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Bologna, Italy

Bologna is a major draw for foodies, and since it’s a major rail and highway hub the chances are good you’d pass close by even if you’re headed somewhere else – so why not stop for awhile and eat some of the best food you’ll eat anywhere on the planet? In addition to its famous food traditions, Bologna is also home to the world’s oldest university, and car-makers Ferrari and Lamborghini have their factories nearby. In other words, there are plenty of reasons to find Bologna appealing well beyond your taste buds.

Rail Travel Times:

Milan to Bologna: 1 hr



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Bologna: See and Do

It lacks the gondolas of Venice, the ruins of Rome and the acres of galleries of Florence, so Bologna has managed to stay off Italy’s well-beaten tourist track. Even though it has own Leaning Tower, the hordes tend to head to Pisa to see theirs. But in spite of what it hasn’t got, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, which many claim is Italy’s gastronomic capital, has got more than enough to deliver an enjoyable day, or better still, a full weekend visit.



One of Bologna’s nicknames is “La Dotta” (The Learned), because its its university has a good claim to being the world’s oldest. Being a centre for learning, Bologna’s youthful vibrancy means you’ll never be stuck for a classical concert, play, gig, club night or exhibition. Bologna is also known for its porticos, with about 40 km of arcaded streets, so it doesn’t even matter if it rains.

Bologna is easy to explore on foot – the beautifully preserved, medieval centre is compact. Start in Piazza Maggiore and wander inside the Basilica di San Petronio, dedicated to the fifth-century bishop and patron saint of the city, St Petronius. Outside, to the side of this imposing structure, you can see that the transept was never completed.

The creation of Piazza Maggiore was one of the most important urban projects in Medieval Bologna, built to give prominence to the seat of city government and create a place for the market. The piazza continues to serve this function. It is still the preferred meeting place of the Bolognese who gather in the shadow of the statue of Neptune – a Bologna symbol – with the Basilica of San Petronio (dedicated to the city’s patron saint) in the background.



The Statue of Neptune was built in 1566 according to the inscription at the base of the fountain, ‘to serve the people’; namely, to beautify the Piazza Maggiore because it was a stop on the route between the Archiginnasio and the Palazzo del Comune. An entire city block was razed to create the fountain, with both houses and shops paying the price. The statue of the god Neptune was placed at the exact point where the cardo and the decumanus – the proto-typical main streets of a Roman city – intersected. The fountain was supplied with water piped in from an ancient underground cistern and a spring found below a convent. Neptune’s trident has become one of the world’s most well known symbols: that of Maserati, the Bologna based automobile manufacturer.



Piazza Maggiore is surrounded by the most important buildings of the medieval city. The oldest is Palazzo del Podesta. Dating back to 1200, it first occupied the north side below the Torre dell’Arengo whose bell was once used to summon the population. After a few years it became apparent that more government space was needed, so the palatium nuvum was built, now called Palazzo Re Enzo. Since then, the Palazzo del Podesta has been called the ‘old’ building.

The skyline of medieval Bologna with its hundred or more distinctive towers must have been the Manhattan of its day! It had (and still has) twin towers here too, only these have held up to centuries of war and become the symbol of the city. They used to be interconnected, with a walkway and suspended passageways running everywhere. Torre degli Asinelli and the Torre Garisenda still stand at the intersection of the roads connecting the five gates of the ancient city wall. The most curious feature is they are both leaning, but in opposite directions (though not to the same degree as the Leaning Tower of Pisa).

Named after the family that commissioned it, Torre degli Asinelli is over 97 metres, making it the tallest in Italy. It is a 498 step climb up the interior stair to reach the top, the reward being to find themselves with the Red City at their feet. From here you can see Bologna Cathedral (Cattedrale of San Pietro), the Basilica of San Petronio, the ancient medieval streets criss-crossing the city, and off in the distance a picturesque view of the Bologna hills. On really clear days you can see all the way to the foothills of the Alps in the Veneto.

Piazza Santo Stefano is an elegant broad square that’s perfect for a coffee stop if climbing the stairs of Torre Asinelli has worn you out. Well worth a visit is the Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano – a complex of seven churches from different ages founded by Bishop Petronius in the fifth century on the site of the ruins of an ancient temple to the goddess Isis.

The 15th-century Palazzo Fava houses some of the most important late Renaissance paintings by the Bolognese artists. On your way to Palazzo Fava, which is just off Bologna’s main shopping street, there’s something of a Bologna secret along the way, in via Piella. Open the small graffiti-covered hatch in the wall for a view on to the Reno Canal – part of a 55 km network of canals, most now covered over, that make up Bologna’s own ‘Little Venice’.

