Italy Travel Notes

by Giuseppe Zappala` 

Next to Palazzo`s Accursio, like a sort of continuation of the building towards Via Rizzoli, on Piazza del Nettuno, an extraordinary edifice, the former Sala Borsa, was reconstructed a few years ago. In the past this was the place where wheat prices were negotiated, then it housed the municipal archives; today it is home to the municipal multimedia library that enjoys a fascinating atmosphere, created by the Liberty style of the internal decorations and glass floor through which Bologn`s ruins from centuries past can be seen: Etruscan, Roman, Medieval!

Behind Palazzo dei Banchi unfolds the famous and popular Mercato di Mezzo. The streets, always buzzing with life and lined with numerous shops, offer most of the region`s gastronomic specialties: the renowned Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan), Prosciutto di Parma (Parma Ham), mortadella and tortellini, as well as many more delicacies of the rich and savoury local cuisine. But there are also fashion bars, boutiques for clothes and fancy houseware.

A short walk will bring you onto Bologna`s (probably) most beautiful square: Piazza Santo Stefano with its Sette Chiese (Seven Churches). It is an original complex where each church is linked and adjoins the next and which dates back to the period from the 5th C all the way to the 13th C. Today only four churches survive. The idea, it is said, was that the complex would replicate the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Bologna`s longest commercial street, Via Indipendenza, starts from Piazza Nettuno and leads straight to the railway station, which is one of the most important in Italy. Somewhere around its middle, after Piazza Garibaldi, to the right it comes out onto the spacious Piazza VIII Agosto where every Friday and Saturday morning an open-air market is being held all the way to Montagnola, a place that has been of major significance for the city`s history and is now a garden. The market offers clothes, shoes, pots and pans, houseware, some from Africa and Asia. It could be said that this market is one of the oldest pieces of evidence of the city`s social life in the past, inasmuch as these stalls offered absolutely everything, and walking amid the crowd and the crying merchants was (and for many is still today) an irrevocable habit.

Over the past few years the municipal authorities have taken a decision to uncover, in the true sense of the word, some watercourses that still run under the city and which used to be hidden for years. Bologna used to be traversed by channels that served as a means of communication with other cities in Emilia-Romagna and whose waters provided the energy needed for the operation of a number of factories producing metals, textiles (silk), paper and leather. In the summer one can go and see the underground network of channels thanks to the association of the friends of Bologna`s underground waterways (Associazione Amici delle vie d’Acqua e dei Sotterranei di Bologna).

If you visit the local Picture Gallery in Bologna`s Via delle Belle Arti, in turn, you can see works by Ludovico, Annibale and Agostino Carracci, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (also known as Guercino) and Guido Reni. The city boasts a number of other museums including: Archaeological Museum, Medieval History Museum, Museum of Music and MAMbo (Bologna`s Modern Arts Museum).

In the summer, a huge screen is mounted on Piazza Maggiore screening recent films but also masterpieces featuring Charlie Chaplin (the rich local film centre boasts having restored the old films of The Tramp). Piazza Santo Stefano is also a stage for theatrical performances, as well as classical and modern music performances. One can even see a performance of the dialect theatre!

Many singers, musicians, actors and film directors actually live and work in Bologna. The city is often chosen as a set to shoot features and short films. Many TV productions have also used the city decors for some of their scenes. For decades Jazz has been at home in Bologna.

Bologna is also considered the capital of Italian basketball with its two top rivals: Virtus and Fortitudo. It is also one of the few Italian cities that have strong baseball and football teams.
The motorcycle factory of 2007 World Champion Ducati is on the outskirts of the city. But if you cannot be easily satisfied with motorcycles alone and you are a true fan, then you can visit Ferrari, whose factory is in Maranello, south of Modena. You can visit the museum showcasing the glorious racing cars of the automaker. Only for your information I will add that Maserati and Lamborghini also have their homes in the region (the former in Modena, and the latter in a small town to the northwest of Bologna).

Bologna also boasts a very lively night life, food places or simply places where you can drink a glass of wine, a beer or an excellent cafe at espresso. I am offering you a list of my personal favourites among the places that celebrate culinary delights. Of course, these are just suggestions but I do hope that it might provide an occasion to titillate your palate and taste buds.

Bologna is abundant. Bologna is learned. Bologna was the European City of Culture in 2000. It was declared at Creative City of Music by UNESCO. Bologna was also one of the first European cities to have a civic network on Internet (Iperbole). Bologna – a city which does not reveal all its wonders at first glance but has a hidden beauty to be unveiled with patience, in an atmosphere of pleasant warmth in the contacts with its amiable and communicative inhabitants.

I could continue to write more about this city, but I believe that the best thing to do would be to visit it yourself and stay over for a few days.
The city is definitely worth it!

Municipal website:
www.comune.bologna.it
The Tourist Information Centre is housed by the Palace of the Podestà opposite the San Petronio Basilica, in Piazza Maggiore. At the Emporio della Cultura (Cultural Shop), which is also found in the same building, one can book for different visits or shows.

Restaurants:
Ciacco,
Al Caminetto d`Oro www.caminettodoro.it
Marco Fadiga Bistrot www.marcofadigabistrot.it
All`Osteria Bottega,
Al Cambio,
Il Sole (outside Bologna, in Trebbo di Reno, before Castelmaggiore).

Jazz Restaurants:
Cantina Bentivoglio www.cantinabentivoglio.it
Chet Baker Club www.chetbaker.it

Bars:
Terzi www.caffeterzi.it
Aroma www.ilpiaceredelcaffe.it
Canton de` Fiori,
Zanarini,
Calderoni,
Impero,
Gran Cafe at,
Caffetteria Louisita

Confectioner`s Shop:
Gino Fabbri/La Caramella (just outside the city, next to the Granarolo Dairy)

Typical Tavern:
Osteria del Sole (in the area known as il Quadrilatero or il Mercato di Mezzo; maybe the last real traditional tavern where only wine is served but you can bring your own food)

Outdoor Restaurant:
Sandoni (outside the city, on the way to San Lazzaro but on the side of the so-called Stradelli Guelfi)

Gastronomy:
Tamburini www.tamburini.bo.it
Zaratini,
Serra Tamerlani

Wine Cellars:
Enoteca Italiana www.enotecaitaliana.it
Divinis www.divinis.it
Godot Wine Bar www.godotwine.it
Drogheria Calzolari,
Cafe at Bazar.

Ice-cream Parlours:
Sorbetteria Via Castiglione,
Cremeria Funivia www.cremeriafunivia.com
Gianni www.gelatogianni.com
Il Gelatauro www.gelatauro.com
Stefino www.stefino.com
Scirocco www.cremeriascirocco.it

End of the Bologna guide

The Bologna photos has been provided by Nicolas Lévy and Giuseppe Zappalà.

More about the region of Emilia Romagna:
Discover even more about what the region of Emilia Romanga, where Bologna is located, has to offer and find out what your fellow travelers recommend to see and visit at http://www.italytravelnotes.com/category/emilia-romagna/