Bologna: Red city of Towers and Tortellini

The entire city is a treat.

One of the most distinguished university cities in Europe it spreads out from the magnificent Piazza di Maggiore. Its medieval streets are thronged with students, professors and locals who enjoy strolling through the colonnaded streets. This is a city as lovely as Florence or Siena but with a fraction of the tourist traffic where you can see the real Italy and get caught up in the evening passeigetta or take a coffee at a pavement table and watch the world go by.

With the great universities of Europe it is up there with Salamanca, Oxford, Heidelburg, The Sorbonne and Padua. The streets are filled with Italian academics and students and such a young population leads to a rocking nightlife. The place has a radical edge and for a long period was known as 'Red Bologna' on account of its politics. But is also known as 'Bologna the Fat' on account of its hearty Emilia-Romagna cuisine. You have not experienced Italy and tasted Italian food until you have been to Bologna.

Quick Tips:

The best advice I can give you is to book an accommodation as soon as possible. Despite being an academic city - it has very few cheap deals.

This is probably the wealthiest city in Italy and conspicuous consumption is everywhere you look. Good inexpensive hotels are a rarity as the city caters mainly to business visitors. Which is a shame because Bologna has such a lot to offer the tourist - the soaring two towers, the beautiful Piazza di Maggiore and twenty miles of scarlet colonnaded streets where the locals parade every day.

In fact Bologna is built for aimlessly wandering and you can spend days watching Bolognan life go by - old ladies shopping in the market, students reading under statues and the fashion show which happens every evening when the Italians take their 'passeigetta'.

Best Way To Get Around:

Bologna has direct flights from both New York and London. British Airways Easyjet now has cheapflights for about £60 return which means the city has recently been discovered by British weekenders.

From Rome it takes about four hours and Stazione Centrale is an easy walk north of the centre. The Stazione contains a taxi rank, accommodation centre (generally the only place to change up money on a Saturday or Sunday) which runs taxis into the centre for a reasonable price. And buses travel between the Stazione and Ugo Bassi and regular intervals. Don't forget to buy and punch your ticket before you board.

But Bologna was designed for walking. That way you mingle with the populace and can explore the narrow alleys and scarlet colonnaded streets. An afternoon's explore might reveal a hidden church, a forgotten courtyard or part of the ancient medieval university. In Bologna you can become immersed in a beautiful city and become part of the show that they call Italy.

How can I describe the view from my room in the Albergo Panorama?

Sheer class really.

Situated at the top of an old townhouse in the centre of Bologna the view of the city is spectacular. Sunshine washes over a terracotta patio dotted with palm trees. Bright orange walls lead up to shuttered medieval houses roofed with chimneys and red tiles. And a church belfry overlooks the whole scene with a towering spire.

The rooms across the corridor have an even better view - across the red-roofed Bologna cityscape to the mountains beyond. But there are only nine rooms at the Albergo Panorama in this real find of a hotel. Each one is scrupulously clean and for 85,000 lira (£28/$40) you get a nice bed, television, writing desk, lace curtains and pictures of Bologna on the walls. The place is kept sparkingly clean by a mother and daughter partnership who man the reception and see that the guests enjoy themselves.

My favourite part was gaining access. The Albergo is situated at the top of a townhouse and only reached through a birdcage lift. This was a taste of old Europe as you close the doors and it clanks past lawyers offices and apartments of the wealthy. The hotel, like the city itself, is an undiscovered gem.

Every city in Italy has it's Piazza.

Some are world famous such as San Marco or San Pietro but each fills a communal need to promenade, relax or be part of the city that they live in.

One of the most impressive is the Piazza di Maggiore in Bologna. It dates back to the 12th century with its gothic buildings and palaces and from here the ruby colonnaded streets fan out in a great wheel shape. To sit in Piazza di Maggiore is to watch the great show that is living in Italy where academics sit and read newspapers, old men walk up and down, and teenagers talk into mobile phones. And take a look around - no tourists! Just how many cities in Italy can you say that...

