Bologna

Bologna (Emilian: Bulåggna) is a beautiful and historic city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northeast Italy. It has the oldest university in the Western world, a lively student population, excellent food, a striking brick terracotta-roofed cityscape, and lots to see and do. The city itself has a population just under 395,000 in 2020. Until 2015 it was part of a "Province of Bologna" but this was absorbed into a metropolitan area, population 1,017,000. This page therefore covers the entire metropolis, with the exception of Imola, described separately.

Understand
Bologna is famous for its cuisine (la cucina Bolognese). It is also viewed as a progressive and well-administered city. It has one of the largest and best preserved historic centers among Italian cities. Its architecture is noted for its palette of terracotta reds, burnt oranges, and warm yellows, hence the name of Bologna la rossa (Bologna the red). The extensive town center, characterized by miles of attractive covered walkways, known as "porticos," is one of the best-preserved in Europe.

Bologna is the seat of the oldest university in continental Europe, founded in 1088. A significant portion of its population consists of away-from-home university students. In common with other Italian university towns, it is in parts marred by excessive graffiti on its historic palaces.

History
The strategic location of the city molded its history. Inhabited since the 10th century BC during the Iron Age, it was fortified by the Celts and became a municipality under the Romans. The presence through the centuries of the Huns, Goths, Lombards, Franks, Austrians and French, have each left traces which are still visible on the city today.

Bologna struggled for autonomy, having been dominated by emperors, kings, and the Church. It was ruled by the Pepoli and Bentivoglio families, and was a papal fiefdom. The papal power made it a city of the Guelphs, while many of its residents supported the anti-Papal Ghibellines. Bologna had the first city council in Italy, and was, with the Liber Paradisus law in 1256, one of the first cities in the world to abolish slavery. This political activity was rooted in the lively environment surrounding the Alma Mater, as the university was known.

Bologna was the home of such personalities as Father Martini, a collector, composer and master of counterpoint who was a notable and complex protagonist of European music of the thirteenth century. Among his students were Johann Christian Bach (son of J.S Bach) and the young W.A Mozart. During the 19th century the Philharmonic Academy drew important personalities such as Rossini, Verdi, Brahms, Wagner, Puccini and Liszt.

Bologna was named a Creative City of Music by UNESCO in 2006. Music is performed throughout the city: in the Teatro Comunale (the Opera Theatre), by the Orchestra Mozart youth orchestra, founded and directed by Claudio Abbado, and in clubs and inns where jazz is regularly played. There are open-air concerts and music can be heard at the Conservatory, the Opera School, and hundreds of music associations operating within the territory.

Bologna's scientists have included Galvani and Marconi. Native or visiting painters and artists have included Morandi, Guido Reni, Guercino, the Carraccis, Leonardo (one of the legends about the Mona Lisa tells that this was where he painted his famous masterpiece), Giotto (there was a chapel in Piazza XX Settembre entirely painted a fresco by Giotto which was destroyed when Bologna was fighting against the Pope), Cassini (who made the world’s longest sundial, now located inside Basilica S. Petronio), and Michelangelo (on the arc in Basilica S. Domenico can be found his sculpture of an angel holding a candelabra). Napoleon re-arranged the urban plan of the city and Carlo V was crowned emperor in Bologna's Basilica S. Petronio.

When to visit
Bologna is at its best from March/April to October, when it is warm and there is much outdoor sipping and dining, or just sitting in squares such as Piazza Santo Stefano and Piazza Maggiore. However, during July and August it can be very hot and sticky. In August, as is the case in much of Italy in the summer, many shops and restaurants are closed for the summer vacation.

Winter can be cold, but Bologna is beautiful the two weeks before Christmas. January and February often feature cloudless blue skies, but the clear weather is often the coldest: you will need a coat, scarf, hat and gloves.

By plane
Bologna's airport is approximately 6 km NW from the centre of the city:



Services:
 * WiFI – free, registration required.

