Bologna Journals

Una gita a Bologna

Best of IgoUgo

An October 2000 trip to Bologna by Tavia

The base of the Towers Photo - Le Due Torri, Bologna, Italy

Quote: Ain't no Oscar Meyer bologna, this city is the Italy you dream of! I spent a day there and am determined to return for good.

5 Photos

Una gita a Bologna

Overview

A typical Bolognese back street Photo - Bologna, Italy

Quote:

"Una gita" is a day trip in Italian, and that's exactly what I did. In a day you can see the best parts of this city on foot. Bologna and her people, in the heart of Emiglia-Romagna, epitomize Italy in a more downhome and less ritzy way than that city to the West (Florence). The city's architecture is full of archways and most of the buildings are this lovely russet, brick red color that warms everything. I believe it's known as Bologna Red throughout the rest of Italy. The most typical food of this region is the PIADINA, a flatbread sort of like a mix between a tortilla and a pita but ten times better. It's eaten grilled, folded in half with cheese, prosciutto and/or greens on the inside, as a...Read More

Cheer!
Flag

Pizzeria Zia Catari

Restaurant

Quote:

I wish I could remember exactly where this place was, as it was such a pleasure! My waiter was a local student, and he was totally cool and relaxed and knew the regular customers by name. I ordered a pizza, and he let me customize what was on top and brought me a beer and my fizzy water with due speed. (I could have ordered pasta, meat, salad -- even though it calls itself a pizzeria it in fact had a complete menu.) The pizza itself was a bit heavier than I am used to getting in Italy, but it still was great. All told, my lunch (with very favorable exchange rate) was about $8.50. I got there just before the lunch rush hit, and boy were they slammed. The place was full of local businessmen and w...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 19, 2000

Pizzeria Zia Catari
Via Marzabotto, 18/B
Bologna, Italy
051 6141051

Cheer!
Flag

Piazza Maggiore

Attraction | "Piazza Maggiori"

Quote:

This piazza is the heart of Bologna. I headed straight here as soon as I arrived, and spent most of my time here. You will get a great feel for the locals, as they spend time walking about, bumming cigarettes, saying hello to friends, and wearing sunglasses for no apparent reason here. Around the piazza are many buildings and sites worthy of a visit in their own right. Behind the Piazza is the Fountain of Neptune (Fontana del Nettuno) c. 1563, which represents the Pope's power over the world (we're in Italy, after all), and has four spouts which represent the four great rivers; The Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon and the Danube (they did not yet know about the Mississipi, unfortunately). Also ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 18, 2000

Piazza Maggiore
Piazza Maggiore
Bologna, Italy 40124
No phone available

Cheer!
Flag

Museo Morandi

Attraction

Quote:

This museum has permanent exhibits as well as temporary installations. I was lured in by the exhibit "Linus Ama Bologna," or Linus Loves Bologna [the city, not the lunch meat]. It was a 50 year retrospective of the Charles Schultz' life work and of the Peanuts cartoon stip and animated specials. I truly gained a new appreciation for Schultz and Italy as I moved through this exhibit. Perhaps because I had to take my time to understand the strips in Italian, I found myself thinking deeper about the humor and humanity in Schultz' cartoons. Or perhaps it was that Peanuts was presented through the Italian lens of understanding, which made it new to me. After having gone through this installation, I w...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 18, 2000

Museo Morandi
Palazzo D'Accursio
Bologna, Italy

Cheer!
Flag

Basilica de San Petronio

Attraction

Quote:

This church sits like the grand dame of Bologna, with her skirts gathered around her, surveying the to and fro of her subjects as they move about Piazza Maggiore. Before you go in, take a good long time to sit on the steps and people watch, eavesdrop (you can do this in any number of languages, as besides Italian I heard German and English), and if you are a smoker, bum a cigarette and savor it- everyone does it here. The view from here is perfect for this, as there are many steps and many more people going about their business in the Piazza. I sat here for a good 45 minutes, listening to Italian high schoolers argue about Ramazzoti and Paolo Conti and various other pop singer/songwriters. I also ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 18, 2000

Basilica de San Petronio
Piazza Maggiore
Bologna, Italy

Cheer!
Flag

Le 'Due Torri'

Attraction | "Le due Torri"

Quote:

Look at any postcard rack in the city, and you will find many cards with the image of these two towers. They are the popular symbols of the city, even though they are only two of about 200 towers that made up the city's skyline during the Middle Ages. The Garisenda tower (c. 1120) is the leaning one (in the photos, the one on the left). If you visit, you will notice that it is supported with cables, and that it is under surveillance (as the famous leaning tower in Pisa) so it doesn't, I suppose, one day crush innocent people and nearby buildings. The other tower is called Asinelli, and has perfect posture. You can go up it to have a great view of the city (check hours of operation with the touris...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on December 18, 2000

Le 'Due Torri'
Piazza di Porta Ravegnana
Bologna, Italy 40125

Cheer!
Flag

Chiesa di San Domenico

Attraction

Quote:

I came across this church after getting lost in the university district. I had walked from Piazza Ravegnana through some side streets and then south along via Castiglione, when I hit the old city gate I turned north again up Viale XII Giugno. The university district is so lovely -- typically full of those red buildings and hidden piazzas and hilly narrow cobbled streets. I wanted to be a student again so I could sign up at this university, sit around in the old warm buildings with the handsome students I saw walking about, and talk philosophy, history, literature and art. The walk back up the Viale was equally as pleasant, and made my thoughts turn to how nice it would be to live in Bologna with ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 19, 2000

Chiesa di San Domenico
Piazza di San Domenico
Bologna, Italy

Cheer!
Flag

Porta Castiglione

Attraction

Quote:

Ok, so I got lost, and when I walked into this Porta I realized I'd taken a pleasant-but-wrong turn in the university district. So, I laughed at myself, grabbed an expresso at a bar on the corner, and took a photo to remind myself of the joys of getting lost. I love finding these old city gates, as they are such testaments to the history of a city: that was one of the city limits, and still demarcates the change from tight urban to a little more spread out and suburban (although nothing is ever really suburban in Italy, it's either urban or rural, I think).

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on December 19, 2000

Porta Castiglione
Piazza di Porta Castiglione
Bologna, Italy

Cheer!
Flag

Shopping

Attraction | "Window Shopping"

Quote:

Take a walk, go window shopping in this city, and before you know it you'll be spending like crazy. It's all so glittery and tantalizing. I recommend strolling along via dell'Indipendenza, via Rizzoli, via D'Azegli, via d'Archiginnasio and via IV Novembre for the best window shopping. Just stick to the immediate south of Piazza Maggiore in the centro storico and you cannot go wrong. And everyone windowshops, you'll be just one of many noses pressed against the glass. You will find shops of antiques, high designer clothes, jewelry galore and shoes of all types, music and books (this is a university city do not forget, so the bookstores are extraordinarily and intelligently stocked). I bought a viv...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on December 19, 2000

Shopping
Various Locations
Bologna, Italy