba ornamental tree, which sheds its beautiful golden leaves in autumn. There are seven giant trees of this type in Bologna, and the Biloba is the smallest of them all. Right next door, under the porticoes, you will find the best ice cream in Bologna at Cremeria Cavour.

Park Montagnola

A large shaded park in the city centre which, as I will write later, is not pleasant in the evening and at night and is one of the most dangerous places in the city, but during the day it is safe and in summer there is a refreshment point and various musical events in the central part of the park. In the centre of the park is Diego Sarti’s fountain from 1888, while at the edge of the park, at the second entrance on Via Irnerio, is Pasquale Rizzoli’s bronze statue from 1903. On that day, the Bolognese drove the Austrians out of the city after a fierce battle.

Park – Giardini Margherita.

The park was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, wife of King Umberto I, who visited the city in 1878, and is one of the largest and most popular parks in the city. In the upper part of the park there are playgrounds and tennis courts, while in the centre of the park there is a small lake with fish, turtles and ducks. In the park you can picnic, sunbathe, play football or simply relax. During the construction of the park in 1876/1889, more than 170 Etruscan tombs were discovered, some of which are still visible today, and an Etruscan house from the earliest period and Villanovan culture was built on the basis of the remains found.

In the park, there is a bar near the lake by the bridge, an ice cream parlour near the entrance to Castiglione and, a little further up, Le Serre, a pleasant ‘green’ restaurant.

At the entrance to ‘Serre’ there is a lion statue, reminiscent of the small Z.O.O. that used to be here. Inside the venue, there are seven strange creatures in various poses, four female and three male. “Dawn of Man” (2001) is the name of a group of sculptures made from scrap metal, inspired by the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) and created by Bolognese artist Simone Bellotti.

Parks outside the city centre

Park- Parco di Villa Spada.

Villa Spada is an 18th-century villa with a 6-hectare park, built in neoclassical style, located in a slightly decentralised position at the intersection of Via Saragozza and Via Casaglia. The Italian garden, designed by Martinetti himself, is adorned with sculptures and a series of terracotta sculptures entitled “The Twelve Months” (1997) by the Bolognese artist Nicola Zamboni, giving the place a special character. The 12 seasons of a woman’s life, each represented in a different way, although not ancient, seem to belong to that era. Some are covered with moss, discoloured and appear to have been damaged by the ravages of time, as intended by the artist, and therefore blend in perfectly with their surroundings. 👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2020/11/08/bellissimi-particolari-di-villa-spada-bologna/

In the southern part of the garden stands the monument to the 128 victims of the Partisans of the Province of Bologna, built in 1975.👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2020/07/23/monumento-alle-donne-partigiane-bolognesi-2/

This park will take us to the ‘Bolognese hills’ and the famous panoramic park ‘Parco San Pellegrino’. If you follow a small dirt road, you will reach the highest point with a breathtaking view.

Parco San Pellegrino

One of the favourite parks outside the city for the people of Bologna, overlooking the city where the breeze cools a little, where the Bolognese go to enjoy an evening picnic or a romantic sunset behind the Basilica of San Luca.

The entrance from Villa Spada Park is about a 20-minute walk away. If you arrive by car, you can take Via Casaglia, then go up to the Park of 300 Steps.

Park- Villa Ghigi

Another park that is very popular, especially on public holidays, is located in the nearby hills of Bologna. In the central part of the park, we find Villa Ghigi and the adjoining Casa del Custode, which has been converted into a restaurant. In summer, themed evenings are often held, and Ghigi Park offers a beautiful view of the city and its surroundings.

Right here stands the giant Himalayan cedar tree, one of seven trees in the city listed in the AMI register of monumental trees in Italy. It is 24 metres tall and has a circumference of 500 cm. It was planted in the second half of the 19th century, in 1874, by the former owner of the estate, Callisto Ghigi. In the 1990s, the tree was struck by lightning, and the mark is still visible on its enormous trunk. The giant bravely withstood the fury of the sky and today enjoys impeccable health, arousing admiration and becoming a symbol of courage and a hero of the Bolognese hills.

Entrance on foot from Via San Mamolo 105, by car from Via di Gaibola

WARRIOR
This giant tree in the hills of Bologna watches over the city. He is a warrior and a hunter of lightning and storms, protecting Bologna from the fury of bad weather. Today, he proudly displays his chest, which bears the marks of a hero.

cit.Aneta Malinowska

Where to eat

Breakfast ☕🥐recommended places

👉 Cafe pasticeria Gamberini via Ugo Bassi 12

👉 Impero Caprarie Pasticeria Bologna via Caprarie 4

👉 La Borbonica , pasticeria via Riva Reno 110

👉 Caffe Zanarini , piazza Galvani 1

👉 Vittoria Pasticeria Modicana , Strada Maggiore 32

bar with good coffee

👉 Naama Café via Oberdan 31

👉 Bar Aroma -via Porta Nova, 12 b

👉 Flavours of Bologna / local specialities

You can eat well in Bologna!

The typical flavours of Bolognese cuisine are mortadella, lasagne and ragù (the world-famous Bolognese dish is tagliatelle al ragù, not spaghetti!!!!), as foreigners in particular believe! Then we have tortellini in broth, cotoletta alla bolognese, *friggione and meatballs with peas.

*Friggione is a traditional Bolognese speciality, a very tasty and substantial sauce made from peeled tomatoes and white onions. It is a side dish that accompanies roasts or other main courses, but it is also good with bread.

Another popular and tasty dish you will find in Bologna are crescentine and tigelle, typical of the Modena area, but now in Bologna they are available in almost all taverns with a slightly modified recipe. But when made well, they are truly delicious.

Crescentine (called gnocco fritto in Modena and Reggio Emilia) are usually served in a basket together with tigelle. The dough is placed in a hot decorated pan and round “incised” tigelle are formed which, after being cut, are usually filled with seasoned lard or jam. Of course, they are just as good as crescentine with cold cuts and cheese. Modena Lambrusco wine goes very well with them.

Tigelle take their name from the terracotta discs once used to cook them. The term “Tigella” (tigèla) probably derives from the Latin verb “tegere” (to cover).

Terracotta discs are characterised by a hand-engraved “frieze”, which leaves a symbol on the tigelle, usually that of the star-flower (flower of life), a symbol of fertility.