Connections to the city:
 * Marconi Express monorail service connects the airport with the Bologna Centrale railway station in 7 minutes. Single fares from €12.80. Waiting time in queue before boarding in rush hour +30 minutes
 * Bus #54 goes towards the west suburbs of Bologna, and will get you on to the other routes. Change to #81 or #91 at the first stop after the airport in Birra
 * Buses #81 and #91 could be taken from the bus stop Birra on other side of the elevated motorway, which is within 10 min. walk distance from the airport. Both buses terminate at the Bologna Centrale station. Bus tickets are valid for 75 minutes travel and cost €1.5. (frequencies every 15 min weekdays, 30 min Saturdays, 60 min Sundays and at night). (Timetable 2022) The tickets can be bought at no extra cost in the Supermarket Carrefour check-out inside the airport. Traveltime Birra to Bologna station 30 min.
 * Taxi – a journey to the city centre could cost approx. €15.

There are also direct bus connections to: Marche, Ravenna, Cervia, Ferrara, Florence, Modena, Rimini.

By train
Bologna's main railway station is north of the historical centre of the city, a moderate walk or a 15-minute bus ride away.



Due to its central location and geography, Bologna has been developed into one of the major railway transport hubs of northern Italy, making it very well-connected with other major Italian centers. Modern high speed railway lines arrive in Bologna from Florence in 37 minutes, from Milan in 65 minutes, from Rome in 2 hr 20 min, from Venice in 2 hours, and from Ferrara in 30 min -1 hour.

There are Eurocity trains from Munich (Germany) and Vienna (Austria), and an overnight sleeper service from Paris Bercy.

While taking the train south from Milan, don't forget to catch a glimpse of the Duomo perched above Bologna in the south. It is especially interesting at sunset.

By bus
Flixbus, Baltour and Marino are the main bus companies.

By car
The most convenient way to get to Bologna is certainly by car. Its strategic position allows you to get here from Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples with the A1 motorway. The city is at the junction of the A1, A14 and A13 highways, and so is easily accessible from anywhere in Italy. Most traffic from Milan would exit the A1 and take the Tangenziale, but beware of this road at rush hour because it is horrendously packed. Expect to use 2 hours from the A1 exit to the Tangenziale to the center at certain peak times over summer busy weekends, especially at the beginning and end of August. To get there from Ferrara, Padua and Venice, take the A13, while as regards the coast, the A14 is also used. The city is also crossed by the Via Emilia which connects Milan with the Adriatic coast.

By bus
TPER manages public transport in Bologna. Their information and ticket centres are available at some central locations in the city, including the railway station Bologna Centrale and Autostazione di Bologna, the intercity bus station. Bus maps are available there (also at the web site). Single tickets and some other types of bus tickets can be also purchased at many other resellers around the city (newspaper sellers, tobacconists, cafés, etc.). With an NFC-capable Android smartphone the official Muver app can also be used to buy and validate tickets by holding the phone to the card reader. ViviBus Bologna is an online route planner.



A single journey ticket costs €1.3 (valid 75 min) or €1.5 if bought on board, a day-pass costs €5, 10-journey pass — €12 (2016). Mi Muovo is an integrated public transport pass for the region: short-stay visitors might use "Mi Muovo Multibus", a 12-trip bus ticket, see Emilia Romagna.

Single-journey tickets may be purchased prior to boarding the bus or on board at a ticket machine. There are 2 types of such machines on a bus, usually painted in red and yellow: red ones sell plain tickets, while yellow ones are used to validate multi-trip or season tickets.

By bicycle
Bikes are most popular among the people of Bologna. They are available for rent on various location around the city (Dynamo, the bicycle parking station, can be found nearby the train station). You can ride on the many bike trails and on the side of the road. Be sure to lock them safely with a good lock, as they get stolen all around town, especially around the University.

There are also the RideMovi bikes that are available for hire through the app 'App RideMovi'. This is a Bologna council scheme and hire is cheap, approximately €1 per 15 minutes or €2 per 15 minutes for the electric-assisted bikes.

