THE BOLOGNA EXPERIENCE
Bologna is the capital of this prosperous region of Italy: Emilia Romagna. Not yet contaminated by mass tourism, the city is the ideal choice for cultural interludes as well as leisure activities and relaxation.
Bologna has a number of nicknames: la dotta (the learned) for its ancient university, la rossa (the red) for the warm colour of its roofs and houses, and la grassa (the fat) for the wonderful food.
Bologna is the only city where you can take a guided tour without an umbrella even in case of rain, because you always stay covered and sheltered under its 40 km of arcades.
MAGGIORE SQUAREThis square has been the heart of Bologna for 2500 years. And it really is a heart, because the people of Bologna don't merely go "to town" like other Italians would; they call it "going to the piazza". This airy, open space is lined with the city's most important buildings: the Palazzo d'Accursio, the seat of the city council, Palazzo Re Enzo, Palazzo del Podestà, the majestic Basilica of San Petronio, the elegant Fountain of Neptune, Palazzo dei Notai and the imposing Palazzo de' Banchi. |
ACCURSIO PALACE (outside)Made up of buildings which cover 300 years of the city's lively history, from 1200 to 1500, this is the prestigious seat of the city's governing body and its majestic halls are decorated with works of enchanting beauty. |
NEPTUNE FOUNTAINThe symbol of sixteenth-century elegance, the clear waters of this fountain were never intended to quench the thirst of the Bolognesi but gushed forth instead in celebration of the power of the Pope. |
RE ENZO PALACE (outside)The city's sinister medieval prisons. Two seventeenth-century gallows betray the cruelty of a time when there was no such thing as a pardon. |
BASILICA OF SAN PETRONIO
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ARCHIGINNASIO PALACE AND THE ANATOMY THEATRE
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THE MEDIEVAL MARKET AND THE LOGGIA DEI MERCANTI (outside)Through the busy narrow alleyways of the food market we reach the Palazzo which was the seat of the Merchants' Forum. Built in the fourteenth century, its gothic style still attracts. |
COMPLEX OF SANTO STEFANO (THE SEVEN CHURCHES)
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THE TWO KISSING TOWERS (outside)Two, two hundred, the "forest of stone". This is Bologna and her legendary towers. Our itinerary comes to an end at the foot of these symbols of Bologna which have benevolently watched over the city since the Middle Ages. |