The name itself varies depending on the area: in Bologna they are called tigelle, from the name of the particular tool on which they were traditionally cooked, while in Modena they are more often called crescentine or crescente.

Traditional sweets

Bolognese pinza (traditional Bolognese pastry filled with Bolognese mostarda), Bolognese ravioli (a sweet pastry often shaped like ravioli, filled with Bolognese mostarda), rice cake, chocolate salami, sfrappole (fried dough balls), fried cream.

Typical wines from Bologna: Pignoletto, sparkling white wine from the hills of Bologna, Trebbiano Bianco and red wines such as Sangiovese and Barbera. Sparkling red Lambrusco from Modena is also often found.

First of all, come in here! Osteria del Sole – a stop you can’t miss.

Where to have BRUNCH

Brunch in Bologna is served from 11:00 to 15:00. A nice place to go is ZOO in Strada Maggiore 50. Pancakes, French toast, bagels, fried eggs, bread with jam, bowls of fruit and yoghurt are just some of the delicious options on the menu, accompanied by American coffee and fresh orange juice.

Lampadina caffè in Via Barberia 34. The menu includes a wide selection of pancakes, muesli bowls, avocado toast and bagels, filter coffee and fresh fruit juices. The café is known for its famous “lampuccino”, a delicious cappuccino, offered each month with a new recipe. Traditionalists are served a “moka per due”: coffee prepared and served in a classic moka pot, with bread, butter and jam.

Another venue is I CONOSCENTI in Via Manzoni 6. Brunch includes pancakes, homemade cakes, hamburgers, club sandwiches, omelettes and the inevitable scrambled eggs with bacon, a refined selection of non-alcoholic cocktails, orange juice and a steaming cup of American coffee.

Lunch, dinner and tasting

Ristorante Da Cesarina via Santo stefano 19

“Tamburini” via Caprarie 1 -good quality salami and for maggi cutting boards

l’Osteria della Orsa, Recommended by various guidebooks, it is located on Via Mentana and is one of the most recommended places for its good prices and excellent pasta dishes. The main courses are not very good. They also serve wine by the carafe. The place is often crowded and the tables are too close together, but this is what gives the place its charm and makes it feel like the start of a party.

“La prosciuteria” at Via Oberdan 19 (the second one is at Via del Pratello 63). Here you can eat sandwiches or enjoy a platter with various cold cuts, cheeses and their speciality – porchetta.

premises In via del Pratello

This street is frequented by both students and locals and is full of bars that are perfect for an aperitif, dinner, beer or glass of wine. You will be charmed by the artistic atmosphere of the place.

Bologna attracts street artists from all over the world – Carlos Atoche, Luis Gutiérrez (who created one of the most famous murals, which is also one of the oldest, at Via Zamboni 38), Andrea Casciu, Bastardilla, Ericailcane, NemO’s, Sharko, Alice Pasquini, Peter Schuyff.

In the Mercato delle Erbe, in Via Ugo Bassi 23/25, there are several places (where you can eat and drink) located in a former fruit and vegetable market (where you can still buy fresh fruit from farmers).

Mercato di Mezzo in Via Clavature 12 – several places under the same roof where you can find various restaurants and, on the first floor, pizza.

A place to eat a mortadella sandwich

in Via de’ Monari 1 at the “Mò Mortadella Lab”. A simple mortadella sandwich costs £3.50. Of course, you can choose a more substantial version with the addition of mozzarella, vegetables or cheese, or even a sweet version with Nutella for £4-6.

If you wander around the ancient streets of Pescherie Vecchie, Via degli Orefici and Via Clavature, you will find many places serving Bolognese food, including BOTTEGA RANOCCHI, which serves mortadella sandwiches.

In via Zamboni, (via degli studenti universitari ) there are evening venues with music and drinks, it is very popular with students, who often sit on the ground in Piazza Verdi to chat or drink beer. It is also a place frequented by shady characters who whisper ‘smoke,’? ,,bike” ? –

Pizza

The best pizza in Pratello, ,,Mi hanno preso in Ortaggio’,

A very good pizza, unusual for Bolognese flavours, with a thicker, softer, crispy base and generously topped *pizza by the slice. You can also order a whole pizza, which has a fairly thick crust but a thin base. You will also find a small fried pizza.

and ,, Zapap ,,Very tasty pizza with a thick crust and lots of quality ingredients, plus good craft beer.

You can eat a good pizza at Bella Napoli in Via San Felice 40, L’Antica pizzeria da Michele in Piazza S.Martino 3, Regina Sofia in Via Clavature 1c, Spacca Napoli in Via S. Vitale 45, or if you are in a hurry, go to Sotto le 2 Torri for a slice of pizza in the Pizzeria Due Torri, which is very tasty and inexpensive. The slices at Forno Brisa in Via Galliera 34 are also very good, and finally, you cannot miss Altero, where Lucio Dalla, the well-known and beloved Bolognese musician, used to stop. The pizza here is quite thick, inexpensive and edible. Outside the city centre, the pizza is even better, for example at Sellaio in Via S. Donato 31, which has a rather thin and really tasty base, or Pinterrè in Via Mazzini 170, but it is best to book in advance.

👉Where to eat after midnight?

The cheapest place is the takeaway pizza shop under the two towers, ‘Pizza 2 Torri’, which serves tasty pizza cut into large triangles starting at €2*. Open Sunday to Thursday until around 11.30pm/midnight, and Friday and Saturday until 3am/4am. The pizzeria also has a mini-bar where you can buy cold drinks.

Osteria la Frasca, Via Andrea Costa 8 – a pub and restaurant open late, offering a wide selection of craft beers, wines, drinks, spirits and unusual pub food, including typical Bolognese dishes. The restaurant is open every day until 3 a.m.

Osteria della Fondaza, Via Fondazza 35 *not expensive. Open until 1 a.m. except on Mondays. Bolognese dishes, but you can also order just chips and cutlets.

Creperia Bombocrep, Via S.Felice 93. Open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day/savoury and sweet crepes.

In Via del Pratello – street food until around 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, but on weekdays the kitchen closes earlier, around 11 p.m./11.30 p.m.

Osteria del Montesino , Via del Pratello 74b Open daily from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Carrefour Express, Piazza di Porta Castiglione 14. The shop is open until 11.45 p.m. Alcohol is only sold until 10 p.m.

