My Bologna Has A First Name…

From Modena, we took a day trip to Bologna, famous for its food. You may have heard of Lasagna, Tortellini, Mortadella, and Bolognese sauce, all of which was invented here. It is also an aesthetically pleasing city with red buildings and medieval towers. There is a lot of energy in the city and also not a lot of tourists. The tourist information office gave us there flyer including all the sights of the city, and the title was “Half a Day in Bologna”. They are selling themselves short, you could wander at least a full day here, and eat for weeks.

At the center of the city is the Piazza Magiorre. This is the main square of the city that is surrounded by several significant buildings, churches, fortresses and palaces.

This is the Neptune fountain that sits in the Piazza Magiorre. Couldn’t find any history about it, but it is pretty cool.

This is the Anatomical Theatre within the University of Bologna, which was founded in 1088 making it the oldest university in the world. The wooden statues at the podium detail the muscle structure of a human without skin.

There are several square blocks that make up a city market section, that date back hundreds of years. There are all kinds of food stores and stalls.

These are the twin towers of Bologna. There are still several that stand in the city, but there used to be many more built by many of the rich families. The one on the right is Torre Degli Asinelli, which is the tallest.

We climbed the almost 500 steps of Torre Degli Asinelli to get this incredible view of Bologna.

This is an aerial view of San Petrino Basilica and its façade, like so many other things in Italy, is forever being renovated. The inside is very bright and boasts really high ceilings, and it is quite simple compared to other churches we have seen. A meridian line runs right through the church and is marked by a decorated strip on the ground.

So many of the streets in Bologna look like this, with column supported buildings that overhang the sidewalk. We’ve noticed this in other Italian cities, but Bologna has an extreme fetish for this architecture.

The Basilica Santo Stefano is a series of seven small churches within one complex, some dating as far back as the 5th century. The exterior is detailed brick and tile work, and the most interesting church is a dark round room with an altar like structure.

No trip to Bologna is complete without a fantastic meal. Our Lonely Planet guide recommended this otherwise impossible to find restaurant called Mariposa. We had some of the best tortellini ragu ever and another delicious dish of spiral pasta with ham and rocket (some kind of arugula type leafy vegetable). The grilled vegetable dish was also extremely good.