Posted by After a frantic drive trough the Milan outer traffic from Lago di Orta and onto the main Autostrade to Bologna we were pleased to get to the Emilia Romagna region and drop into Parma for a lunch break and a bit of leg stretching. (we will cover Parma and other stops in a seperate blog) Off again into the crazy traffic that has got worse over the years especially the amount of big trucks . We arrived in Bologna mid afternoon and found our way to the apartment and only got abused once for going down a short pedestrial road beside the right road !! we were met by our host for Casa Petronio Apartments and he showed us around the compact but very nice apartmnent on the second floor of a very neat ols block. it was equipped with everything so ideal for 4 days. we had a short rest and then headed out for a passagetia and meal. We were immedialy struck by the porticos/collonades/arcades/loggias, whatever you want to call them as they were everywhere and such a great idea. The red oche colour that dominates Bologna is everywhere and probably coveres over 50% of the buildings so it it is very distinctive along with the redy/brown local brick colour that is also everywhere.
They are perfect for all year round getting about and such great meeting places as well. we made our way up to one of the main piazza’s santo Stefano and the Maercanzia square where there was a big market happening that sold just two things, plants/vegies and ceramics…dont know why but it was packed and such a buzz.
The cafes and resturants in the Piazza were doing a roaring trade and we wandered in and out admiring the produce and plants whilst people watching all ages mixing in such a great atmosphere..
Santo Stefano is actually a very old church complex on the piazza dating back to the 10th century and is made up of 4 church/chapels that are very romanesque in style with some facinating design and decorations of such a simple nature in the brickwork and reuse of ancient Roman columns in the marble oritory stand and wall/portico supports. A facinating experience as very few such places are original like this.
The first church built is striking in its rawness and especially the floating Christ on the cross above the very basic altar and the mix match of materials from Roman times.
The pinnacles and carvings are very primitive in style and maybe cheeky in design…especially the bum.
We heasded off towards the main old town through some very old streets dating back to medieval times but always lines with motor bikes, and had our designs on a famous restaurant Sfoglia Rina which is reknown for its Tagliatelle Ragu and Lasagne Ragu, or as we know it Spaghetti Bolognese…but never say those two words together as it does not exist. Suffice it to say we got a table and it was excellent and the atmosphere was electric and by the time we left there were ques out in the street…it pays to eat early in many ways!
The porticos are so varied dependant on the time built and building style so over a period of 700 years you can get a real eclectic bunch standing side by side.
Dusk is such a beautifulk time in Italy with its stunning rich blue skys and yellow lighting which creates a serene atmosphere as you wander around each corner to see what is revealed next. and in Bologna it is often the sight of the twin towers. One tall and skinny and one short and on a lean. the city had hundreds of them from the 13th to 17th century but many fell or were not safe and no longer needed so were demolisjhed sop now just a few remain.
The original 13th century town hall in true Gothic style has survived and is well looked after and well used as is the old 14th and 15th century public buildings in Piazza Maggiore where the Duomo stands proud wioth its half finished marble and brick facade.
As the evening decends the nightlife and passagetia accelerates and people come from everywhere to fill the streets and the eateries and then the next morning they are back again by 10.00am to restock and from the look of it they are mostly locals.
We took the trolly train through the streets of Bologna up to the sanctury of the virgin San Luca on the hills above the city. It took us along the route through the old town west and then onto the 4 km long continuious portico that reaches from the Porta Saragozza in the old town walls to the sanctuary. Built so that the pilgrims and worships could visit all year and all weather, it is the longest covered walkway in the world and was a massive undertaking that took 40 years to complete in the 18th century. The sanctuary is a beautiful barouqe church on the top of the hill and is one of the most visited sights in Bologna and offers fabulous views over the city and up to the Appenine mountains.
Very ornate inside and much loved by the locals the sanctuary has been well maintained and cared for.
The Saragozza Port is where it all begins and the porticos are now all attached to buildings that sprung up on the route over the past 300 years . The facinating elevated green tiled mausoleums below are seen all over Bologna and are mostly occupied by both Bishops and University professors and they were equally reverred, and this region is the only place in the world where such things happened.