In addition, in every pub at the weekend until around midnight/1 a.m., you can order a hamburger, a piadina or chips.

👉Where do the people of Bologna eat?

The best places are often found outside the city walls and in the hills. Here are some places where you can eat really well without spending too much. We always recommend booking in advance.

–Osteria della Fondazza, Via Fondazza 35a: this place is just like it always was, an old-fashioned tavern serving typical Bolognese dishes. Every Friday they also serve crescentine.

–Trattoria Mulino Bruciato, Via Pescarola 50, is a real gem, open from 7.30 pm to 3 am every day except Sunday. The food is really very good, the portions are generous and the prices are very fair. Once you’ve tried the Bolognese cutlet, you’ll never forget it. At the weekend, book in advance, even two weeks before!

–Circolo Mazzini, trattoria Emiliana, Via Emilia Levante 6. For dinner, fresh pasta, crescentine and tigelle with cold cuts, and homemade desserts.
For lunch, a menu with first courses, second courses and single dishes. Fast but high quality!
Tagliatelle, crescentine and all the dishes at Trattoria Emiliana can be paired with organic wines, produced using organic and biodynamic methods.

–Il Pellegrino -via Murri 8 Piatti tradizionali caserecci. Reservations are recommended.

–TRATTORIA MONTE DONATO. Via Siepelunga, 118. Reservations are recommended.

–OSTERIA DAL NONNO. Via di Casaglia, 62.-Reservations are recommended.

– Chiosco Ai Pini -where to eat excellent crescentineVia Emilia Ponente, 351 Reservations are recommended.

– Trattoria Da Vito Via Musolesi 9 ,a historic trattoria where you can eat traditional Bolognese cuisine.Reservations are recommended.

👉 Something for those with a sweet tooth – the best ice cream and crepes

The best ice cream in the whole city

There is always a queue at Piazza Cavour in 👉Cremeria Cavour, but the taste of the ice cream will leave you speechless, making it worth the wait. There are also excellent ice creams and granitas in Via Castiglione, 👉 ‘La Sorbetteria Castiglione’, 👉Cremeria Santo Stefano in Via Santo Stefano 70c.

best crepes

Bombo CREP – Via S.Felice 93 / open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Very welcoming, tasty and popular with locals.

Both savoury and sweet, they have a wide choice of fillings: the sweet versions include mascarpone, pistachio, Nutella, ricotta and fruit.

You can also enjoy a delicious piadina.

Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free cuisine

Botanica Lab (Cucina) via Battibecco 4 *vegan and vegetarian cuisine.

Flower Burger via Riva Reno 118 *vegan cuisine

Flower Burger via Riva Reno 118 *vegan cuisine

Estravagario via Mascarella 81 *vegan and organic cuisine.

Zazie via Malcontenti 13 con *vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free cuisine.

Rapa Rossa GastroBistronomia via Castiglione 51 *vegan cuisine

Pizzeria Papéo via Basaglia 3 *In addition to pizza, we also offer traditional cuisine with a gluten-free option.

PAN8 via D’Azeglio 8 street food *with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Cuisine for the most discerning palates

€€€€ I Carracci Via Manzoni, 2 Elegant restaurant with exquisite cuisine, known for its outdoor dining within the Grand Hotel Majestic.

€€€€ Emporio Armani Ristorante Via Giovanni Massei, 1 Located right next to the elegant Galleria Cavour with its luxury brand shops.

€€€ Acqua Pazza Via Augusto Murri, 168 Elegant and the best seafood restaurant in town.

€€€ Ristorante Diana Via Volturno, 5 An excellent historic restaurant with a classic atmosphere and traditional regional specialities.

€€- €€ Vicolo Colombina Vicolo Colombina, 5b This is the place to go for anyone who wants to savour the aromas and warmth of an Emilian home. Traditional Emilian dishes.

€€€ RISTORANTE DONATELLO A historic restaurant serving classic regional dishes such as pasta and meat.

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👉Where to drink good wine in the city.🍾

There is no shortage of wine bars; in fact, there are loads of them. I really like organic wines without added sulphates, as sulphates can give you a headache if you overdo it! For this reason, I can recommend a small wine bar with excellent bottled and draught wines called Medulla vini in Via Oberdan 18. They only serve organic wines.

Several wine bars and aperitif bars, where in the evening you can find the ‘Mercato delle Erbe’ (Herb Market) in Via Belvedere, next to the old market.

🎻📀 nightclubs and music venues

An interesting pub in the form of a bus is Victoria Station at 76 Via Zanardi, a little outside the city centre and open until 1 a.m. Here, you can eat not only pizza but also Bolognese dishes, and you can also enjoy the pub atmosphere with background music.

Cortile cafè (Bar Caffè, Rock club, Pub) in Via Nazario Sauro, 24/A, open until 2 a.m. except Sundays, is one of the coolest places in town, with live music from Tuesday to Saturday, but it is best to book at infocortilecafe@libero.it.

Empire English Pub in Via Zamboni 24, with background music, is a venue frequented mainly by young people.

Nu lounge bar, Via de Musei 6, is a typical cocktail bar with music, loud music only on Fridays and Saturdays.

La Buca delle Campane, Via Benedetto XIV 4, right in the centre, is an underground restaurant, but on Fridays and Saturdays you can go downstairs after dinner at 11.30 pm and the disco begins. Admission is £10, including a drink. The cellar is only open from September to May, while in summer they move up to Via San Vitale, but without the dance music.

LE SERRE di Giardini Margherita is located on the edge of the Giardini Margherita park. It is a very pleasant summer spot, surrounded by greenery and interesting architecture, built on the site of the former greenhouses, whose skeleton is still visible. Students come here to study in the afternoon, and in the evening there is a very pleasant atmosphere, with lights and music in the background. The bar also sells simple dishes such as piadina flatbreads and chips; the second bar is located in the second green area. It is a place where evening events of various kinds are often held.

disco 💃🕺

Discos from late September to May: MATIS CLUB, GIOSTRA, NUMA, Buca delle Campane.

Summer discos from late May to early September at the ‘Chalet dei Giardini Margherita’ on the outskirts of the city in the Parco dei Giardini Margherita, ‘Ca de Mandorli’ outside the city.

👧👦🤽 Attractions for children and relaxation

Unfortunately, there aren’t many in Bologna, but I can give you some advice on how to spend your time with children and some places to visit.

