Capital of Emilia Romagna, arguably the most civilised region of Italy, Bologna is renowned for its university, its cuisine and its traditional left-wing stance. Hence the oft-quoted sobriquets: Bologna ‘La Dotta’ (the Learned), Bologna ‘La Grassa’ (the Fat), and Bologna ‘La Rossa’ (the Red). The city is also famous for its beautifully preserved historic centre, and La Rossa refers as much to the rich red of its palaces, towers and porticoes as it does to its left-leaning politics.
Located on the edge of the Po Plain at the foot of the Apennines, the city is a fine example of Roman and medieval town planning, with its ancient town gates, radial plan and long straight streets. It stands on the Via Emilia, the arrow-straight road laid down by the Romans from Rimini to Piacenza. In the Middle Ages this was where Europe’s first university was established, and a town quickly grew around it. Dozens of towers rose above the city, built both as watchtowers and as status symbols by the succession of dynasties that ruled Bologna until it became part of the papal states in 1506. The city prospered from its setting, surrounded by fertile plains and vineyards which supplied its convivial inns. Within its walls, urban life was more liberal than in most other provincial cities and a free-thinking entrepreneurial people flourished. Today Bologna is a progressive modern city with a vibrant student population, thriving professional and business sectors and a buzzing street life.
The view over to Piazza Maggiore from the Asinelli tower
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Bologna La Grassa
Of the three sobriquets Bologna is perhaps best known globally as ‘La Grassa’, a reference to its rich culinary tradition. Prosperous Emilia Romagna is the legendary bread basket of Italy, a region which has given birth to culinary delights such as prosciutto crudo (Parma ham), Parmesan cheese and world-renowned balsamic vinegar. Emilian cuisine reaches its height in Bologna which is widely acclaimed as the culinary capital of Italy. It is famed for fragrant pink Mortadella, ragù (the real Bolognese meat sauce) but above all else for egg pasta. Tortellini alone would be a good enough reason to visit Bologna. Legends abound as to the pasta’s origins, one of which gives credit to a young cook of a wealthy Bolognese merchant who modelled the pasta on the perfect navel of his master’s wife − which even if apocryphal, says much about the seductiveness of the cuisine. Sfogline (pasta ladies) in trattorias or pasta shops can still be seen rolling out sheets of pasta and cutting out the tiny delicate shapes. Flourishing pasta cookery schools (there are 25 in the city) and the annual pasta-making competition, Il Matterello d’Oro (The Golden Rolling Pin), are further evidence that the home-made tortellini is in good shape.
A stroll through the teeming medieval streets of the central Mercato di Mezzo reveals tantalising food stores and market stalls brimming with gleaming fresh produce. Gourmet delis are crammed with whole hanging hams and great wheels of cheese, enticing passers-by to stop for a few slices of wafer-thin prosciutto, washed down perhaps with a cool glass of Pignoletto. When it comes to restaurants it’s not so much about Michelin-rosetted temples of cuisine with exotic new delicacies but earthy family-run trattorias, where the cuisine is simple and the emphasis is on perfect ingredients. While a handful of places in the city give a nod to lighter contemporary cuisine, Bologna for the most part carries on serving what it’s best at, and at a leisurely pace.
Perfect pasta
The Bolognesi take their food very seriously. In 1972 the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Academy of Italian Cuisine) decreed that the exact width of a cooked strand of tagliatelle must be 1/1,270th of the height of the Asinelli tower, 9mm (0.3 in).
Cultural Legacy
The city is as passionate about culture as it is about food and enjoys a long tradition of intellectual enlightenment. The medieval lawyers, scholars and sculptors of its university paved the way for scientific breakthroughs that helped shape the modern world and it was the university that was the city’s economic powerhouse. The elaborately sculpted sarcophagi of great scholars in the city’s Medieval Museum give some idea of the importance attached to academia. Professors rose through the social ranks and were richly rewarded in death as well as life.
The medieval era also witnessed the rise of fine monuments, great Gothic churches rich in art and the characteristic colonnades. These elegant porticoes, now a Unesco World Heritage Site, have always provided a refuge from the elements and a meeting place for Bolognesi from all backgrounds. In times gone by they provided cover for furtive assassinations and the amorous assignments, of among others, Boccaccio and the Marquis de Sade. Here Verdi and Rossini trampled the porticoed streets in search of inspiration, just as the late novelist Umberto Eco set out in search of material for his medieval whodunits. In the summer months musicians strike up under the arcades, artists set up easels, and all year round there is a lively café scene with tables spilling out under the porticoes, assured of shelter from rain, snow or the intense heat of the summer sun.