On foot
Bologna is a great place around which to travel on foot, as getting around the city is quite easy: the streets are well marked. It is also a great way to find hidden gems which are frequented by locals. Some care has to be taken crossing roads: the city centre swarms with scooters and small motorcycles (cars banned during the day) and they ride them everywhere.

Layout of the city
The iconic leaning towers (Due Torri) provide a useful central landmark. They are marked in the centre of the free map available from the Tourist Information Centre in the main square, Piazza Maggiore. The central area around Piazza Maggiore (including the Due Torri and Piazza Santo Stefano can be thought of as the hub of a wheel, with other roads leading out like spokes to the old city gates (Porte) that stud the Viali—a heavily trafficked beltway that surrounds the historical centre of the town. The northeast quadrant of the map is the university district (an integral part of the town rather than a separate campus). The two southern quadrants of your map are residential sections of the city, and not common tourist areas. However, Bologna's main park, the Giardini Margherita, is just outside the center (across the Viali from Porta Santo Stefano or Porta Castiglione), beneath the surrounding hills. Also to the south, an extended portico (with 666 arches and almost 4 km long) leads out from the Viali (at Porta Saragozza) up to the baroque Sanctuary of San Luca, which provides another iconic landmark.



Around Piazza Maggiore
Large pedestrian square located in the monumental center of the old part of the city, surrounded by a number of grand buildings.

Medieval towers
Towers of the Asinelli are Garisenda the iconic symbols of Bologna.



Arcades
I Portici (arcades) – visitors can walk under the typical arcades of Bologna for a total of 38 km. The arcades were built by order of the town authorities to house temporary visitors. They had to be wide enough that a man could lie down under them to sleep.



Civic museums
Istituzione Bologna Musei is a circle civic museums in the city.



University museums
Sistema Museale di Ateneo (SMA) is a museum system of the University of Bologna. It consists of a number of small but interesting museums which are located at the around via Zamboni. The University of Bologna is the Europe's oldest university, founded over 900 years ago. Plethora of bars and cafés around.

Genus Bononiae museums
Genus Bononiae is yet another circle of museums in the city. It is operated by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio.



Other museums

 * Museo Lamborghini is away out in Sant'agata Bolognese, see below.
 * Museo Lamborghini is away out in Sant'agata Bolognese, see below.
 * Museo Lamborghini is away out in Sant'agata Bolognese, see below.
 * Museo Lamborghini is away out in Sant'agata Bolognese, see below.
 * Museo Lamborghini is away out in Sant'agata Bolognese, see below.
 * Museo Lamborghini is away out in Sant'agata Bolognese, see below.

Parks and gardens
Many parks used to be private gardens of nobility.



Porticoes of Bologna
In 2021, 12 porticoes in and around the city were listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. A portico is a porch with pillars supporting a roof structure over a building's entrance or a corridor or passageway with an arched ceiling and pillars supporting it.

Further out

 * There's more than enough to see and do in the city itself, but it's just the core of the Metropolis of Bologna (called the Province until 2015).


 * is a small town 15 km east of the city amidst a landscape of orchards. The main sight is the 16th century Bentivoglio castle. There's also an art gallery and the churches of San Domenico del Rosario, San Lorenzo, and Santi Gervasio e Protasio.
 * is a town with pungent thermal springs and a dozen old churches. The Cassero fort, which controlled travel on the Via Emilia, has been turned into a theatre.
 * 27 km south of Bologna has the remains of the Etruscan city of Kainua from 5th century BCE. Outside the modern town hall, a monument commemorates the massacre of 29 Sep 1944, when the Waffen SS killed at least 770 local civilians in reprisal for resistance activity.
 * is a town of just under 70,000 population, 43 km southeast of Bologna. It has lots of accommodation and eating places. You're probably here for the motor-racing, but other sights include the Sforza castle, Tozzoni mansion, cathedral, convent, and the sanctuary and cemetery of Piratello.
 * is a town of just under 70,000 population, 43 km southeast of Bologna. It has lots of accommodation and eating places. You're probably here for the motor-racing, but other sights include the Sforza castle, Tozzoni mansion, cathedral, convent, and the sanctuary and cemetery of Piratello.