-Park Giardini Margherita on the outskirts of the city: it is a large green park with a pond full of giant carp, turtles and ducks. Sometimes in summer there is a merry-go-round and a car rental for children on a special track. Right next to the park there is Le Serre, an outdoor place where you can have a drink or eat a piadina. You can have a picnic in the park.

-Take the train up to the Sanctuary of San Luca in the hills of Bologna. If your children are old enough, you can walk there, but I do not recommend taking a pram as it is almost 4 km uphill. The train leaves from Piazza Maggiore and costs £13 for adults, £6 for children aged 6-10 and £3 for children aged 0-5.

-DINOSAURI IN CARNE E OSSA – Dinosaur Museum /San Lazzaro di Savena in Parco della Resistenza, shuttle bus no. 19 approx. 15.20 mins. Ticket €12, children aged 4-18 and over 65s €9, children aged 0-3 free.

Relax

Thermal baths – Terme Felsinee, Via di Vagno 7, or Terme San Petronio, Via Irnerio 7

-VILLAGGIO DELLA SALUTE PIÙ water park, thermal baths, hotel, restaurant, Via Sillaro, 27, 40050 Monterenzio

❓❓❓Interesting facts❓❓❓

Bologna always surprises with its fascinating history, old streets, incredible details and medieval buildings. It boasts many records and is a city that is not enough to visit but must be experienced. Bologna does not reveal itself immediately to tourists; you have to court it, you have to conquer it, and in return it will give you its charm.

,Bologna is not only rich, red and learned… Bologna is an ancient and modern art gallery, its paintings often framed by balustrades, gates, windows, small windows and nature… As soon as you enter the gate, you are inside the womb of the city, on the other side of the mirror like Alice in Wonderland…
Bologna is beautiful on the outside but even more beautiful on the inside, and it doesn’t reveal itself immediately to tourists. You have to court it, you have to conquer it, and in return it will give you a thrill… Up and down, you will discover its hidden treasures among porticoes, mysterious places, secret gardens and divine palaces. Then you will fall in love forever with sincere love, and when night covers the city with its blue cloak, you will be lost, you will be immersed.” –

Aneta Malinowska

Golden tagliatelle

In the Chamber of Commerce (Palazzo della Mercanzia) there is a golden reproduction of a perfect tagliatella in a display case. This golden specimen has been made to exact measurements, in accordance with true Bolognese tradition: its width must correspond to 1/1,270th of the height of the Asinelli Tower and must be exactly 8 millimetres wide when cooked, i.e. the raw noodle should be 6.5-7 mm wide with a thickness of 1 mm.

In addition, the Palazzo della Mercanzia houses documents that are very precious to the Emilia Romagna region: original recipes for the most famous Bolognese dishes, such as lasagne, tortellini, ragù, tagliatelle and certosino, which have been stored there since 1972 to protect them from imitations.

The walls of Bologna and the signs of the zodiac

The medieval walls of Bologna surrounded the city from the 13th century until 1904, when it was decided to demolish them to build modern ring roads. The demolition was scandalous.

Bologna – The strong link with astrology

There is a relationship between the 12 gates of Bologna and the 12 signs of the zodiac. Each gate is assigned a sign, and the part of the city corresponding to that gate was developed taking into account the characteristics of the sign. The radial layout of the historic centre is reminiscent of a large zodiac circle, and from its centre (Piazza Maggiore), 12 roads lead to its 12 gates, 10 of which still exist (two were demolished in 1903 – Porta Sant’Isaia and Porta San Mamolo).

The 12 gates are like the 12 signs of the zodiac. Each gate has been assigned a corresponding sign of the zodiac

1 – ARIES – Porta San Felice 2 – TAURUS – Porta Sant’Isaia 3 – GEMINI – Porta Saragozza 4 – CANCER – Porta San Mamolo 5 – LEO – Porta Castiglione 6 – VIRGO – Porta Santo Stefano 7 – LIBRA – Porta Maggiore (Mazzini) 8 – SCORPIO – Porta San Vitale 9 – SAGITTARIUS – Porta San Donato 10 – CAPRICORN – Porta Mascarella 11 – AQUARIUS – Porta Galliera 12 – PISCES – Porta Lame

There is a connection between Bologna’s 12 gates and the 12 signs of the zodiac. Each gate is assigned a sign, and the part of the city corresponding to that gate was developed taking into account the characteristics of the sign. The radial layout of the historic centre is reminiscent of a large zodiac circle,
and from its centre (Piazza Maggiore), 12 roads lead to its 12 gates, 10 of which still exist (2 were demolished in 1910 – Porta Sant’Isaia and Porta San Mamolo).

Piazzola

Every Friday and Saturday in Piazza XIII AGOSTO there is a large market where you can find all sorts of things! In Bologna we call it a piazzola.

What do Maserati and Nettuno from Bologna have in common?

A TRIDENT that has become the identifying symbol used on all Maserati racing cars. The Neptune fountain inspired the trident logo, which symbolises the city of Bologna, the company’s headquarters.

Bologna sets records Bolognese records

WORLD records

1.La più antica università del mondo occidentale (1088)

a) Alma Mater Studiorum (Prolific Mother of Studies) – The Studium was founded around 1088 as a free and secular organisation among students. The birth of the university as an institution is linked to the constitutive role of the nationes, i.e. student organisations that chose and financed teachers themselves through a system of collecting donations. They organised themselves into colleges for mutual aid among fellow students of the same nationality, divided into Intramontani (or Citramontani) and Ultramontani. In the 12th century, there were seventeen intramontane subnationes and fourteen ultramontane subnationes. As evidence of this, the Archiginnasio palace, which has been the seat of the University since 1563, houses a heraldic complex, the largest in the world, with almost six thousand student coats of arms.

b) Laura Bassi is the first female university professor in the world.

2.Oldest wooden nativity scene in the world (13th century)

It is located in the Basilica of Santo Stefano, considered one of the largest in Italy. For this reason, the Basilica is often referred to as “the Jerusalem of Bologna”. For centuries, it was an important stop on the pilgrimage routes to Rome or Jerusalem. The flow of pilgrims was one of the factors that stimulated the remarkable production of sacred art in Bologna and attracted many artists to the city, including sculptors and ceramists, who also tried their hand at creating statues and figures for the nativity scenes of the main churches.