Neptune’s Fountain
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Thanks to the porticoes and the compact size of the historic centre, Bologna is a delightful city for strolling. There are sufficient monuments, museums and artistic treasures for several days’ exploration. Many of the city’s churches are rich repositories of art while Renaissance or baroque palazzi, often embellished with frescoes, make fine settings for the city’s main museums. Palazzo Poggi, seat of the university, is home to some fascinating specialist museums while the nearby Pinacoteca houses the city’s finest art collection, with works by Giotto, Raphael and the great Bolognese painters. In the Baroque period the artistic output flourished here and Bologna became the pre-eminent influence in Italian painting.
A Living City
Despite its illustrious history, wealth of architecture and gastronomic reputation Bologna attracts far fewer tourists than cities such as Florence or Venice. As a result it feels far more Italian, gritty and real and less museum-like, making an enticing alternative to these more famous cities. Fears of arid scholarship are banished by the buzz of the student area, with bohemian bars overlooking faculties tucked into frescoed palaces. Bolognesi of all ages come out for the evening passeggiata, the ritual stroll; there’s a vibrant café and bar scene, an action-packed calendar of events with concerts, jazz, theatre and art exhibitions and a lively gay scene. In term time the population of 376,000 (1 million in greater Bologna) swells by around 100,000. But even during holiday time there’s plenty going on and the Bè Bolognaestate festival from June to September ensures a summer of music, art and theatre. The city has a rich music heritage and has played host to the likes of Verdi, Rossini and Puccini. In 2006 it was appointed Unesco Creative City of Music, a prestigious recognition that honours the city’s music tradition − as well as the lively contemporary scene.
Colourful fresh produce
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Created on the back of agricultural wealth the regional economy has thrived for centuries but always moved with the times. Engineering is a regional strength but embraces everything from cutting-edge car manufacture to machine tools and precision robotics. Emilia Romagna is serious car country, with Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini all produced here. The city and the region have always been committed to making both money and desirable products, from Mortadella cured meat to Ducati motorbikes, while not neglecting agriculture. In keeping with the city’s entrepreneurial, forward-thinking approach, manufacturing and the service industries have been decentralised leaving the historic centre vibrant and liveable, yet well preserved.
Contemporary Bologna is not without the social challenges and high unemployment which confront other cities of Italy (the Italian youth unemployment rate stands just under 40 percent at the time of writing). But this is a city that knows how to thrive, and as the capital of one of the richest regions in Europe with the third highest GDP per capita in Italy it is consistently ranked among the top Italian cities for quality of life. It looks after its cultural legacy too. Recent years have seen major restoration of monuments within the historic centre, and the opening or reopening of eight buildings, mainly churches and palaces, which have been recovered by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna and now form part of a cultural itinerary. A further incentive for visitors is the city location at a major rail hub, making it the perfect springboard for day or half-day trips to the art-filled cities of Emilia Romagna. Modena, which is the home of Pavarotti, Maserati and Ferrari as well as a superlative Duomo, is a mere half-an-hour trip by train; gourmet Parma is less than an hour away. Closer to Bologna, and providing respite from the city streets in summer, are the Colli Bolognesi, the wooded hills of southern Bologna: the first foothills of the verdant Apennines.
Inside the Palazzo d’Accursio
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Bologna has many facets: a city of history, expressed in every tower and portico, a city of culture and museums, musicians and artists, a top university city, a city of gastronomy and a city of business and trade. But above all this is a city where everything is harmonious, and the cult of beauty permeates most aspects of life. ‘La Rossa’ notwithstanding, Bologna remains a paradigm of the good life: a citadel of good taste set in the proverbial land of plenty.
A Medieval Manhattan
In medieval times Bologna bristled with over 100 towers. Built by Bolognese nobles these varied in height between 20 metres (65ft) and 60 metres (197ft), with rival families striving to see who could build the highest. But by the 16th century the torri had fallen out of fashion. Fire and the fear of collapse were constant hazards, and the great palazzi took over as the main status symbols of noble families. In the late 19th century, during urban regeneration, many of the surviving towers were demolished. Most of the remaining ones tend to tilt, often at alarming angles. Alongside the Cattedrale di San Pietro the Azzoguidi tower, also called Altabella (the Tall Beauty), is the only one standing perfectly vertical. The most famous towers however, and symbols of the city, are the Asinelli and the Garisenda, the ‘Twin Towers’. You can climb 498 steps to the top of the Asinelli. Or if you fancy having a tower all to yourself book into the Torre Prendiparte (for more information, click here). Be warned though, the price − and the climb to the top − are not for the faint-hearted.