Bologna - “La Dotta, la Grassa, la Rossa”
Sunday 18 June – less than a three hour drive from Milan the road to Bologna was empty and straight, and very easy….until we looked at the instructions from our Air BnB host and noticed that you are not allowed to drive your car into the centre of this medieval city! Permits are granted for residents only and huge fines are imposed for other cars. Well, you can imagine how we felt knowing we had a car full of gear!!!
We parked in a car park on the outskirts, offloaded our bags and Geoff then spent 20 minutes trying to get us a taxi. He finally found one and called our host to tell him we were running a little late – he insisted on coming to meet us, so taxi cancelled, Cristiano turned up and we stuffed everything into his car and he drove us in. He lives in the very centre of town in an old building with a private courtyard and the rental is attached to his apartment, but with its own entrance. It’s beautiful and we are delighted. Upon Cristiano’s recommendation, we had dinner in the Piazza St Stefano, a delightful square just along from our Bologna “home” – once again….when in Rome, this time Bologna….. I ordered the Taglietelli Ragù alla Bolognese – (now sadly known as Spaghetti Bolognese) and Geoff opted for the Gramigna with sausage…. And we had half of each – very delicious (I did pay for it later though with raging indigestion, serves me right for ploughing into this huge dish so late at night!).
Bologna has three nicknames: “La Dotta, la Grassa, la Rossa” – the Intellectual, the Fat, the Red! The first is due to the presence of the university which dates back to 1088 and is the oldest in the western world, the second is due to its culinary tradition - it was voted the world’s food capital due to its range of top tier restaurants and mouth-watering dishes, Ragù Bolognese a key ingredient of the world-famous “Spag Bol” and, Bologna and the wider Emilia-Romagna region to which is belongs, is also the birthplace of balsamic vinegar, mortadella, parmesan cheese and parma ham. Finally the red refers to the colour of the bricks with which its towers and buildings have been built since the Middle Ages and more recently the red of the Ducati, the Ferrari together with Lamborghini, Maserati and Pagani which also make Bologna and this region known as “the land of motors”.
Monday 19 June – one day to “do” Bologna – and we pretty much did. Breakfast in Piazza Santo Stefano – next to the Basilica of Stephen’s Church, which we had popped into yesterday. It is also known as the Seven Churches, built by the bishop of the city, San Petronio, in the 5th century, it was his desire to create a complex of seven churches that reproduced the places of Christ’s passion.
We walked along to the heart of Bologna, the Piazza Maggiore and started our tour at the Fountain of Neptune, one of the symbols of the city and the work of the Flemish sculptor known as Giambologna, very impressive. The city currently has a cultural festival taking place from 13 June to 3 July and the Piazza features an enormous screen and seating where movies are being shown each night. We visited the Salaborsa which was the city’s economic centre in the 19th century and is now a place of culture with an impressive multi-media library. In the middle of the building is a covered square and below your feet a glass floor offers a view of the archaeological remains of the old city from two thousand years ago.
The Basilica of San Petronio dominates the Piazza Maggiore and is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, who was the bishop in the 5th Century. Construction began in 1390 and its main façade remained unfinished. The nave contains 22 side chapels and it has the most glorious stained glass windows. The basilica was finally consecrated in 1954 and it holds the relics of its patron saint. It also houses the longest indoor meridian line in the world, measuring 66.8 metres inlaid in the paving in the left nave. It was designed in 1656 by the astronomer Gian Domenico Cassini, a professor of astronomy from the University.
Bologna is famous for its porticoes and towers. All together, these porticoes measure 38 kilometres in length in the historical centre of the city and 62 kilometres if you count those outside the city limits. No other city in the world has as many. They were built in the early Middle Ages as a projection of private buildings on public land in order to increase living spaces, the first dates back to 1041. When they were being built one of the criteria was that a gentleman should be able to ride on his horse underneath them with his hat on! They provided us with a wonderful cover in the hot sun and are lined with some very beautiful and exclusive shops.
A walk around the Quadrilatero District, a bustling area in the city centre was a lot of fun. Narrow fragrant alleyways of the ancient market of Medieval origin, handicraft shops, speciality cheese, pasta, parma ham and mortadella stores were nestled between historic old pharmacies and fruit and vegetable stalls and it proved the perfect place to stop for lunch.
We visited the Palazzo del’Archiginnasio, the first unified seat of the University of Bologna, founded in 1088 and the oldest university in the western hemisphere, along with the Teatro Anatomico, built in 1595 (Anatomical Theatre) where anatomy lessons were held. Geoff also had a quick look around the Archaeological Museum to find out a little more about the Etruscan and Roman Bologna, whilst I browsed the beautiful shop windows.
Next up was a visit to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca, a Basilica church located on the top of a forested hill, 300 metres above the city. We had intended to walk there but then found out it was a 6kms walk and as it was so hot we opted for the little red Dotti train instead. The road leading up to this sanctuary is a 3.8 km portico consisting of 666 arches and links the Sanctuary to the city centre with the porticos providing shelter for the traditional yearly procession, held since 1433, where a Byzantine icon of the Madonna with Child is carried from the Cathedral of San Pietro in the centre of Bologna along this path. The arches originally held icons or chapels erected by the patron family. The present church was constructed in 1723 and the central sanctuary has beautiful painted artworks. We opted to pay the extra fee to climb the winding stairs to a small observation deck located under the dome, the panoramic views of the green hills and the red buildings were incredible. (A day later, my thighs are still feeling the effects of those steep stone steps!!!).
Back into town and a visit to the Two Towers was next on the list. The Asinelli and the Garisenda Towers, the tallest two of the twenty towers still standing in the town (there were originally over 100 in medieval times) sit side by side. Built during the Middle Ages they had a military function – signalling and defence – as well as representing their grandeur and the social prestige of the family that had them built. The Asinelli Tower was built between 1109 and 1119 by the family bearing the same name, 498 internal steps lead to the top at a height of 97 metres. The Garisenda Tower was built at the same time but is shorter at 47 metres and is known for its steep overhang due to a subsidence of the land and foundations, so much so, that Dante featured it in Canto XXXI of the Inferno. It was lowered during the 14th century for fear of it collapsing and is currently being restored.
By the time we had finished all of this we were flagging and headed back to the Quadrilatero District in search of a nice place to sit and people-watch over a cocktail, Aperol Spritz for Geoff and a G&T for me. Duly replenished, we headed off to find somewhere for dinner and happened on a lovely little ristorante, Buca San Petronio, and sat outside in the square opposite the beautiful Sanctuario di Santa Maria della Vita church – another delicious pasta for me, I knew I’d be OK this time as a now owned a supply of Gaviscon!
And that was it – Bologna in pretty much one day, no more time to spare as we are off to the Chianti region tomorrow!