Bologna

View from Bologna’s two towers ( unsplash – Felix M. Dorn)

• 

• 

Bologna. The city who’s name for Americans also means that piece of processed mystery meat that happens to make great sandwiches for 10 year olds (honestly I still like these sandwiches). Thankfully, Bologna is way cooler than just being the namesake of this nutritional substance. The city is truly a hidden gem in Italy. Not only is Bologna gorgeous, it’s full of surprises.

Bologna’s nickname is La Rossa – The Red One – attributed either to it’s proliferation of red-tiled roofs giving the whole city a reddish hue, or attributed to its left-leaning culture that has woven itself into the city’s social fabric since its days as a 12th century industrial hub and as Italy’s anti-fascist capital during World War II. The city is small, but honestly it’s big enough to have everything you could want in urban living. There’s a constant buzz on the main streets lined with lively restaurants and bars, street performers, bohemian Euro backpacker, Italian families enjoying and nice vacation, and love-struck couples walking hand-in-hand eating gelato. Secluded piazze sneak up on you as you saunter down medieval side-streets. The Parco della Montagnola also provides a shaded respite and green oasis from the sunny sky. The historic center, which is a good majority of the city, is unlike the disneylandish major Italian tourist destinations. Bologna feels real.

• 

• 

My favorite site in the city was Le Torre degli Assinelli (pictures above). These towers are some of the only towers left that used to dominate Bologna’s medieval skyline. These towers in medieval Italian towns were individual families’ sign of power to other citizens and foreigners. These specifically belonged to the Asigneli family. I scaled these babies and had an amazing view of the city while inundated with every kind of sound from the city streets. After an hour up there I’d barely had enough.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

While in Bologna I really tried to get off the beaten path and experience it to its full. I decided to bike around the whole city (like almost out to the countryside and back sort of deal). I rode out to the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca which sits on a hill just south of Bologna. Here I enjoyed an incredible view of the city and valley beyond in total silence while surrounded by fig groves. It was something out of a fairytale.

• 

• 

Beyond being the home for the meat that inspired our beloved American lunchmeat, Bologna is the birthplace of other extremely world-famous foods – lasagna, ragu sauce, and tortellini. This was another surprise from Bologna I wasn’t expecting. Also, during my time in Italy almost every Italian I met said that food from the Emilio Romagna (the region surrounding Bologna) is arguable Italy’s best. When an Italian from one region admits that food from another region is better than theirs, that’s saying a lot. I wanted to make sure I tried these 3 Bologna inventions so enjoy the (few) photos I have of these foodie adventures. I was so excited to eat that I didn’t take the best photos. I actually didn’t even get a photo of the lasagna. Lol!

• 

• 

And heeere comes the urban planning nerd side!!

I was completely WOWED by Bologna’s biggest hidden gem – it’s biking infrastructure. As I displayed in my previous post on Redesigning Florence, the photos below show one of the many biking free ways that crisscross Bologna, connecting the historic center and the industrial zones with the burbs through the city’s many parks. I do not exaggerate when I tell you I rode outside of the city on these basically bike freeways. I felt so safe. It was a really relaxing ride. I could get used to a commute like that!

Bologna is a small city, but it’s not teeny. That’s what made the amount of bike paths so impressive for me. It’s shocking for me coming from auto-dominant America to see a city as small as Bologna with a biking system most US cities would envy.

• 

• 

Overall my time in Bologna was a success. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, especially that adventurous traveler who wants to have an authentic experience. This city is big enough to have everything you’d want in a city, thanks to its density and the institutions that make up its urban fabric, but not too big or touristy that it’s overwhelming.

Seriously, go to this city!