Sights in Bologna
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Piazza Maggiore
Flanked by the world's fifth-largest basilica and a series of impressive Renaissance palazzi, Piazza Maggiore is the city's principal focus and an obvious starting point for sightseeing. A lively pedestrian hub through which you'll find yourself passing several times, it was laid out in the 13th century.
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Basilica di Santo Stefano
From Bologna's two leaning towers, head southeast along Via Santo Stefano for the Basilica di Santo Stefano, an atmospheric medieval religious complex. Originally there were seven churches – hence the basilica’s nickname Sette Chiese – but only four remain. Entry is via the 11th-century Chiesa del Crocefisso, which houses the bones of San Petronio and leads through to the Chiesa del Santo Sepolcro. This austere octagonal structure probably started life as a baptistry. Next door, the Cortile di Pilato is named after the central basin in which Pontius Pilate is said to have washed his hands after condemning Christ to death. In fact, it’s an 8th-century Lombard artefact.…
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Pinacoteca Nazionale
The Pinacoteca Nazionale has a strong collection of works by Bolognese artists from the 14th century onwards, including a number of important canvases by the late-16th-century Carracci cousins Ludovico, Agostino and Annibale. Among the founding fathers of Italian baroque art, the Carraccis were deeply influenced by the Counter-Reformation sweeping through Italy in the latter half of the 16th century. Much of their work is religious and their imagery is often highly charged and emotional, designed to appeal to the piety of the viewing public. Works to look out for include Ludovico’s Madonna Bargellini, the Comunione di San Girolamo (Communion of St Jerome) by Agostino…
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Basilica Santuario della Madonna di San Luca
About 3.5km southwest of the centre of Bologna, the hilltop Basilica Santuario della Madonna di San Luca houses a representation of the Virgin Mary, supposedly painted by St Luke and transported from the Middle East to Bologna in the 12th century. The 18th-century sanctuary is connected to the city walls by the world’s longest portico, held aloft by 666 arches, beginning at Piazza di Porta Saragozza. Take bus 20 from the city centre to Villa Spada, from where you can continue by minibus (buy the €3.40 return ticket on board) to the sanctuary. Alternatively, continue one more stop on bus 20 to the Meloncello arch and walk the remaining 2km under the arches.
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Basilica di San Petronio
Dominating the piazza’s southern flank, the Gothic Basilica di San Petronio ([tel]051 22 54 42; [hours]7.45am-12.30pm & 3.30-6pm) is Bologna’s greatest church. Dedicated to the city’s patron saint and measuring 132m by 66m by 47m, it’s the world’s fifth-largest basilica. Surprisingly, though, it was never finished. Originally it was intended to be larger than St Peter’s in Rome, but in 1561, some 169 years after building had started, Pope Pius IV blocked construction by commissioning a new university on the basilica’s eastern flank. As a result the facade was never completed and if you walk along Via dell’Archiginnasio you can see semiconstructed apses poking out…
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Teatro Anatomico
Housed in Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio, the fascinating 17th-century Teatro Anatomico is where public body dissections were held under the sinister gaze of an Inquisition priest, ready to intervene if proceedings became too spiritually compromising. Cedar-wood tiered seats surround a central marble-topped table while a sculptured Apollo looks down from the ceiling. The canopy above the lecturer’s chair is supported by two skinless figures carved into the wood. The theatre, and many of the building’s frescoes, was destroyed during WWII and subsequently rebuilt.
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Basilica di San Domenico
The Basilica di San Domenico was built in 1238 to house the remains of San Domenico, founder of the Dominican order, who died in 1221. His elaborate sarcophagus is in the Cappella di San Domenico, which was designed by Nicola Pisano and later added to by a host of artists. Michelangelo carved the angel on the right of the altar when he was only 19. Notice, too, the intricately executed wooden tableaux of the choir stalls. When Mozart spent a month at the city’s music academy, he occasionally played the church’s organ.
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Palazzo Comunale
Forming the western flank of Piazza Maggiore, Palazzo Comunale (known also as Palazzo D’Accursio after its original resident, Francesco D’Accursio) has been home to Bologna city council since 1336. A salad of architectural styles, it owes much of its current look to makeovers in the 15th and 16th centuries. The statue of Pope Gregory XIII, the Bolognese prelate responsible for the Gregorian calendar, was placed above the main portal in 1580, while inside, Donato Bramante’s 16th-century staircase was designed to allow horse-drawn carriages to ride directly up to the 1st floor.