3.The longest sundial in the world(67,72m)

Cassini’s sundial is located inside the Basilica of San Petronio, a masterpiece by Gian Domenico Cassini, a professor at the University of Bologna. Built around 1655 after the church was extended, it replaced the one by Egnazio Danti, who in 1575 had created a similar instrument to verify the length of the year in view of the revision of the JULIAN CALENDAR (which was still in use).

4.The longest portico in the world (3,796 metres) with 666 arches

The Portico of San Luca, built between 1674 and 1721, starts at the Bonaccorsi Arch in Porta Saragozza and leads to the top of Colle della Guardia, where the famous Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca stands. In 2021, the portico, together with 11 other sections, will be added to the UNESCO list.. https://arte-4-you.com/2021/01/22/portici-di-bologna-patrimonio-dellumanita-unesco/

5.FICO food park was the largest in the world. Today it has gone bankrupt.

6.Bologna: the first city in the world to abolish slavery

 records in EUROPE

The largest photovoltaic plant in Europe – formerly Caab, now Fico – the Bologna Agri-Food Centre

A project completed in 2013 by Unendo Energia with 10,500 kWp, 11,350,000 kWh and a total of 43,750 solar panels covering an area of 100,000 square metres, equivalent to 14 football pitches.

Italian records

The only National Toy Soldier Museum in Italy, the ‘M. Massaccesi’ Museum is located in Bologna.

The museum is recognised as a national treasure, ranking first in Italy and third in the Guide to Toy Museums in Europe. This small private museum, the only one of its kind in Italy, was founded in 1973 by Mario Massacesi when a group of enthusiasts decided to pool their collections. https://arte-4-you.com/2021/03/20/unico-in-italia-museo-nazionale-del-soldatino-m-massaccesi-si-trova-a-bologna/

2.Torre Garisenda is the most leaning tower in Italy.

The Garisenda (48 m) is Bologna’s ‘Leaning Tower’ with an angle of 4° (3.22 m of lean), which exceeds that of Pisa (3.97°).

It seems that the Garisenda was already leaning centuries ago, and precisely because of its increasingly ‘significant’ slope between 1351 and 1360, it was cut off.

Dante Alighieri also attests to this in his Divine Comedy.

,,Qual pare a riguardar la Garisenda
sotto il chinato quando un nuvol vada
sovr’essa sì ch’ella in contrario penda,
tal parve Anteo a me, che stava a bada
di vederlo chinare…,,

 3.Asinelli, the tallest medieval tower in Italy (97.20 m)

The tallest medieval tower in Italy is 97.20 metres high. The list of towers includes the Torrazzo di Cremona (111.12 metres), but this is a bell tower.

4.MAJANI – First solid chocolate in Italy (1832)

MAJANI Founded in 1796

The origins of Majani’s taste can be traced back to a small shop in Bologna, which had just been annexed to the Cispadane Republic and occupied by Napoleon’s troops. Behind the counter, Teresina Majani, founder of Italy’s oldest family of chocolatiers, created the first delicacies of the Antica Casa.

The scorza (so called because of its resemblance to tree bark) is a special process that gives the product its unique texture, obtained from a blend of four different varieties of cocoa. The first form of solid chocolate produced in Italy was created by Majani in Bologna in 1832. Solid chocolate was not a moulded bar as we know it today, but “flaked chocolate”, cold-tempered, with a wavy and crumbly texture.

BOLOGNA UNESCO CITY OF CREATIVE MUSIC

In 2006, Bologna was recognised by UNESCO as a City of Creative Music, a prestigious award that celebrates its rich musical tradition. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Bologna was a destination for the greatest European musicians: Mozart, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Farinelli, Rossini and Donizetti chose it as their home for varying lengths of time during their lives. In addition to being the birthplace of eminent modern musicians (such as Andrea Mingardi, Francesco Guccini, Lucio Dalla, Gianni Morandi, Luca Carboni and Cesare Cremonini), Bologna is now home to the prestigious Mozart Orchestra, founded in 2004 by Maestro Claudio Abbado. The International Museum and Library of Music, the G. Pelagalli Museum of Communication and the Oratory of San Colombano, which houses Maestro Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini’s collection of musical instruments. Since the late 1950s, Bologna has been the European Capital of Jazz thanks to the International Festival born from the ideas of Alberto Alberti, and is enlivened by numerous festivals throughout the year, from classical to contemporary music.

“The Porticoes of Bologna have been added to the UNESCO list”. (28.07.2021)

Bologna, capital of porticoes – No other city in the world has as many porticoes as Bologna.

The porticoes of Bologna – UNESCO

They represent an important architectural and cultural heritage for the city and are a symbol of it, together with its numerous towers. All together, the porticoes measure 42 kilometres in length in the historic centre alone, reaching 62 kilometres when those outside the city are included. Due to their artistic and cultural significance, the porticoes of Bologna are an Italian cultural asset and have finally been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, this does not include all 62 kilometres of porticoes, but rather 12 sections selected through careful research from among the central and more peripheral ones, recognised as

“A defining feature of the city of Bologna, both for the community and for visitors, and a benchmark for sustainable urban living, where religious and civic spaces and homes for all social classes are perfectly integrated.”

1.Devotional portico of San Luca (1194–1765) – The history of the portico of San Luca is closely linked to the devotion of the Bolognese people to the sacred image of the Blessed Virgin, kept inside the sanctuary at the top of Monte della Guardia. In 1717, the Madonna was carried in procession under the portico for the first time. From the 18th century to the present day, no significant changes have been made to the structure of the hillside portico, except to maintain and preserve its structure, preserving its appearance and function. In 2019, a major restoration project will begin, financed by funds from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.

2.Porticoed street of Santa Caterina (1296) The first documentation on the origin of the name dates back to 1296. Until then, houses with wooden architraved porticoes were considered “minor buildings”, i.e. of little historical or urbanistic value. The portico is located on only one side of the street.

3.Porticoes of the Baraccano (15th century) These are part of the Baraccano Monumental Complex, together with the Baraccano Conservatory. They overlook Via Santo Stefano with a long portico, which ends in a high 15th-century vault. The characteristic capitals of the portico are decorated with cornucopias, acanthus leaves, animals and cherubs, accompanied by the Bentivoglio coats of arms dating back to the origins of the building.

