So our third day in Bologna was kind of forced on us, a train strike across Italy had meant we stayed put. Train strikes can be regular in Italy, but this one was planned a month in advance so we accommodated it and planned accordingly. It did mean we had had 3 days in a row in Bologna, but we have planned other visits to other towns around this so not to worry. This just demonstrates how much this wonderful city has to visit, with an extra day we still missed lots of places. On this day we touched the surface of many other less visited places in the city, still missing a fair few. We never managed to reach the eastern side around the University, which may have been an error, but we may well go back at some stage. Today we started out by heading for the train station, to check out our route for the following day, it also gave us a different approach into the main square and we took full advantage of that. From the train station we looked inside two basilicas, climbed a tower, visited a palace and walked into a church off the cuff, which may well have been the best of the best. All that and I haven’t mentioned the two towers which dominate the skyline, we walked around then, but couldn’t enter. These two towers are one of the main attractions of Bologna, one due to its huge height and one for its lean. The lean is something to believe and there are building works going on around them both to sort this out I believe. All in all it was a brilliant day, lots of walking (around 12 miles when added up) and visiting lots of different parts and just following our nose, until we needed to enter the tower, as per our booking time. From here we also had a ticket to look around the council building before heading off for a second basilica and gelato. Bologna just is astounding, and I wouldn’t advise that you visit (I want it all for myself 🤣!).
Our bakery around the corner, which had opening hours to suit those heading home at 11pm. On the left the delectable pistachio cream cornetto, and the centre is the vanilla version. We tried the doughnut versions, but we returned to these again. Espresso is the required drink before starting out for the day.We’d walked around to the train station from our flat, working out timings for our next day adventure. After leaving the train station we headed towards the centre. Here we look along Via dell’IndipendenzaPorta Galliera is behind us, a stunning entrance to the old cityAn impressive façade for a open air theatre from 1888, which was built on the old convent of Santa Maria Maddalena from many years before that. The internals still show the old convent and is named the Arena of the Sun, shows run here from April to September.
The front of Cheisa della Madonna di Galliera, unfortunately it was closed at this time but the interior is another stunner
I’d forgotten to take an exterior photo of this one for some reason, with its vast red brick Baroque frontage. Just around the corner from Madoona di Galliera and back on Via dell’Indipendenza is this. The main Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro, this is the main cathedral in Bologna, with its impressive bell tower, stunning internals and an exterior left unfinished by the pope so it did not upset the Vatican!Another ornately decorated doorway, lots of chapels either side of the nave to admire. Like lots of the churches we visited, you can pay a small fee to visit other areas, such as the bell tower or crypts below
Parts of the church date back to the 400AD time, but the majority is from the 1100s/1200s with a few fires and one earthquake meaning a rebuild was needed on a number of occasions
Stunning altar
The two towers, Asinelli (the taller 100 metre one on the right) and Garisenda (on the left) with its astonishing lean It feels far more fragile that the one in Pisa and large scale restoration works have begun to stabilise it, which has stopped entry to either tower for now. What takes a bit of getting my head around is these two were built in the 1100s and were mentioned in Dante’s Divine Comedy
Doorway to part of the Asinelli tower
Just behind the Two Towers of Bologna is the Cheisa dei Santi Bartolomeo e Gaetano, like the towers its main origins start in the 11th century, with the odd part from the 5th century. Its baroque interior and bell tower are superb and the dome is the tallest in Bologna at 50 metres (dwarfed by the nearby tower however)A few steps from the towers is Palazzo della Mercanzia, the chamber of commerce in Bologna
At this point we were just wandering, we came across this down a side street. Santuario di Santa Maria della Vita
The inside is just stunning, and for a few pounds this place holds the Lamentation of Christ by Niccolo dell Arca if you want to see that as well
This small church is decorated on every section, what it misses in size compared to the two larger cathedrals in the city centre, it easily beats them in intricate details, carvings and artwork. This was one side of the altarAnd the other side of the altar
And the altar, full of green marble. We were starting to approach our time for climbing the tower, but this would be the first church I went back to if I visited Bologna
Next we headed to the Palazzo d’Accursio, to climb the 14th century tower and look around the town hall galleries. Stopping in the courtyard for water from a fountain which was lovely and cold, it makes myself and Linda laugh when so called influencers on social media talk about finding the cheapest water in Italian cities, well how about free into a bottle that I brought with me from the flat, having drunk its contents already! These steps take you up to the Palazzo town hall rooms and the tower entrance, they are called the Scalone dei Cavelli (horse staircase) and allowed nobles to ride or have the carriages pulled up to the 1st and 2nd floors without dismounting
The clock on the tower
The 1444 clock mechanism taken through the glass surround. To climb up further to the top of the tower you need to sign a waiver as the staircase is a little narrow and very steep but we had little issues.
Top of the tower and looking north westerly across the towers of Bologna. Torre Lambertini on the right, then Torre Azzoguidi, Torre Prendiparte o Coronata (at the back) and finally the Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro tower. From here you can see the size of the main cathedral. The area west of Bologna runs all the way to the Adriatic across very flat landsFurther right you can see Piazza Maggiore below, with the film screen built and ready to be used (after we had left Bologna). The Two Towers of Bologna stand proud in the centre. Behind the two towers is the University district, one for us to visit next time! Finally on the right is Santuario di Santa Maria della Vita, accessed by that archway bottom rightHappy Bologna visitorsBasilica di San Petronius, this is the one that holds the Meridian line, To the other side of Bologna (south east), the hills start to riseOn the left in the distance is the Santuario Madonna di San Luca, up on the hill, our walk on the second day. Apologies for the smearing on the picture to the right. We’d just put a load of suncream on and I’ve obviously smudged the zoom out lens, I noticed around 4 hours later when looking back at the photos in the flat! Bang in the centre of this photo is the tower of Basilica di San Francesco, we would head that way on our way home, via a bar for a Aperol SpritzAfter the tower we headed into the town hall and its art galleries, a stunning wooden panelled room was first. That’s me stood in the centre of photo all backlit like an angel 😉Pottery, furniture and paintings, all would have been in use or displayed in the town hall
Obviously in the UK we have ceilings and sculptures like this in our town hall, obviously!
12th centuries paintings on woodThere were three rooms all decorated a different colour, this was the yellow room. There was a green one and red one either side, a precursor to the traffic lights maybe!
The front of Basilica di San Francesco, as we saw on our first night when we wandered past the other side it is undergoing repairs. But the door is still open for services and visitors inside this Romanesque/French Gothic 13th century building
An understated interior in the nave, but the chapels either side held some lovely paintings and decoration
I really liked this blue one which I think is a majolica ark (7th chapel)
The ornate marble majolica altar to finish with. From here we picked up some ice cream and sat in the shade, drinking more water from a free tap in the square and watching the world for a bit. On our way back to the flat we may well have stopped for a spritz, before making some food inhouse and preparing for a trip to Modena the next day.
treksandtors 