Cars
There are many exciting events that are worth taking part of during your stay in lively Bologna. If you plan on spending the onset of the winter holidays in Bologna, you can complete your vacation with a visit to the Motorshow Bologna and to the museums that showcase the automobile masterpieces of Italy.

And just nearby lies the three museums you must visit in order to do this. These are the Ducati Museum, the Lamborghini Museum, and the Ferrari Museum or Galleria Ferrari. To fully appreciate the Ducati Museum you can join guided tours by obtaining advanced reservations. The museum is open daily except on Sundays and holidays. To enter, you will need to join a tour, you can choose from the 11:00 or the 16:00 schedule. The tour of the museum and factory costs €10. Next, you can make your way to the Lamborghini Museum, which is in the area that connects Bologna with neighboring city Modena. It lies at about 21 miles from Bologna and can be easily driven to. The museum was established in 2001 and aims to celebrate one of the most expensive Italian cars in the world. To complete your unique museum-hopping, head over to Ferrari Museum or Galleria Ferrari. The museum is in Maranello, a town just outside Modena and around 55 km (34 miles) from Bologna. Although the museum is part of Ferrari’s headquarters, it has its own building separate from the Ferrari factory. Of the three museums in your itinerary, the Ferrari Museum is the oldest, dating back to 1990. The museum spans an amazing 2,500 m² and is divided into four sections, namely the Formula One collection, the special exhibits, the technological innovation exhibit, and the photo exhibits.

The Formula One collection displays the extraordinary race cars that have played a monumental role in making Ferrari the most famous automobile maker in the world. One of the most remarkable cars is the first Ferrari 125 S that was built in 1947 and won a race in the same year. And to give you a glimpse of what F1I racing is all about, you can check out the Fiorano test track next to the museum where you might even see a Ferrari racing past.

Imola Circuit (Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari) is a motor-racing circuit in the town of Imola. It hosts Formula One and other races.

Music
Bologna is an Italian hub for rock, electronic and alternative music. There are almost a hundred concerts every year by international bands. Unfortunately many of these locations have moved outside the city centre. The main places to check out are Covo Club, Estragon and Link.



Other

 * Football: Bologna FC play soccer in Serie A, Italy's top tier. Their home ground Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (capacity 38,000) is 2 km west of city centre.

Events
There's a great film festival with restored silent and sound films throughout July in Piazza Maggiore. In the past, these have included especially Italian and French film, animation shorts from Annecy, archive footage of Bologna (e.g. of its liberation by British and American troops) and modern classics such as The Third Man, Raging Bull, Apocalypse Now and The Pianist. In November there's a chocolate festival in Piazza Maggiore or Piazza XX Settembre.

Buy
The key to shopping in Italy is to look in every little shop as you walk around, paying attention to price tags. Please take note that the hours listed usually specify a closure in the afternoons. There is no one place to get the perfect pair of shoes or the perfect ties or the perfect anything: you have to look all over, but this is half the fun. If you can't find what you want at the price you want to pay for it, keep looking, chances are you will find something somewhere else that will work perfectly.

Don't miss the chance to buy local food, such as hand-made pastas, gorgeous cheeses and sausages, from any of the hundreds of small vendors and shops to be found in the city. At least half the experience of visiting Bologna is the gastronomic pleasure! The Quadrilatero district, the old market immediately to the west of Piazza Maggiore, is a good place to buy food, or sit down to eat and drink something. Quadrilatero consists of several streets and alleys lined with small stores and eating spots.

If you have money to spend (a lot perhaps...) you have to go in 'Galleria Cavour', near 'Via Farini' with a lot of chic high fashion shops and trendy outlets (Armani, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, etc.)