4.Pavaglione and Piazza Maggiore shopping arcades (15th century) Piazza Galvani, Piazza Maggiore and the Banchi and Pavaglione arcades have been characterised since the Middle Ages by an urban commercial system that is still in operation today. They continue to develop a strong cultural, institutional and service interest for the city. At the end of the 19th century, the most famous historic shops under the arcades included the Caffè del Pavaglione and the Zanichelli bookshop, a meeting place for the poet Giosuè Carducci. Today, the most important building inside is the Archiginnasio library, the ancient university library. It is also home to the archaeological museum.

5.Galliera Arcaded Street Until the late 19th century, Via Galliera was the access road to the city centre from the north and for this reason, the nobility of the time considered it a symbol of prestige and privilege to build their residences here. The arcades of Palazzo Ghisilardi and Palazzo Dal Monte are of particular importance. Until the 19th century, Via Galliera was the most noble street in Bologna, as it was the only route for visitors entering from the north. Subsequently, with the toponymic reform of 1873-78 and the creation of Via dell’Indipendenza, Via Galliera was narrowed to its current length and divided into two sections, creating the current Via Manzoni.

6.Academic porticoes of Via Zamboni (from the 16th to the 20th century) This street is a symbol of the oldest university in the Western world. The ancient name of this street was Strada San Donato, home to the university founded in 1088. Thanks to the presence of this ancient university, Bologna has earned the nickname “Bologna La Dotta” (Bologna the Learned).

7.Piazza Cavour and Via Farini (19th century) With the portico most loved not only by the people of Bologna but also by tourists. (headquarters of the Bank of Italy) Porticoes finely decorated with griffins, centaurs and garlands. Piazza Cavour is also overlooked by the porticoes of Palazzo Guidotti, dating back to the 16th century, and the porticoes of Palazzo Silvani, reminiscent of Florentine architecture. The square is also famous among the Bolognese. Here stands the house where the beloved Bolognese singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla was born, who also dedicated the song “La piazza grande” to this place. Piazza Cavour is overlooked by the porticoes of Palazzo Guidotti, dating back to the 16th century, Palazzo Silvani, reminiscent of Florentine architecture, and the headquarters of the Bank of Italy, decorated with griffins, centaurs and garlands. On Via Farini, the portico of the Cassa di Risparmio is an important example of eclectic style, with grandiose and magnificent forms designed to demonstrate the wealth and social role of the first banking institution in modern Bologna.

8.Portico della Certosa (19th century) – connects the Arco del Meloncello to the Certosa cemetery outside the city. The Portico della Certosa was the brainchild of architect and engineer Ercole Gasparini, who was responsible for the first alterations to the ancient monastery. He proposed the construction of a portico starting from the Arco del Meloncello and connecting to the cemetery, so as to take advantage of the existing flat route of the Portico di San Luca as a link to the city centre.

9.Porticoed building of the Mambo The first section of the building was constructed in 1915 by the Mayor of Bologna, Francesco Zanardi, to serve as a municipal bakery to alleviate the supply difficulties faced by the citizens of Bologna during the First World War. In the 1940s, the building was expanded and housed the Ente Autonomo dei Consumi (Autonomous Consumer Agency) until its definitive closure in 1958. Today it is the new home of MAMbo – the Museum of Modern Art of Bologna.

10.Porticoed building in the Barca district Born out of the most characteristic architectural emergency, it is a very long two-storey building, intended for housing and shops, called “il Treno” (the Train). Two-storey building. It was designed in the early 1960s by Giuseppe Vaccaro from Bologna and inaugurated in 1962 as a building for workers.

11.Triumphal porticoes of Strada Maggiore. The street, one of the oldest in Bologna. The porticoes of Strada Maggiore witnessed the most important events in the city, from the arrival of the popes to the arrival of Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860. Strada Maggiore is the only street in Bologna that still bears the generic urban name “Strada”. The most significant portico is the majestic wooden portico of Palazzo Isolani, the first example of a medieval portico in the city, under which there are “three arrows” at the top of the archway.

12.Porticoes of Piazza Santo Stefano Bologna’s most beautiful square has undergone various transformations over the centuries and up to the present day, particularly due to the steep slope of the ground, which converges towards the main entrance to the Basilica, located at the lowest point. These changes have had a decisive influence on the relationship between buildings and open spaces.

Initially, the Alemanni portico—the oldest outside Bologna’s city walls—also appeared on the UNESCO heritage list alongside the other candidates. Ultimately, it was not selected, but it is still worth visiting. 👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2021/04/12/il-portico-degli-alemanni-piu-antico-di-bologna-extra-moenia/

Where to park ???

Please note: driving in Bologna city centre is not easy, so take care, especially at weekends and on public holidays in the restricted traffic zone (ZTL), which covers almost the entire centre of Bologna. Check the map before entering the city centre. https://www.accessibilitacentristorici.it/ztl/emilia-romagna/bologna/mappa.

The restricted traffic zone in Bologna, called Sirio, is active every day of the year and every day of the week from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

All recommended parking areas can be found on the Bologna Today website https://www.bolognatoday.it/guida/trasporti/parcheggi-bologna-.tariffe-centro-ztl.html

The most beautiful viewpoints in the city

1- Torre dell’orologio – Clock tower

Beautiful view over the entire Piazza Maggiore/the £8 ticket includes both the view from the tower and a visit to the ‘Collezioni Comunali D’Arte’ museum. Tickets are available at Welcome Bologna in Piazza Maggiore or online. For more information, visit 👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2021/07/02/torre-dellorologio-bologna/. Panorama from the second floor: you can also see the view for free by entering the town hall via the stairs or lift, but the view is only from behind the windows.

3- View from the tower (Asinelli) There are 498 steps leading to the top at almost 100 metres! Ticket price: €5, available from Weelcome Bologna in Piazza Maggiore. Opening hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day from 1 March to 30 October and in winter: 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. from 6 October to 28 February. The tower is currently closed.

Recommended MUSEUMS in Bologna

Free museums

1.THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS OF SALABORSA

A free visit to the ruins of the ancient city of Bononia and the remains of Etruscan civilisation under the floor of the Sala Borsa in Piazza Maggiore. Open on Mondays from 2.30pm to 7pm. Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm.

