Basilica di Santo Stefano
Bologna's most unique religious site is this atmospheric labyrinth of interlocking ecclesiastical structures, whose architecture spans centuries of…
©Damien Tachoires/500px
Bologna
Fusing haughty elegance with down-to-earth grit in one beautifully colonnaded medieval grid, Bologna is a city of two intriguing halves. One side is a hard-working, high-tech city located in the super-rich Po valley where suave opera-goers waltz out of regal theatres and into some of the nation's finest restaurants. The other is a bolshie, politically edgy city that hosts the world's oldest university and is famous for its graffiti-embellished piazzas filled with mildly inebriated students swapping Gothic fashion tips.
No small wonder Bologna has earned so many historical monikers. La Grassa (the fat one) celebrates a rich food legacy (ragù or bolognese sauce was first concocted here). La Dotta (the learned one) doffs a cap to the city university founded in 1088. La Rossa (the red one) alludes to the ubiquity of the terracotta medieval buildings adorned with miles of porticoes, as well as the city's long-standing penchant for left-wing politics.
Explore Bologna
- Basilica di Santo Stefano
Bologna's most unique religious site is this atmospheric labyrinth of interlocking ecclesiastical structures, whose architecture spans centuries of…
- Basilica di San Petronio
Bologna's hulking Gothic basilica is Europe's sixth-largest church, measuring 132m by 66m by 47m. Work began on it in 1390, but it was never finished, and…
- CCasa di Lucio Dalla
The 15th-century Palazzo Casa Fontana poi Gamberini – the fascinating, pricier-than-the-Colosseum home of eccentric Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla …
- MMuseo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna
This mouthful of a museum inside Palazzo Sanguinetti – the former home of Napoleon's Italian minister – chronicles six centuries of European musical…
- SSan Colombano – Collezione Tagliavini
An absolutely stunningly restored church with original frescoes and a medieval crypt rediscovered in 2005, the San Colombano hosts a wonderful collection…
- FICO Eataly World
FICO, the world's largest agri-food park, opened in 2017 to equal parts cheering and sneering in a formerly dilapidated wholesale farmers' market 7km…
- Torre degli Asinelli
Bologna's two leaning towers are the city's main symbol. The taller of the two, the 97.2m-high Torre degli Asinelli (the tallest leaning medieval tower in…
- Quadrilatero
To the east of Piazza Maggiore, the grid of streets around Via Clavature (Street of Locksmiths) sits on what was once Roman Bologna. Known as the…
- PPalazzo Poggi
Three university museums are housed inside this 14th-century palace. At Museo di Palazzo Poggi, you can peruse terracotta uteri in the Obstetrics…
Latest Stories from Bologna
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Bologna.
See
Basilica di Santo Stefano
Bologna's most unique religious site is this atmospheric labyrinth of interlocking ecclesiastical structures, whose architecture spans centuries of…
See
Basilica di San Petronio
Bologna's hulking Gothic basilica is Europe's sixth-largest church, measuring 132m by 66m by 47m. Work began on it in 1390, but it was never finished, and…
See
Casa di Lucio Dalla
The 15th-century Palazzo Casa Fontana poi Gamberini – the fascinating, pricier-than-the-Colosseum home of eccentric Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla …
See
Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna
This mouthful of a museum inside Palazzo Sanguinetti – the former home of Napoleon's Italian minister – chronicles six centuries of European musical…
See
San Colombano – Collezione Tagliavini
An absolutely stunningly restored church with original frescoes and a medieval crypt rediscovered in 2005, the San Colombano hosts a wonderful collection…
See
FICO Eataly World
FICO, the world's largest agri-food park, opened in 2017 to equal parts cheering and sneering in a formerly dilapidated wholesale farmers' market 7km…
See
Torre degli Asinelli
Bologna's two leaning towers are the city's main symbol. The taller of the two, the 97.2m-high Torre degli Asinelli (the tallest leaning medieval tower in…
See
Quadrilatero
To the east of Piazza Maggiore, the grid of streets around Via Clavature (Street of Locksmiths) sits on what was once Roman Bologna. Known as the…
See
Palazzo Poggi
Three university museums are housed inside this 14th-century palace. At Museo di Palazzo Poggi, you can peruse terracotta uteri in the Obstetrics…
Guidebooks
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