Another "shop street" is "via San Felice" near "via Ugo Bassi" with a lot of small shops that made artigianal dresses (sugarbabe), artshop (elzapoppin), art galleries and (as usual) shoes and dresses shop.



Eat
There are many choices for where to eat, as Bologna is generally considered to be the gastronomic centre of Italy. For local dishes, try: Da Gianni in Via Clavature, Mariposa in Via Bertiera or Meloncello in Via Sargozza.

For good service, good wine list and fine food at a price try Camminetto D'Oro in Via de Falegnami or Cesarina in Piazza Santo Stefano.

For more contemporary stylish dining try the excellent and good value Casa Monica in Via San Felice.

Via del Pratello has lots of bars and restaurants/osterie for young people. There's lots to choose from here. Walk past, look at the menus. It is located towards the middle of the 'western' part of the map. Fantoni, with its checkered red and white table clothes and scribbled menus, is much frequented by students and serves fantastic fish secondi and an excellent ragù. Via Mascarella/Largo Respighi is another zone with a lot of osterie.

Although many foreigners have heard of spaghetti bolognais or bolognese, the dish is not a traditional dish of Bologna but a French (and subsequently British and American) adaptation, with non-Italian versions of bolognaise sauce bearing little resemblance to the local ragù alla bolognese. The closest local dish is to spaghetti bolognese known as tagliatelle al ragù, which uses a different type of pasta from spaghetti. Besides tagliatelle, ragù alla bolognese is also used to make lasagne alla bolognese.

Central area
These spots are within a few hundred metres of Piazza Maggiore and the Two Towers, joined by Via Francesca Rizzoli. In addition to the listings below, tiny Via Pescherie Vicchie is teeming with restaurants.



West central area
This is the area west of Piazza Maggiore. It includes Via del Pratello, which has lots of bars and restaurants/osterie for young people. There is plenty to choose from here. Walk past, look at the menus.



North central area
This is the area north of Piazza Maggiora, starting a few hundred metres north of the piazza and continuing to the Bologna Centrale train station.







North-east area
This area is north-east of the two towers, east of the Bologna Centrale train station, and in the vicinity of the University. It includes Via Mascarella and Largo Respighi, streets with a lot of Osterie.



East area
This area is starts a few hundred metres east of the two towers, between Via San Vitale and Via Santo Stefano.



Other areas
These are listings for areas not listed above.



Drink
Consider visiting the many pubs and clubs of Via Zamboni (university zone); some, such as "The Irish Pub", popular with students and foreigners, give happy hours on Tuesday/Wednesday. "Al Piccolo" down the road in Piazza Verdi is another famous student haunt, a live DJ playing techno into the early mornings. Otherwise, the Via Pratello has many bars and is the center of the city's alternative scene. Worth a look in particular is "Mutanye", whose owner is reputed to have been part of the Red Brigade in his youth, hence the many soviet posters. Via Mascarella, in the northeast area of the city, has plenty of nightspots, among them two jazz clubs. And, finally, check out the many bars and pubs hosting music contests and concerts, from rock to jazz to "liscio", the traditional folk songs in Emilia-Romagna.


 * Enoteca Italiana (see above, in EAT) has excellent and non pretentious Sommeliers on hand to advise and guide you. Great place for a lovely glass of wine.
 * Enoteca Italiana (see above, in EAT) has excellent and non pretentious Sommeliers on hand to advise and guide you. Great place for a lovely glass of wine.

Sleep
Bologna has always been famous for its hospitality: its welcoming service is very effective and makes Bologna a perfect place for tourists. Bologna cultural heritage as well as its wine and food makes it an ideal destination to spend a weekend or a holiday different times of the year.

Connect
As of Sept 2021, Bologna has 5G from all Italian carriers.

Consulates

 * 🇷🇴 Romania

Go next

 * As Bologna is the regional transport hub, it's easy to travel up or down the valley to Ferrara, Rimini, Ravenna, Faenza, Cesena, Reggio Emilia or Modena.
 * Padua to the north is a well-preserved old city.