Bologna: what to see
The city was built around Piazza Maggiore, famous for the Fountain of Neptune
by Giambologna and for the numerous buildings that overlook the piazza:
Basilica of San Petronio, Palazzo dei Notai, Palazzo d’Accursio,
Palazzo del Podestà and Palazzo dei Banchi.
Before setting out to visit the various buildings, it is worth visiting the Salaborsa.
In the 19th century it was the centre of economic life, but today it is
a cultural space and multimedia library, one of the most frequented and
most popular meeting points for Bologna residents.
The Basilica of San Petronio,
built between 14th and 17th centuries, is the largest church in Bologna
and the fifth largest in Italy. There is a meridian dating to 1655 on
its façade, while inside it houses paintings by Giovanni da Modena,
Jacopo di Paolo, Lorenzo Costa and Amico Aspertini.
After visiting San Petronio, walk below the porticos of via Dell’Archiginnasio to get to Piazza Galvani where you will find the Archiginnasio of Bologna, part of the University of Bologna.
Returning to Piazza Maggiore, you can see Palazzo d’Accursio,
the Town Hall, which takes its name from the Accursio family from
Bologna who once lived there. Its façade features the beautiful Madonna
with Child, a gilded and polychrome terracotta sculpture dating to 1478,
and the Arch of Galeazzo Alessi built in the mid 16th century, upon
which stands the bronze statue of Pope Gregory XIII.
On the north side of Piazza Maggiore are three buildings symbolising the city's municipal era: Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo Re Enzo and Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo.
Other things to see in Bologna include Piazza della Mercanzia,
where Palazzo Mercanzia is located, a Gothic building which
historically housed the Chamber of Commerce. The open gallery where
goods were unloaded, construction of which began in 1384, is still
visible today.
One of the most enchanting and
suggestive walks of the city is just steps from the Piazza della
Mercanzia: the complex of Santo Stefano, also known as the Seven Churches of Bologna.
It is a complex of courtyards and porticos of seven churches built over
the temple of the goddess Isis by Saint Petronius, patron saint of the
city of Bologna, inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem.
The towers of Bologna
The two towers located at the entrance to the city on via Emilia are Bologna's undisputed landmark: the Asinelli Tower and the Garisenda Tower.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the richest families in the city
competed to build these edifices, symbols of power and used as defence
structures and as a means of assertion. Today, only a few still stand,
the survivors of fires, wars and the relentless passing of time. Of them
all, the Asinelli and Garisenda Towers are the most prominent and
symbolic of the city.
Their current formation, standing
independently in the centre of the widening of the piazza of Porta
Ravegnana, does not reflect the original layout, which included external
wooden construction and suspended walkways.
The Asinelli Tower is 97.20 metres tall
and was built between 1109 and 1119 by the noble Bolognese family of the
same name. The building is open to the public, and visitors can climb
its 480 or more steps to the top for a beautiful view of the city and
surrounding hills. On the way up, it is impossible not to be captivated
by its architecture full of trap doors and suggestive wooden ladders
like in an old castle.
The nearby Garisenda Tower
looks different, being shorter at 48 metres tall. The building dates to
the same period and was built by the Garisendi family. Due to its
dangerous tilt, in the 14th century it was resized and the structure
lowered.
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