Visit Bologna it always turns out to be a surprising experience for all those who see it for the first time, thanks to the many monuments and places of interest concentrated in this city. This guide will help you organize your visit, so you can decide what to see in Bologna and what to do.
- What to do in Bologna: itineraries and things to see
- What to see in Bologna: places to visit
- 1 Piazza Maggiore
- 2 The two Towers, Garisenda and degli Asinelli
- 3 The Neptune Fountain
- 4 The Porticoes of Bologna
- Churches of Bologna, basilicas and monasteries not to be missed
- 5 Basilica of San Petronio
- 6 Basilica of San Domenico
- 7 Sanctuary of San Luca
- 8 St. Stephen's Basilica
- 9 San Colombano
- 10 Church of Santa Cristina della Fondazza
- 11 Chapel of Santa Maria dei Carcerati in Palazzo Re Enzo
What to do in Bologna: itineraries and things to see
Are so many places of interest in Bologna which we recommend you visit. It doesn't matter if you have little time available, this guide will help you understand what to see in Bologna in one day without giving up the most important things.
What to see in Bologna: places to visit
1 Piazza Maggiore
Piazza Maggiore it is the splendid living room of Bologna. Lively, full of people at all times of the day, it showcases architectural jewels such as the Basilica of San Petronio with its characteristic rough and unfinished façade, the Sala Borsa in Liberty style, inside which a futuristic multimedia library has been created. Medieval and Renaissance palaces, including the Re Enzo Palace. The square is the favorite meeting place for tourists and citizens; in the past it was the center of the city's politics. Here you will also find the Palazzo Comunale, recognizable by the statue of Pope Gregory VIII placed on the central portal. Inside remember to visit the Farnese Hall, very impressive indeed.
2 The two Towers, Garisenda and degli Asinelli
Symbols of Bologna known throughout the world. These three monuments are located at the entrance to the city, on the Via Emilia. Definitely worth adding to the list."Bologna: things to see".
3 The Neptune Fountain
La Neptune Fountain work by Gianbologna. Located in Neptune Square, between the town hall and the Palazzo del Podesta. It is one of the most beautiful fountains of the sixteenth century.
4 The Porticoes of Bologna
One of the features of Bologna they are the porticoes, whose total length reaches 40 km: unique in Italy, and perhaps also in the world, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages and the foundation of the university. Under the sumptuous portico of the Pavaglione, A few steps from Piazza Maggiore, trade in fine silks took place; The portico of the Church of Santa Maria dei Servi instead, the restorations and the very long porticoed walkway that goes up there shines hill of San Luca it amply repays the effort of the hike.
Churches of Bologna, basilicas and monasteries not to be missed
5 Basilica of San Petronio
La Basilica of San Petronio it remained unfinished according to the original project it should have had the dimensions of St. Peter's Basilica. However, it remains the sixth largest church in Europe, one of the most important in the Christian community.
6 Basilica of San Domenico
La Basilica of San Domenico it dates back to 1200 and contains several very important works by Michelangelo.
7 Sanctuary of San Luca
Il Sanctuary of San Luca also called Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, stands on Colle della Guardia, and is visible from almost all points of Bologna. Majestic building, it is one of the most fascinating Sanctuaries in Bologna together with the Church of San Giacomo Maggiore and the St. Stephen's Basilica. It is also possible to reach the very long porticoed walkway that goes up hill of San Luca.
8 St. Stephen's Basilica
Not far from Garisenda and Asinelli Towers, also reachable from the beautiful Corte Isolani, there is the St. Stephen's Basilica, call of the “seven churches“, although, in reality, there are four remaining churches, set one inside the other, and built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. Don't miss the splendid Romanesque cloister.
9 Saint Colombano
Saint Colombano it is a church complex made up of a series of buildings aggregated over the centuries, starting from the XNUMXth century. In the recent restoration, a thirteenth-century parietal crucifixion attributed to Pisano council, a medieval crypt and a 21th-century burial. Inaugurated on 2010 June XNUMX, the Complex houses the collection of ancient musical instruments donated by the Maestro Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, consisting of around ninety pieces including harpsichords, spinets, clavichord pianos and a collection of wind and popular instruments dating back to the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. It also preserves the specialized library of the Bolognese musicologist Oscar Mischiati.
10 Church of Santa Cristina della Fondazza
La Church of Santa Cristina della Fondazza that we see today was built in 1602 by Giulio della Torre, architect of the circle of Domenico Tibaldi. The single nave interior stands out for the narrowness of the presbytery, which becomes a sounding board capable of transforming Santa Cristina in an architectural musical instrument, where the sound spreads with astonishing acoustic clarity. Precisely from this characteristic was born the myth of the "musician nuns": in the hall behind the apse area the nuns sang protected from prying eyes and their voice, through two grates placed above the main altar, propagated without echo and without refractions up to the entrance. Closed and reopened several times, following the Napoleonic expropriations, with the Unification of Italy the Church of Santa Cristina it became a military warehouse and the convent a barracks. Since 2008, once the restoration work was completed, it was reopened to the public as an auditorium for classical music and the Gregorian chant school.
11 Chapel of Santa Maria dei Carcerati in Palazzo Re Enzo
Inside the restored Chapel of Santa Maria dei Carcerati, built in 1371 by order of the papal vicar Anglico de Grimoard and used for the spiritual comfort of those imprisoned nearby Captain's Palace, the English artist David Tremlett he created one of his wall drawings, combining the art of the past with current abstractionism, perpetrating a sense of continuity and rupture at the same time, which characterizes many interventions in the region.
David Tremlett he is a sculptor who prefers to sculpt the wall with colours, massaging them on the walls as a support for his abstract works, which arise from a deep emotional and design relationship with the chosen place and its pre-existing structures; his geometric and essential shapes vibrate through colors and light, always in harmony with the architecture that houses them and which is at the root of his artistic conceptions.
