Museums and Towers

The capital of Emilia Romagna is not only a more-than-convenient traveling base--it is also a city that should be visited for the sake of its own monuments. It is easily visited on foot, since all the most important sights are situated in the historical centre of the city. The places you can visit include:

Churches

San Domenico, with the impressive tomb where the relics of the saint are housed
San Francesco, fist Italian example of the French gothic style
San Giacomo Maggiore, one of the finest Gothic churches in the region
San Giovanni in Monte
San Luca, which has amazing panoramic views
San Martino, founded by the Carmelites in the year 1217, but heavily reconstructed in the 14th and 15th centuries
San Michele in Boscow
San Petronio, the church best loved by the locals and dedicated to the patron Saint of Bologna--be sure not to miss the Cappella Bolognini
San Pietro, with the amazing Great Altarpiece
Santa Maria dei Servi
Santo Stefano, a large church dating back to the year 392

Monuments:

The Two Towers: the Torre degli Asinelli (the taller one) and the Torre Garisenda (the shorter one), both on Piazza di porta Ravegnana and with Torre degli Asinelli offering a spending view of the city of Bologna
The Neptune Fountain, a statue in bronze by Giambologna created on the basis of a drawing by Tommaso Laurenti

Museums and Galleries:

Pinacoteca Nazionale, or the National Paintings Gallery
The Municipal Archaeological Museum, including exhibits from the times of the Romans and the Etruscans
The Municipal Museum of the Middle Ages
The Museum of Anatomy

Palaces:

Palace of Davia Bargellini, which now houses the Museum of Industrial Art and the Museum of Quadreria Bargellini (paintings from 14th through 19th centuries)
The Municipal Palace, which now houses a substantial number of works of fine art
Il Palazzo del Podesta’, built in the 13th century in the typical Bolognese style with little decoration and an impressive square tower
Poggi Palace, currently the central seat of the University
The Palace of the Notaries, another palace with roots in the 13th century
Magnani Palace, with splendid frescoes featuring the founding of Rome
Archiginnasio, which was the first seat of the ancient University of Bologna

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

The most convenient way of discovering Bologna is on foot, especially if you arrive to the central railway station, since many sights can be visited by walking along a single main road, starting at the doors of the railway station.

Taking a car into Bologna is unlikely to be useful, but you can park it in a complex near a major supermarket. Taxis are rather expensive by Italian standards.

Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna was one of the few actual museums I visited in the city. I must admit I was somewhat surprised that the National Paintings Gallery’s situated in such a relatively less-known city. However, perhaps it is justified, since the museum has one of Italy’s premiere collections of art dating back to 13th till 18th century.

Situated in the former Jesuit monastery, the museum was founded in 1796 when the city’s authorities assembled all the works of art Bologna possessed in one place in order to prevent their being moved to France. The collection has been further enriched with numerous private donations.

Needless to say, the 29 exhibition rooms of the art gallery offer to the visitors a fine collection of paintings of the local school of painting, with Carracci (three of them – Lodovico, Annibale, and Agostino), Francesco Albani, Guido Reni (‘The Slaughter of the Innocent’, ‘Estasi di Santa Cecilia’), Domenichino, Guercino, Francia, Jacopino di Frnacesco (St. Jacob at the Battle of Clavijo), and Pellegrino Tibaldi among the most prominently features artists. It would be very wrong, however, to say that the gallery is limited to the ‘local’ art, however fine that may be. Among other well-known artists represented there are:

a) Raphael Santi: St. Cecilia
b) Tintoretto
c) Titian
d) Vitale da Bologna: St. George and the Dragon, painted between the year 1335 and the year 1340

Out of all the rooms, rooms 1 to 3 are dedicated to the art of 1300s; rooms 4 and 5, to the art of 1300s and 1400s; rooms from 6 to 8, to the frescoes of the 1300s. The large section from room 9 to room 15 is the Renaissance sector, with room 15 especially dedicated to Raphael Santi. Among other featured rooms there are #23, with painting by Carracci, #24, with works by Guido Reni, and rooms 25 to 28, showcasing the baroque art. There is also a room dedicated to the museum’s director in the 1950s.

The art gallery is situated at Via delle Belle Arti (appropriately named street, I have always thought), 56. If you do not fancy walking, buses number 36 and 37 stop quite nearby. The Pinacoteca does not have very visitor-friendly opening hours, being permanently closed on Mondays and opening only from 9am till 2pm Tuesday through Saturday and shutting its doors one hour earlier on Sundays and public holidays. An admission fee is required, and–-contrary to what happens in many other museums–-you are allowed to take photos.