Is Bologna Worth Visiting? It May Be the Best City in Italy Nobody Talks About
Autore: La Redazione di www.tourleaderpro.com
Is Bologna worth visiting? This question is asked about the wrong city. The Italian cities people ask this question about (Is Genoa worth it? Is Trieste worth it?) are the ones that the international tourist market hasn't fully absorbed into its standard itinerary. Bologna is one of these — consistently underrated relative to its actual quality, visited by Italians in large numbers but by international tourists at a fraction of the rate that Florence or Venice attract despite being architecturally, gastronomically, and culturally their equal in every dimension that matters. The answer is yes. The follow-up question is: why haven't you already been?
What Bologna Is
Bologna is the capital of Emilia-Romagna, 35 minutes from Florence by high-speed train, with 400,000 inhabitants and one of the oldest universities in the world (founded 1088 — older than Oxford, Cambridge, the Sorbonne, and every other Western university). The historic centre is enclosed by 40km of medieval arcades (portici) — UNESCO-listed, unique in scale and completeness — that make the city walkable in any weather. The food is, by the consensus of Italian gastronomes, the best in Italy. The Basilica di San Petronio (the fifth-largest church in the world, construction begun in 1390 and never completed) dominates the main piazza. The Pinacoteca Nazionale has a collection of Emilian Renaissance painting that rivals any Italian regional gallery. And the student population — 100,000 students in a city of 400,000 — creates an energy and a bar/restaurant culture that Florence and Venice, emptied of young Italians, cannot match.
The Food of Bologna
The claim that Bologna is the food capital of Italy is not disputed by any serious Italian gastronomic authority. The Emilia-Romagna region produces: Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (the cheese), Prosciutto di Parma DOP and San Daniele DOP (the hams), Mortadella di Bologna IGP (the original, made with lard cubes — nothing like the industrial version), Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP (the real balsamic vinegar, aged minimum 12 years, completely different from the commercial product), Culatello di Zibello DOP (the most prized Italian salumi, made only in the Po river fog zone near Parma). And the pasta: fresh egg pasta (tagliatelle al ragù bolognese — the original, with real ragù that has nothing to do with what is sold internationally as Bolognese sauce), tortellini in brodo (the tiny filled pasta in capon broth, non-negotiable), lasagne verdi (green lasagne with spinach pasta, ragù, béchamel). Eating in Bologna is a serious occupation that deserves serious preparation.
Questions: Is Bologna Worth Visiting?
How many days do I need in Bologna?
Two days minimum. Day 1: Piazza Maggiore (Basilica di San Petronio, Palazzo del Podestà, the Neptune Fountain), the Due Torri, Santo Stefano complex (seven interconnected churches, one of the most atmospheric religious sites in northern Italy), Mercato di Mezzo for lunch. Day 2: Pinacoteca Nazionale, the portico walk to the Santuario di San Luca (4km of covered arcade, the longest in the world, climbs a hill — the view from the top justifies the walk), dinner in the student quarter (Via Zamboni area). Add a day trip to Parma (1h by train) for the Duomo frescoes, Correggio, and prosciutto.
Is Bologna safe?
Very. Bologna is politically progressive and socially cohesive in a way that produces a genuinely safe urban environment. The standard urban precautions apply (watch for pickpockets at the train station), but the city has significantly lower crime rates than Rome, Milan, or Naples and is among the safest large Italian cities for visitors.
What is the Bologna portico system?
The portici (arcades) of Bologna are a network of covered walkways running along the facades of buildings throughout the historic centre — in total approximately 40km of covered pedestrian space, some dating to the 12th century, the longest and most complete medieval arcade system in the world. They were built as a combination of commercial and civic infrastructure: shops and markets occupied the ground level while upper storeys extended the living space over the public walkway. Walking in Bologna means walking under cover regardless of weather — the arcades are not a tourist feature but the city's fundamental transportation infrastructure. UNESCO World Heritage listed in 2021.
Is Bologna better than Florence for a weekend trip?
For most people, yes. Bologna is less expensive (accommodation, food, museums), less crowded, has better food, and has an urban energy that Florence — increasingly depopulated of permanent residents in favour of tourist apartments — has lost. Florence has the Uffizi and Brunelleschi's dome. Bologna has everything else. If you've already been to Florence, go to Bologna next.
Curiosità su Bologna
L'Università di Bologna è universalmente riconosciuta come la prima università del mondo occidentale — fondata nel 1088, quando gli studenti si organizzarono in corporazioni (universitates) per negoziare con i professori e le autorità cittadine le condizioni dello studio. Il modello universitario bolognese (gli studenti pagano i professori, gli studenti hanno potere di licenziare i professori insoddisfacenti) si diffuse poi in tutta Europa con varianti. Dante, Petrarca, Copernico, Carlo Goldoni e Papa Alessandro VI (Rodrigo Borgia) studiarono a Bologna. La biblioteca universitaria contiene manoscritti medievali di incalcolabile valore. Il palazzo dell'Archiginnasio (l'edificio universitario del XVI secolo, oggi sede della Biblioteca Comunale) ha le pareti e il soffitto completamente coperti di stemmi delle famiglie degli studenti — 6.000 stemmi dipinti o scolpiti che coprono ogni superficie disponibile. È uno degli ambienti più particolari in Italia. Vedi anche: Bologna completa · Emilia-Romagna · gite da Bologna.