The star of the show is Piazza di Maggiore. All roads in Bologna lead to this magnificent piazza and the two main shopping streets Ugo Bassi and Via Rizzoli spoke out from its northern edge. Ugo Bassi is an elegant shopping street enhanced by medieval porticoes (see photo).

Here the shoppers can wander from Benetton to Prada without being exposed to the elements and can concentrate on looking good as they do it. It is not just enough to shop in Bologna but to look good as you shop as well. At the end of Ugo Bassi near where it opens up into the Piazza is a medieval fountain. Water has been gushing into a horsetrough here for 700 years, and as have probably the old men who sit nearby commenting on every passing signoria who struts past.

But as you approach the Piazza your eye will be drawn to the Fontana di Netune (see photo). This baroque masterpiece was erected in 1640 and looks its best when a sunny sky shows it off against the orange buildings behind. It is a dark marble statue of the Sea god with trident who is poised above four seagoddesse's with water gushing from their breasts. It is the focal point of the city and there are always a few teenagers sitting at its base.

As you continue the Piazza opens up and its size can be appreciated (see photo). On the west side is the Palazzo de Enzo which dates from the 14th century and is topped with dark crenellations and a green statue embedded halfway up the wall. On the north side is the incredible Palazzo de Podesta with its porticoes and cafes which spill into the Piazza. Next year Bologna will be one of the European cities of culture (one of ten!)and it was festooned with flags from all the 56 European nations.

Underneath its porticoes is a very useful touristico (tourist information office) and they can sort you out a walking tour of the city or help in any way they can. But the pride of the Piazza has to be the church of St Petronius. Built in the 13th century as principal place of worship for the university and it's dons it is one of the most important buildings in the city. We were lucky to catch the end of a Sunday service and the air of devotion was very contagious. Not brilliantly endowed with statues and frescoes this is a community church rather then a tourist attraction but worth your time nonetheless.

To the right of the church is the start of Via Massimo D'Allegio. This delightful porticoed street was full of fashionable boutiques and shops. In the early morning sun it was bright orange in colour and it was fun to window shop and imagine you can afford the 300,000 lira hand-crafted shoes.

If you follow this round you will come across Piazza Garibaldi. Nearly every street in Bologna is named after a revoloutionary and this one had a white marble statue. Set off against the apricot buildings and sapphire sky - this became my favourite Piazza in Bologna. Under its porticoes is one of the best academic bookshops in Bologna, and its English language section is excellent and can absorb you for hours.

But Piazza di Maggiore and around really comes alive at night. The Bolognese take their 'passeigetta' seriously and dress up in their best clothes. They make a circuit of the Piazza, nodding to friends, and taking a coffee in the cafes while listening to bands playing. You too can join in the performance and take a table under the Palazzo de Podesta. Arm yourself with a cinzano, put on your dark glasses, and - who knows? - you may get away with being an Italian.

Bologna is one of the best cities in Italy for meeting Italians.

And if you ask the native Bolognese what is great about their city they may answer the colonnade's, the tortellini or the university - but every one of the them will mention the 'Two Towers'. They still are the tallest buildings in central Bologna and give fantastic views of the red-roofed cityscape and the mountains beyond. It you have a head for heights and a penchance for medieval architecture then a visit to the Towers is a must.

You may be surprised to learn that one tower is bigger then the other. The Tower nearest Via Rizzoli is smaller then the other more eastern tower. And they were constructed in the 14th century by feuding families who were both trying to outdo each other. The winner could look down on his rival and claim better social standing in the city.

Today, tourists to the city, if they have the stamina, can climb to the top of the tallest tower. It costs 4,000 lira to enter and the wooden medieval staircase winds its way up the interior of the tower. As you ascend the sheer drop down the centre of the tower is not for vertigo sufferers and the view out of the arrowslits is spectacular.

I only managed half-way up and was amazed at the russet-red rooftops stretching away into the distance. The church of St Petronius can be seen from this height and in Piazza di Maggiore the people wandering around look like ants. My travel companion reached the very top and assured me the snowcovered mountains could be seen and even skyscrapers are visible on the outskirts of Bologna.