Its is fabulous when you explore and stumble on great public art exhibitioons or permanent installations like these tulips in the Civic art centre tucked away from the Bologna main square .
Bologna is a massive University town since the 9th century and students are everywhere, and especially around the university district. the cafes are chockers and they are all in engaged in livley debate with hardly a moble phone is sight or in use…so refreshing to see. And of course there is the odd Touristblob hanging around the parks and lamp posts at times
These porticos in the university district date back to the 13th century and are a bit narrower than those of later periods. Below is the Piazza Santo Stefano in full daylight without the markets and we loved this floor design fanning out from the church complex to the triangular Piazza.
Below is another great piece of urban design just near our apartment in the front of the Basillica Santa Servi , it is classed as a Piazzeta and is surrounded by this Portico on all sides on the corner of the street. a perfect example of the edict of the city that all buildings must have a portico attached bto them from around 1280.
Our second night in Bologna was spent dining at a street cafe which was so atmospheric and full of llife with locals and students dominating the tables but there was room for the odd tourist or two to enjoy it was well.
This is a city that suprised at every turn, poster art, hidden courtyard resturants and facinating porticos.
Although not a lot a green space to be seen it was lovely to see some conifers reaching for the sky.
And of course the Porticos just kept delivering at every new place we wandered.
The region around Piazza Cavour has some of the most facinationg buildings and porticos and loads of history plus an old bloke named Lucio Dalla, a famous local musician and composer who was having a quiet time of contemplation in the Piazza so i thought i would join him.
Every european city seems to have a jewish quarter and Bologna has a special one that is colourful and green in amognst the busy city.
All over the city we saw what i call “poster grafitti art” where a printed material is plastered onto a wall and then enhanced in soime way, here are a few we spotted…so cool.
Some great left over summer installations in the street add great atmophere at night and we continued our evening wanderings
The oldest university building is in the old town square and this dates back to the 13th century with family crests all over the walls and ceilings covering 700 years.
another great discovery as we meandered around at night was the incomparable Le Stanze restaurant set in a really old building with amazing original frescos dating from 14th century and so really cool with amazing service, food and drinks. Coolest place so far for sure.
The church’s in Bolgna are all different in ways from the stripped back brick, but scaled up Basillica san di Petronio to the flamboyant baroque masterpiece of San Dominic.
Selfie at the Basillica exterior and the vast well designed interiors.
Bologna has a uniue little hidden gem near the University district being the last remaining canal, called Finistrella, in the city. Originally about 20% of the streets were canals in medieval times and it rivaled Venice in ways. Mostly used for commerce they fell out of favour due to regular silting and in the end it was easier to fill them in. this one has a lovely hole in the wall view to get a felling of the past history of life here.
There are plenty of museums in Bologna but we love to see the small and interesting such as the Music museum, which was rich in musical instrument history and an abundance of well heeled Bologna matrons filling in thier day doing security duty !
One of the oldest remaining commercial buildings in Bologna is the Medieval timber structure known as Casa Isolani or Le Tre Frecce and it dates back to the 13th century when most of the porticos were made of timber and very high off the ground. there are very few of these left in Bologna but enough to get a sense of how things worked.
The exploration continued every day as we went from east to north to south and then west of the centre but all road led you back to either the twin towers or the Piazza Maggiore.
Some streets were quiet as can be while others were a buzz with outdoor meetings, functions at cafes and shops dressed up for new product launces or just for fun.
We visted the history of Bologna museum and were astounded by the amazing city plans that date back hundreds of years and so perfect in scale capturing every detail of the city.
Our last night saw us dine at the Osteria Santo Stefano right on the Piazza which was a gfabulous spot to witness the city in action in a super relaxed setting. We clocked up our last Ice cream from the truly stupendous Cremeria La Vecchia Stella, that served the best ice cream (vanilla and caramel combo) we have ever had, so we tested it three times to be sure.
It was a full moon and after further strolling through the balmy night we were back in the Piazza to watch the moon rising over santo Stefano in all its glory. Such a fitting way to say goodbye to this gracious city.