2.Casa Morandi, Via Fondazza 36. The painter’s house, with its excellent layout, invites visitors to learn more about the great artist and honour his memory. It is interesting to learn about the setting where he created extraordinary works of art. Read more👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2022/07/18/casa-morandi-la-dimora-dell-artista-bolognese-giorgio-morandi/Il The museum can only be visited at weekends by appointment, and although it is free , a ticket is required. 👉 https://www.midaticket.it/eventi/casa-morandi

From 2 July to 23 October 2022
Saturday and Sunday from 4pm to 8pm, other months – Saturday from 2pm to 5pm > Sunday from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm

To complete your visit, I also recommend a visit to the Morandi Museum with its works, located inside the MAMBO Museum.

3.Museo della la Memoria di Ustica Via di Saliceto, 3/22. The museum houses a permanent installation of the Ustica Memorial, designed and created by French artist Christian Boltanski to commemorate the victims of the Ustica tragedy.

A very evocative installation by Boltanski surrounds the remains of the DC-9, an Itavia airline plane that took off from Bologna airport bound for Palermo but was shot down in flight on 27 June 1980 and crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea near the island of Ustica. Eighty-one people died in the accident: all the passengers and crew members. It is one of the saddest and darkest events in Italian history. After 40 years, the long and numerous proceedings have still not shed full light on all aspects of the massacre. The museum was created under pressure from the Association of Relatives of the Victims of the Ustica Massacre, chaired by Daria Bonfietti.

It was inaugurated on 27 June 2007, on the 27th anniversary of the tragic event.

The museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5pm to 7pm during the summer. From the end of September to July, it is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 18:00. Although admission is free, you must order free tickets online athttps://ticket.midaticket.it/museicivicibologna/Event/3/Dates

4.Museo Bargellini Strada Maggiore 44. The painting gallery, one of the rare examples of historical city collecting still intact, largely originating from the Bargellini family, the applied arts collection – with the aim of recreating an 18th-century Bolognese furnished apartment, in which rare objects such as a spectacular puppet theatre and an enchanting miniature reproduction of the interior of an 18th-century private home are displayed alongside fine furniture and furnishings. Bolognese sculpture is documented by an extensive collection of works from the 16th to the 19th century, belonging to the prolific tradition of coroplastics. Alongside numerous keys, wrought ironwork, ornamental bronzes and finely embroidered liturgical vestments, there is a Berlina di Gala, a late 18th-century carriage, extraordinarily painted and gilded, with the carved coat of arms of Cardinal Filippo de Angelis (1792-1872).

Paid Museum -recommended

Torre dell’Orologio – Clock Tower in Piazza Maggiore 6 with beautiful view. The ticket also includes a visit to the Municipal Art Collections, located on the 2nd floor of the same building. The rich collection includes not only paintings from the Middle Ages to the present day, but also art objects, furniture, porcelain, fabrics, lace, embroidery, miniatures and important wooden crucifixes.

Full price ticket €8. (Children aged 4-12, persons over 65, school groups, students, groups of at least 6 persons accompanied by a guide – €5) Children under 3 years old free.

Opening hours from Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:20 p.m.
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at ‘Bologna Welcome in Piazza Maggiore’ or online at https://www.bolognawelcome.com/it/esperienze/300685/Visita-alla-Torre-dell-Orologio-e-alle-Collezioni-Comunali-d-Arte

Ducati Museum – Tickets available only online at https://tickets.ducati.com/ You can get there by taking bus no. 13 from the Piazza Minghetti and Piazza Malpighi stops and getting off at the Borgo Panigale Ducati Museum stop.

Museo Civico Medievale via Manzoni 4.

The Museum of Medieval History in Bologna houses a remarkable variety of artefacts and works of art. Admission: €6 full price, €2 for 18 to 25 year olds, €3 for over 65s and groups of more than 10 people, free for under 18s.
Free admission: first Sunday of the month.

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Museo Civico Archeologico Via dell’Archiginnasio 2. The archaeological museum is one of the most important in Italy, with collections ranging from prehistory to Roman times and highly representative of local history, as well as Greek, Etruscan, Egyptian and numismatic collections, the Egyptian one being one of the most important in Europe.

Ticket: €6 full price for ages 18 to 25, €2 for ages 25 to 35, €3 for ages 65 and over and groups of more than 10 people, free for children under 18. Tickets available on site, no later than 1 hour before closing time.

Free admission: first Sunday of the month.

Opening hours / Monday and Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Thursday: 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m

Compianto sul Christo morto

Nicolò dell’Arca’s Lamentation over the Dead Christ is a group of seven life-size terracotta figures preserved inside the church of Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna, next to the main chapel. A work charged with dramatic intensity, it was famous for its desperate cry… Gabriele D’Annunzio saw the weeping Marys during a visit to the sanctuary with his father in 1878 and described their “petrified cry”. Read more 👉https://arte-4-you.com/2022/02/03/compianto-sul-cristo-morto/

Visiting hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., admission €5

MAMBO – Il museo d’arte moderna via Don Minzoni 14

One of Italy’s most important museums of modern and contemporary art. It houses a permanent collection covering the history of Italian art from the post-war period to the present day, and alongside the permanent collection there are monographic exhibitions dedicated to important Italian and international artists. Since 2012, the museum has hosted, among other things, an exhibition of paintings by Giorgio Morandi. It is the largest and most important public collection in the world dedicated to Giorgio Morandi, with a heritage of over 250 works including paintings, watercolours, drawings and engravings. The exhibition analyses the themes and different phases of his artistic life.

Free admission: first Sunday of the month.

Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna Via delle Belle Arti 56

The National Art Gallery of Bologna is located in the heart of the university district. Together with the Academy of Fine Arts, it occupies the complex of the Church of St. Ignatius and the Jesuit Novitiate, built by Alfonso Torreggiani between 1728 and 1735. (The Church of St. Ignatius was transformed into the Academy’s Great Hall. The Academy of Fine Arts houses a collection of paintings from the 13th to the 18th century, mainly by artists linked to the city. Among the most important European art collections, the museum exhibits paintings from the 13th to the 18th century in 30 rooms. Up to the 14th century, there are works by Vitale da Bologna, Pseudo Jacopino, Giotto and Lorenzo Veneziano. in the Renaissance section, paintings by Vivarini, Cossa, Costa, Raphael and Perugino; the rich Baroque section offers rooms dedicated to Carracci and Guido Reni, Guercino, Domenichino and Tiarini. Among the 18th-century Emilian works, Crespi, Creti and Gandolfi are noteworthy.