For something a little different, take bus 20 (you can buy a bus ticket from local newsagents) from the San Pietro bus stop on via dell’Indipendenza heading for Casalecchio di Reno and get off the Meloncello stop. From here, climb a little more than a mile under a porticoed walkway to the hilltop Basilica Santuario di San Luca. It houses the Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child, thought to date back to the 10th century.



Bologna is known world wide for its amazing cuisine, in fact the whole of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, of which Bologna is the historic capital, is one of Italy’s culinary superstars. It is the original home of balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese, Parma ham and Bolognese sauce. The latter and Pizza are the most famous Italian dishes in the world (you actually won’t find spaghetti alla Bolognese in Bologna). Ask for Bolognese sauce on your pasta here, and you’ll get a thick ragu of onions, carrots, pork, veal, and a little bit of tomato. Ragu is not eaten with spaghetti (contrary to wherever else in Italy and the world), but with Tagliatelle, a tasty fresh Pasta made of flour and eggs, which is stretched in 7 mm wide strips. Tortellini, Tagliatelle, Lasagne are undoubtedly the core of traditional cuisine in Bologna. Other famous specialties are cured meat pork.

To experience what is one of the richest culinary traditions in Italy, head to the old medieval market and food shopping area, the Quadrilatero, whose tiny cobblestone streets are framed within a quadrilateral area by Piazza Maggiore, via Rizzoli, via Castiglione and via Farini. The market has occupied the same area in the city centre since Roman times; there are many excellent products making up Bologna’s rich food tradition; just walk around the market area, admire the delicacies on display and let your senses guide you.


Ducati Motorbike Museum

The great moments of the Ducati past are recounted using a variety of Ducati racing motorcycles, images, memorabilia and componentry. Divided into nine main sections, the museum reiterates the chronology of over fifty years of Ducati’s evolution from a small electrical company to a motorcycling giant. The history of Ducati motorbikes spans more than half a century and includes many models which are still highly sought after. Whether you are a vintage collector, or simply interested in classical bikes, you will find something of interest here.

As well as the Museum, the Borgo Panigale factory is also open to those fans who want to see how today’s Ducati bikes come into being.

Address: Via Cavalieri Ducati, 3 40132 Borgo Panigale (Bologna)

Modena



If you approach Bologna by train from Milan, you will pass through the town of Modena. If you are a fan of high performance sports cars, you might like to break (or extend by a day or two!) your journey here, as the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and Maserati are, or were, located here and all, except Lamborghini, have headquarters in the city or nearby. Near the centre of town in Museum Enzo Ferrari, a museum complex which includes the house were Enzo Ferrari grew up and learnt his trade, and a futuristic automotive exhibition gallery next door, painted in the yellow that Enzo chose as the background for his Prancing Horse logo. The exhibition gallery was designed by the famous architect Jan Kaplicky.



The interior of the birthplace building features precious mementoes of Enzo Ferrari’s life as a man, driver and car-maker throughout the 20th century as well as cars he had a hand in creating. The Exhibition Gallery has cars on display that are perfectly lit, ensuring every photograph taken by visitors is superb, even if the photographer is a novice. Every 30 minutes or so the hall turns into an all-round screening room where images of the history and the men and women who made the marque so iconic are projected from wall to ceiling.



Maserati Headquarters – and the home of Maserati since 1940 – is situated a short distance away, in Viale Ciro Menotti in Modena The original redbrick factory buildings still stand as a reminder of the marque’s heritage. It was here in Modena that most of the iconic Maserati cars were born and indelibly stamped the mark of the Trident – replicated from the statue of Neptune in Bologna – on the automotive world.

There is no museum here, nor is a factory tour offered, but visitors are welcome to visit the showroom in the entrance hall to Maserati Headquarters. It is a grand affair with a stylized representation of a racetrack dominating the substantial floor space. The racing heritage of Maserati – from the Fangio Formula 1 era to the the modern Trofeo Maserati – remains the defining essence of this Italian marque despite the modern emphasis on luxury.



In the course of its long history, Maserati kept the most significant vehicles produced in addition to the prototypes, creating over the decades, a collection of cars, engines and components which are unique and able to illustrate the historical, technical and design evolution of the company. This amazing collection of mainly Maserati memorabilia is now in the hands of Italian farmer Umberto Panini. They, along with many other vehicles collected by Panini over the years, are displayed in a nonedescript barn within the Hombre organic farm of the Panini Family, just outside the outskirts of Modena, between the towns of Baggiovara and Cognento.

The Collection can be visit only upon written request and only during the months of March, April, May, June, July, September and October. Guided tours require a mandatory reservation. Guided tours are not guaranteed under six persons. An application form to view the collection is on the museum’s website (click on museum name above for website link).

Address: Via Corletto Sud, 320 41126 Modena.

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