World City Guide

Key Attractions

Le Due Torri (Two Towers)
The Two Towers are among the city’s most recognisable landmarks. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the noble families of Bologna raised over 100 towers across the city in successive attempts to outdo each other. Of the 20 medieval skyscrapers that survive today, the Asinelli and the Garisenda towers are Bologna’s most famous. Standing at the end of Via Rizzoli, they lean precariously like a couple of proud old dowagers. The taller of the two, the 97.6m (320ft) Torre degli Asinelli (built either in 1109 or 1119), can be climbed and offers spectacular views of the city. Her stumpy companion, the 48m (157ft) Torre Garisenda, was cut down to size in the 14th century, at the request of Giovanni Visconti da Oleggio, when her stoop threatened to topple her.

Piazza di Porta Ravegnana
Transport: Bus 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 27, 29, 30, 37, 90 or 96.
Opening hours: Daily May-Sep 0900-1800; Oct-Apr 0900-1700.
Admission: ¬2.

Pinacoteca Nazionale (National Gallery)
The National Picture Gallery, tucked away under the arcades in Via Belli Arti, celebrates the city’s artistic and spiritual past from the 14th to the 16th century. Although often overlooked, the Counter-Reformation prompted an exceptional school of Bolognese artists, most notably Guido Reni and the Carracci brothers. Among the Italian old masters, Raphael’s Ecstasy of St Cecilia and El Greco’s Last Supper should not be missed.

Via Belli Arti 56
Tel: (051) 421 1984 or 420 9411 or 423 222. Fax: (051) 251 368.
E-mail: info@pinocotecabologna.it
Website: www.pinacotecabologna.it
Transport: Bus 20, 32, 33, 36, 37, 89, 93, 94 or 99.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1900.
Admission: ¬4 (concessions available).

Basilica di San Petronio (Basilica of St Petronius)
Named after the city’s patron saint, the Basilica of St Petronius is Bologna’s largest house of worship and dominates Piazza Maggiore with its imposing pockmarked façade. Begun in 1392, the basilica was originally intended to be larger than St Peter’s in Rome. Plans came to a halt, however, when the pope refused permission for such a grandiose scheme. The unfinished façade stares across the Piazza like a jilted bride, her rosy complexion topped by a heavy frown of bare brick. Carvings in the central door, depicting scenes from the Old and New testaments, are by Sienese artist Jacopo della Quercia. Inside, a brass meridian in the floor of the north aisle forms an ingenious solar clock – a small hole in the roof allows the sun to shine on the correct spot. Tradition has it that when the sun’s rays fall in the shape of a heart, it is time to seek a husband. Models of the ‘finished’ church can be seen in the Basilica Museum, Wednesday-Monday 1030-1230 (admission is free).

Piazza Maggiore
Tel: (051) 225 442.
Transport: Bus 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 27, 29, 30, 37, 90 or 96.
Opening hours: Daily 0715-1330 and 1430-1830 (Apr-Sep); daily 0715-1300 and 1400-1800 (Oct-Mar).
Admission: Free.

Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune)
This fountain is the work of Flemish sculptor Jean Boulogne de Douai – known to posterity as Giambologna – and based on a design by Palermitan painter Tommaso Laureti. Lit up at night, the shadow of the mighty bronze Neptune looms across the Piazza, his trident clasped firmly in his left hand and a fish squirming beneath his foot. At his heel, four angels representing the four winds playfully blow water through their pipes. Below, the four voluptuous sirens symbolise the four continents (as speculated at the time). Visitors should look out for the spectacular audiovisual installation that was opened in summer 2002, just across from the fountain. British director Peter Greenaway was involved in the high-tech project, with various stages in the story of Bologna triggered off by passers-by, using a system of sensors.

Piazza Maggiore
Transport: Bus 10, 11, 13 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 27, 29, 30, 37, 90 or 96.

Basilica di Santo Stefano (Basilica of St Stephen)
Standing in the Piazza of the same name, the Basilica di St Stefano is a jumbled complex of interconnecting churches, cloisters, courtyards and crypts. The bulk of the building dates from the fifth century, including the city’s oldest church, San Vitale e Agricola. To the right is the Romanesque Chiesa di Crocifisso, which houses the bones of St Petronius, and the Chiesa del San Sepolcro, whose octagonal shape suggests it began life as a baptistry. The Chiesa della Santa Trinità leads into a colonnaded cloister, with a beautiful portico and loggia. The adjoining museum houses a small collection of painting and frescoes.

Via Santo Stefano 24
Tel/Fax: (051) 223 256.
Transport: Bus 11, 18, 25 or 27; a short walk from the Two Towers.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1200 and 1530-1800.
Admission: Free.

The Archiginnasio
Behind San Petronio, in Piazza Galvani, is the Archiginnasio, a gracious old building that was formerly the university and is now one of the largest municipal libraries in Europe. Its painted halls are stacked high with rare leather-bound volumes too delicate to touch and entry is strictly limited, to avoid overloading the sagging floors. Fans of Rossini should take a look at the Stabat Mater Room (open in the morning only), named in honour of the famous composition by Rossini that was performed here for the first time on 18 March 1842. The main reason to make the trip, however, is to see the wood-panelled medical faculty dissection theatre, the Teatro Anatomico, which originally dates from the 18th century. It was destroyed by wartime bombing and has been completely restored, using as much of the original wood as possible. Photos on display show the extent of the war damage. The town’s gentry used to have to pay to attend the world’s first public dissections but today entry is free of charge and, mercifully, gore.

Piazza Galvani
Tel: (051) 276 811. Fax: (051) 261 160.
E-mail: archiginnasio@comune.bologna.it
Website: www.comune.bologna.it/archiginnasio
Transport: Bus 11,13, 19x, 31, 90 or 96.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1830, Sat 0930-1300.
Admission: Free.

San Domenico
The 1251 church of San Domenico was built to house the relics of St Domenic, the founder of the Domenican Order. Nicolo Pisano was principally responsible for the 13th-century Arca di San Domenico, which houses the saint’s bones, although many Bolognese artists contributed to it. The reliefs illustrating the saint’s life are by Pisano and his pupils. Pisano also was responsible for the statues on top, Nicola dell’Arca (1469-73) for the canopy and a young Michaelangelo for the angel on the right and the figures of Sts Proculus and Petronius.

Piazza San Domenico 13
Tel: (051) 640 0411.
Transport: Bus 30; a short walk east of Via Garibaldi.
Opening hours: Daily 0730-1300 and 1430-2000.
Admission: Free.

Museo Ebraico (Jewish Museum)
The new Jewish Museum was opened in time for Bologna’s year as a European City of Culture in 2000 and represents an important element in the system of Jewish Museums in Emilia Romagna. Although Bologna was the second city of the Papal States to force Jewish people to live in a particular part of the city (the ghetto), their historical and cultural contributions to the region were extensive. The state-of-the-art museum presents an awareness of both the greater Jewish identity and that within Emilia Romagna.

Via Valdonica 1/5
Tel: (051) 291 1280. Fax: (051) 235 430.
E-mail: info@museoebraicobo.it
Website: www.museoebraicobo.it
Transport: Off Via dell’ Inferno, north of Due Torri; bus 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 27, 29, 30, 37, 90 or 96; Via Zamboni, bus 32, 36 or 37.
Opening hours: Sun-Tues and Thurs-Fri 1000-1800, Wed 1000-1400.
Admission: 4 euros, concessions available.