The museum is one of the most important art collections in Europe. The Pinacoteca was founded in 1808 as the art gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts and became an independent museum in 1882. According to the 18th-century art historian Luigi Crespi, the museum was founded by Cardinal Prospero Lambertini, later Pope Benedict XIV. The main purpose of the art centre was to collect historical objects of worship.

Free admission: first Sunday of the month.

Other museums in the city can be found on the website https://www.museidibologna.it/

DETAILS

There’s no shortage of them in Bologna! Just keep your eyes peeled and you won’t regret it. We often still find medieval details here, so if you love details, you’ll be in your element.

You’ll find lots of articles on this topic in this blog about Bologna: https://arte-4-you.com/bologna/

Only in Bologna! Socmel!

The evolution of the people of Bologna in a photograph

Soccia! is an exclamation that has no reference to sexual intercourse, even though literally it is an incitement to fellatio. Socmel or sorbole mean the same thing – wonder, amazement, something unbelievable or something that is annoying you. An example in Bolognese dialect is ‘Socmel che du maron!’

In the Bolognese dialect, umarell refers to an elderly gentleman. In Bolognese, umarèl -era was used to refer to a man of little importance, a man of the street, a “little man”. The neologism was created by adding an “l”, thus transforming it into umarell, a word used to refer to elderly men in the city with their hands behind their backs, intent on observing construction sites. “The umarells often keep their hands behind their backs, they really enjoy it”. They just love watching construction sites! All about umarells 👉https://arte-4-you.com/2020/06/17/ma-siamo-tutti-umarells/

3T specialities of Bologna – TORRI ,TORTELLINI ,TETTE (TOWERS, TORTELLINI, TITS)

Via a cager – Go shite -if a Bolognese person says this to you, they don’t mean to send you to the toilet, they mean to send you to hell!

Dammi un TIRO (Give me a drag) is not a request to smoke, but means “open the door”👉 https://arte-4-you.com/2023/01/01/dammi-il-tiro/

Quando vedi San Luca -sei arrivato a casa – When you see San Luca, you’ve arrived home. Many Bolognese people returning from holidays or a trip already feel at home when they see San Luca on the Guardia hill from afar. In the evening, you can see its warm light welcoming you back.

Se succede, vado a San Luca a piedi –  If something goes well, I go to San Luca on foot to fulfil a promise: if I pass my exam, if he asks me to marry him, if I get promoted, if I get a raise, if I recover… I go to San Luca on foot, and many others do the same.

If you are looking for a souvenir, I recommend this place, lots of Italian and hand, made by me .

Strada Maggiore 5a – There is also a luggage storage facility right under the two towers.

Photo gallery

You will find many beautiful photos of Bologna on my website https://arte-4-you.com/fotografia/bologna-fotografata/

Useful numbers

Tourist Information Office (I.A.T.) – (Piazza Maggiore 051239660 or Welcome Bologna 0516583111

Airport – 051 6479647

Transportation – Bus Station 051245400, COTABO Taxi 051372727, CAT Taxi 0514590, Chauffeur-driven car 0516646666, ACI Emergency Service 803116, Information on fines 0512193610 (call Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.)

Health – Emergency Service – 118, Emergency Medical Service 0513131, Emergency Dental Service 051543850, Emergency Obstetrics Service 0516364429 , eye emergency room 051 2142698, pharmacies on duty 051239690, Red Cross 051583360

Public services – Traffic police 051266626, 051526911

🎁 Bologna culinary souvenir tips

On Via delle Pescherie Vecchie, there are several traditional food shops, often designed for travelers. Naturally, I recommend typical Bolognese or regional products. *In summer, due to the high temperatures, avoid chocolate products and cured meats. I recommend travel-friendly products. One shop worth visiting is Tamburini.

Recommended products:

• Parmigiano Reggiano, mortadella (hermetically sealed), tortellini
• Mustarda Bolognese (typical Bolognese jam)
• Bianco Bolognese, a jarred condiment made with salt and aromatic herbs, excellent for various dishes, especially meat, fish, and fried vegetables. I must admit, I can’t live without it.
• Friggione in a jar (typical Bolognese onion condiment for dishes or bread)
• Balsamic vinegar of Modena
• Sparkling white wine Pignoletto, red Sangiovese, sparkling red wine L’Ambrusco di Modena
• Pinza Bolognese or ravioli with mustard (typical Bolognese dessert), rice cake
• Ragu Bolognese (jarred Bolognese sauce)
• OIL. If you’re interested in good oil, I recommend the shop on Via D’Azeglio, Emporio Fratelli Carli.
• In addition to the small shops, there’s a large three-story food court nearby (both a shop and a restaurant). The Mercato di Mezzo, where you’ll find many other products, is also nearby.
• COFFEE: If you’re looking for a good coffee, I recommend Bar Aroma – Via Porta Nova, 12b, where you can enjoy and buy exquisite coffee.
• CHOCOLATE: “Majani Cioccolato Boutique”, Via de Carbonesi 5, chocolate and typical Bolognese products. As I mentioned in the curiosities section, this is where the first hard chocolate in Italy was created, in Bologna in 1832.

Bologna’s most beautiful souvenirs with luggage storage – Strada Maggiore 5a

Tortellini Bolognesi, a tradition and symbol of Bologna.
In the shop, you’ll find souvenir tortellini, a wonderful idea for an original gift. Tortellini in various shapes, created by me—on bookmarks, photos, postcards, jewelry, keychains, and much more. Come and discover this magical place. Strada Maggiore 5a – under the Two Towers more https://arte-4-you.com/cartolinesegnalibrioggetti/

This guide was created spontaneously in response to your questions, based on my knowledge and experience, and my love for this beautiful, surprising city. I hope this guide will make your stay interesting. You’ll find plenty of photos of the city, taken by me.

© RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA
RIPRODUZIONE CONSENTITA CON LINK ORIGINALE e CITAZIONE FONTE – https://arte-4-you.com/–

It doesn’t end here!

I invite you to follow my FB page Semplicemente Bologna https://www.facebook.com/semplicementebologna/ where I publish curiosities about Bologna and its surroundings, details, stories and legends and discover the curiosities on my blog https://arte-4-you.com/bologna/

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