The Via Rizzoli leads to Piazza di Maggiore. This Via is worth a look if only for the expensive shops which line its sides. But if you take the narrow streets just north of here it will lead to a fabulous Bolognese market (mercato). Snack bars serve traders and shoppers alike with coffee's and panini's and each alley is crammed with stalls selling fresh crayfish, octopi, and ink-coloured squid.

Stalls were stacked wth cheeses as big as door-stop's, salami and fresh vegetables. These were worth a look - huge mounds of peppers, artichokes, Aubergine's and spinach. I watched Bolognese women squeeze tomatoes and mushrooms with practised hands trying to judge their juiciness.

Just off here is a tiny snack bar with served excellent meals - their Vermicelli (thin spheggetti) Puttenesca was exquisite. And the Bolognese are so particular about what they eat - the proprietor took great pride in showing me the garlic and tomatoes he was going to use in the fresh cooking. We sat out in the sunshine, with feet up and enjoying a glass of chianti - can life get any better then this?

When you travel independently not everything goes to plan. A missed train or botched reservation is livable, but once is a while something happens that nearly ruins your holiday. For me the freedom of independent travel outweighs the chances of things going seriously wrong.

In my travelling career I have survived near-drowning in the Indian monsoon (see Nainital journal), serious sea-sickness on the Dover-Calais ferry, and a mugging after a day with Mickey Mouse when I was returning to the hotel in Orlando. But in Italy I was seriously ill and ended up in Casaulty (Emergency Room) in Bologna's excellent Ospetale di Orsolo. But despite the pain and aggravation I was very impressed and my opinion of Italy and Italians reached new levels of affection.

It started on the last day in Rome. The Eternal city, as we all know, is very beautiful but very wearing on the feet. That last evening I began to feel twinges in my knee joints. At night this became incredibly painful and awkward because the next day we were travelling to Bologna. It wasn't until the Sunday morning that I could stand it no more and decided to see a doctor. The only one available would be at the Casaulty (emergency room) at the Ospetale di St Orsolo. So I got myself in a taxi and then hobbled up the stairs to reception.

Maybe because it was Sunday morning, or the sun was shining but everyone was smiling and cheerful. Without waiting, I was seen a by a sweet nurse who took my name and passport number and then put me in a wheelchair. How embarrassing? (My travel companion found this very funny). After five minutes I was shown into orphapeadics and the ministrations of a cheerful Bolognese doctor, his assistant and a jolly fat nurse. His English was fractured and my Italian non-existent. So through mime and pointing - which made us all laugh - I was diagnosed with 'water-on-the-knee'.

"Too much walking.." said the doctor, "But I'm going to Venice next.." I answered, which seemed to make them laugh all the more. I didn't mind this until he started to syringe my knee, I then prayed he would keep a straight face so that the needle wouldn't wobble. So after ten minutes, I was treated, bandaged up and exchanging jokes with the doctor and his crew. The efficiency of the Italian health service was fabulous. Mind you, this was Sunday morning, it would be different mid-week in a busy city like Rome or Milan. And it was all free! I wasn't charged a lira! As a European citizen I get free healthcare in Italy. God bless the European union!

After an afternoon of rest, after which I was feeling much better, we decided to hit the nightlife in Bologna. Italy isn't great for nightlife and its cities aren't as rocking as Madrid, London or Berlin. But Bologna is an exception probably because of the population of students. We can recommend 'The Comic bar' near the Porta Saragossa which was very stylish. And 'The Olde Dubliner' an Irish pub on the Piazza Martiri. I don't like cod-Irish pubs, they always seem a bit false, but for 5,000 lira for a pint of Guiness we enjoyed ourselves. If you want to find the nightlife in Bologna follow the crowds down the Via Nostradella to a handful of late-night venues.

But of course you must dress like an Italian which means tight jeans, flourescent day-packs, goatee beards, spiked hair and sunglasses. Italians must not leave the house without looking absolutely gorgeous.