The area now called Bologna, in Italy, was settled about three thousand years ago by a tribe called the Villanovese. They were conquered by the Etruscans, then by the Celts, then finally by the Romans, by which time the town was called Boronia, It was a thriving Roman colony for four hundred years, before being conquered in turn by waves of barbarian invaders, including the Visigoths, the Huns, the Ostrogoths, and the Lombards. Subsequently it was fought over by the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope. The city itself suffered civil war between the Guelphs, who backed the Pope, and the Ghibellines. Napoleon conquered the city from the Pope in the 18th Century. The Pope reacquired it after the fall of the Empire of the French. Bologna joined the unified Italian state during the War of Unification starting in 1860.

The city was a center of resistance against the fascist rule of Mussolini and the Germans. After the Second World War it became a center of radical left politics, though now less so than at the height of far left agitation in the early 1970s. It is a university town, which gives it much of its flavor.

Today, surrounded by hills, Bologna’s city center is much as it was in the Renaissance. One can find red colored buildings, covered walkways, and wide piazzas. Bologna can be a relatively quiet stop between the more crowded towns of Florence and Venice.

Basilica di San Petronio

This church was started in 1392 and is named after Bologna’s patron saint. It is a large building, and was meant eventually to be larger that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. But the Pope forbade that sort of overweening ambition. Even so, San Petronio is the fifth largest basilica in the world.

On the eastern side of the basilica, one can see semi-constructed apses jutting from the basilica walls and an incomplete facade. The central doorway, made by sculptor Jacopo della Quercia, dates from 1425 and has exquisite carvings of scenes from the Old and New Testament and a beautiful Madonna and Child. The chapels inside contain frescos by Giovanni da Modena and Jacopo di Paolo. A brass meridian in the floor of the north aisle forms an ingenious solar clock – a small hole in the roof allows the sun to shine on the correct spot. Tradition has it that when the sun’s rays fall in the shape of a heart, it is time to seek a husband.

Basilica di Santo Stefano

This basilica faces a triangular piazza. It consists of a crypt, some catacombs, and four beautiful churches. These are the main basilica, with an angel carved by Michelangelo, the Santi Vitale e Agricola, dating from the fifth century, the octagonal Chiesa del Santo Sepolcro, which may have once been a baptistry, and the Romanesque Chiesa del Crocefisso. The Chiesa del Crocefisso is said to have a stone basin in it’s courtyard that Pontius Pilate used to wash his hands after condemning Christ. More likely it dates from the eighth century and was made by Lombards. An adjoining museum houses a collection of painting and frescos.

Fontana di Nettuno

The Fontana di Nettuno is a huge edifice situated in the street connecting the Piazza Maggiore with Piazza del Nettuno. It was built in 1566, with bronze statues by the Flemish sculpture Jean Boulogne. The fountain is topped by a huge bronze of Neptune, trident in hand and fish under foot, and is surrounded by four angels, representing the four winds, and four sirens, with water spouting from their breasts, representing the four continents known at the time.

Le Due Torri

Pisa boasts of its leaning tower, but Bologna actually has two. They are the Torres degli Asinelli and the Torres degli Garisenda, rising above the Piazza di Portia at the end of Via Rizzoli. The Torres degli Asinelli is taller of the two, with a lean of 1.3m (4.2ft), and 498 steps that you can climb should the mood take you. Torres degli Garisenda is closed to the public because its lean of 3.2m (10.4ft) has been officially declared just too dangerous. In comparison, the leaning tower of Pisa had a lean of about four meters.

Palazzo Comunale

Serving as Bologna’s town hall, the Palazzo Comunale was started in 1462. The bell tower was added later and was made shorter than the one at the cathedral to symbolize the importance of church over civic authority. Its grand central staircase, attributed to the Renaissance architect Donato Bramante, was built wide enough for horse drawn carriages to transport their noble occupants up to the first floor. The palazzo houses an extensive collection of medieval and Renaissance paintings, sculpture and furniture.

Piazza Maggiore

The Piazza Maggiore is the heart of the city of Bologna and faces such famous buildings as the Palazzo Comunale and the Basilica di San Petronio. The steps of San Petronio is a good place to sit and take in the view, which also includes the tower of Clock of Palazzo D'Accursio and the tower of Arengo of Palazzo del Podestà, It’s a crowded place, fileld with cafes and Bolognese people crowding around street musicians and other performers.

National Gallery

This museum celebrates Bologna’s rich artistic heritage, with works dating from between the 14th to the 16th Century. The collection includes works by Bolognese counter-reformation artists Guido Reni and the Carracci brothers. Raphael’s Ecstasy of St Cecilia and El Greco’s Last Supper should not be missed.

Visiting Bologna