Showing 1-7 of 7 results
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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 had 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.
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Basilica di San Petronio
Dominating the Piazza Maggiore's southern flank, the Gothic Basilica di San Petronio 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.
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Basilica di Santo Stefano
From the 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 to the Basilica di Santo Stefano 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.
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Basilica Santuario della Madonna di San Luca
About 3.5km southwest of the city centre, 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.
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Fontana del Nettuno
Adjacent to Piazza Maggiore, Piazza del Nettuno owes its name to the Fontana del Nettuno, 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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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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Torre degli Asinelli
Towering above Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, Bologna's two leaning towers, Le Due Torri, are unmistakable landmarks. The taller of the two, 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. The neighbouring 48m Torre Garisenda is sensibly out-of-bounds given its drunken 3.2m tilt.
Showing 1-7 of 7 results
