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Bologna is the capital of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, a city of red brick and terracotta roofs at the foot of the Apennine hills. It was the Etruscan Felsina and the Roman Bononia, and in the Middle Ages it grew into one of the largest cities in Europe, crowded with tall family towers.
It is home to the University of Bologna, founded in 1088 and the oldest university in continuous operation in the world, which gives the old center a young, lively feel. Its long porticoes, which shelter more than 38 kilometers of streets in the historic center alone, were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.
Life centers on Piazza Maggiore, framed by the basilica of San Petronio and the old civic palaces, with the Two Towers close by. Bologna is also famous for its food, from tortellini and tagliatelle al ragù to mortadella, and a portico of 666 arches climbs to the hilltop sanctuary of San Luca.
Piazza Maggiore is the main square of Bologna and the heart of the city since medieval times. It is framed by the Basilica of San Petronio, the city hall in Palazzo d'Accursio and the old palaces of the Notai, Banchi and Podestà, and it opens onto Piazza del Nettuno and its famous fountain.
The Basilica of San Petronio dominates Piazza Maggiore in Bologna and is dedicated to Saint Petronius, the city's fifth-century bishop. Begun in 1390 as a civic church, it was built over several centuries, its main facade has stayed unfinished ever since, and it was only consecrated in 1954.
The Fountain of Neptune stands in Piazza del Nettuno next to Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, a showpiece of 16th-century Mannerist art. Designed by Tommaso Laureti and finished in 1565, it is crowned by an over-life-size bronze Neptune by Giambologna, with four Nereids around the base below him.
Palazzo d'Accursio, also called Palazzo Comunale, is the town hall of Bologna on the west side of Piazza Maggiore. It grew from the home of the jurist Accursius into the seat of city government, gained its clock tower in the 15th century, and now holds the city's Civic Art Collection.
The Two Towers are the leaning symbols of Bologna, the tallest survivors of the many family towers that once rose over the city. Traditionally built between 1109 and 1119, the Asinelli Tower is about 97 meters tall, while the shorter Garisenda leans more steeply beside it at the old crossroads.
Santo Stefano in Bologna is a basilica of several linked churches on Piazza Santo Stefano, known locally as the Seven Churches. Tradition says Saint Petronius founded it to recall the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and it includes the Church of Saints Vitale and Agricola and the Courtyard of Pilate.
The Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna holds the tomb of Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominican order, who died there in 1221. His remains lie in the marble Arca di San Domenico, carved by Nicola Pisano and his workshop, with later additions by Niccolò dell'Arca and the young Michelangelo.
Santa Maria della Vita is a Baroque sanctuary in central Bologna near Piazza Maggiore, rebuilt from 1687 with an elliptical plan and a dome finished in 1787. It is known for its Lamentation over the Dead Christ of 1463 by Niccolò dell'Arca, a group of life-size terracotta figures frozen in grief.
The Archiginnasio was the main building of the University of Bologna, built in 1562-1563 to gather its schools under one roof. Its walls and ceilings are covered in the painted coats of arms of students and teachers, and it houses a city library and the wooden Anatomical Theatre of the 1630s.
The Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna is the city's national art gallery, in a former Jesuit novitiate in the university district beside the Academy of Fine Arts. It has a wide collection of Emilian painting from the 13th to the 18th century, including works by the Carracci, Guido Reni and Raphael.
The Porticoes of Bologna are the covered arcades that line the city's streets, first recorded in 1041 and unmatched in number anywhere in the world. They run for more than 38 kilometers in the historic center alone, offering shelter from sun and rain, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca crowns the wooded Colle della Guardia, 300 meters above Bologna, southwest of the center. It is reached by a portico of 666 arches, 3.8 kilometers long and built between 1674 and 1793, and keeps a revered icon of the Virgin that is carried in procession.
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