On the 2nd floor you’ll find the palazzo’s two art galleries: the Collezioni Comunali…
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Torre degli Asinelli
Towering above Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, one of Bologna’s two leaning towers, Le Due Torri, is an unmistakable landmark. The 97.6m-high Torre degli Asinelli is open to the public, although it’s not advisable for the weak-kneed (there are 498 steps) or superstitious students (local lore says if you climb the tower you’ll never graduate). Built by the Asinelli family between 1109 and 1119, today it leans 1.3m off vertical.
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Museo Morandi
On the 2nd floor of Palazzo Comunale you'll find the art gallery Museo Morandi which is dedicated to the trademark still lives of Bolognese artist Giorgio Morandi.
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Oratorio di Santa Cecilia
Lorenzo Costa and Francesco Raibolini (known as Il Francia) were mainly responsible for the magnificent 16th-century frescoes in the Oratorio di Santa Cecilia, one of Bologna’s unsung gems. Depicting the life and Technicolor death of St Cecilia and her husband Valeriano, they are in remarkably good nick, their colours vibrant and their imagery bold and unabashed.
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Palazzo del Podestà
Dating to 13th century, the Palazzo del Podestà was the original residence of Bologna's chief magistrate. Beneath the palazzo there's a whispering gallery where two perpendicular passages intersect. Stand diagonally opposite someone and whisper: the acoustics are amazing. Both palazzi are off-limits to the public unless there's a temporary exhibition on.
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Fontana del Nettuno
Adjacent to Piazza Maggiore, Piazza del Nettuno owes its name to the Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune’s Fountain), a stirring bronze statue sculpted by Giambologna in 1566. Beneath the muscled sea god, four cherubs represent the winds and four buxom sirens, water spouting from every nipple, symbolise the four known continents of the pre-Oceania world.
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Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore
To the north of Basilica di Santo Stefano, along Via Zamboni, the 13th-century Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore houses a noteworthy collection of paintings and artefacts. The highlight is the Bentivoglio chapel with frescoes by Lorenzo Costa and an altarpiece by Francesco Raibolini (known as Il Francia).
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Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio
Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio is the result of Pope Pius IV's project to curtail the Basilica di San Petronio. Seat of the city university from 1563 to 1805 (notice the professors' coats of arms on the walls), it today houses Bologna's 700,000-volume Biblioteca Comunale (Municipal Library) and the fascinating 17th-century Teatro Anatomico where public body dissections were held under the sinister gaze of an Inquisition priest, ready to intervene if proceedings became too spiritually compromising. Cedar-wood tiered seats surround a central marble-topped table while a sculptured Apollo looks down from the ceiling. The canopy above the lecturer’s chair is supported by two…
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Chiesa di San Francesco
The Chiesa di San Francesco was one of the first churches in Italy to be built in the French Gothic style. Features include the tomb of Pope Alexander V and a remarkable 14th-century marble altarpiece depicting sundry saints and scenes from the life of St Francis.
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Museo Civico Medievale
The Museo Civico Medievale is in the 15th-century Palazzo Ghilisardi-Fava. Of interest in the museum are the fine frescoes by Jacopo della Quercia and the collection of battle armour, bronze statues and medieval coffin slabs.
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Palazzo Poggi
At the university museums at Palazzo Poggi you can peruse waxwork uteri in the Obstetrics Museum and giant tortoise shells in the Museum of Natural Sciences. Further surprises are to be found in museums dedicated to ships and old maps, military architecture and physics.
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Collezioni Comunali d'Arte
On the 2nd floor of Palazzo Comunale you'll find the art gallery Collezioni Comunali d'Arte with its interesting collection of 13th- to 19th-century paintings, sculpture and furniture.
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Museo Civico Archeologico
Running south off Piazza Maggiore, Via dell’Archiginnasio leads to the Museo Civico Archeologico with its well-documented Egyptian and Roman artefacts and one of Italy’s best Etruscan collections.
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MAMbo
MAMbo is Bologna’s newest museum. Housed in a cavernous former municipal bakery, its permanent and rotating exhibits showcase the work of up-and-coming Italian artists.
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Palazzo del Re Enzo
The 13th-century Palazzo del Re Enzo is named after King Enzo, the illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who was held here by papal forces between 1249 and 1272.
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Metropolitana di San Pietro
A short walk north of Piazza Maggiore, Bologna’s cathedral, the Metropolitana di San Pietro has suffered redevelopment many times over the centuries. More a landmark than somewhere to search out, it stands opposite the Museo Civico Medievale.
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