Things to Do in Bologna: Towers, Markets, Porticoes and Food

Bologna rewards slow travel. Italy’s oldest university city has been producing ideas, food, and left-wing politics for 900 years, and the result is a city with more substance per square metre than almost anywhere else in the country.

The Two Towers

The Due Torri — Asinelli (97 metres) and Garisenda (48 metres, leaning) — are Bologna’s defining landmark. The Asinelli is climbable: 498 steps to a view that takes in the entire Po Valley, the Apennines to the south, and the Dolomites on clear days to the north. Go early in the morning. Book ahead in high season.

In medieval Bologna, over 100 towers stood — symbols of family wealth and power. Only 20 survive. The two largest are the ones Dante mentioned in the Inferno.

Piazza Maggiore and the Basilica di San Petronio

The main square and the unfinished Gothic basilica that dominates it. San Petronio was planned to be the largest church in the world — it would have been, had the Pope not intervened and diverted funds elsewhere. The interior is enormous and largely bare: the facade was never finished (as it remains). The Bolognini Chapel has extraordinary 15th-century frescoes of heaven and hell.

The Piazza is the city’s living room. The Neptune fountain (1566, Giambologna) is at its northern edge.

The Porticoes

Bologna has 40 kilometres of porticoes — covered walkways that line almost every street in the historic centre. The UNESCO World Heritage listing (2021) recognised them as the most extensive portico system in the world. They were built so that students could walk between lectures without getting wet. The practical utility made the city; the beauty is a side effect.

The longest portico leads from the city to the Sanctuary of San Luca: 666 arches climbing 3.8 kilometres up the hill to the church above the city. Walk it in full or take the cable car (Funivia di San Luca) to the top.

The Food Markets

The Quadrilatero — the grid of medieval streets between Piazza Maggiore and Via Rizzoli — contains the highest concentration of food shops, salumerias, and fresh pasta makers in any Italian city. Tamburini, Paolo Atti, and a dozen others sell mortadella, tortellini, tagliatelle, and Parmigiano-Reggiano at their best. The indoor Mercato di Mezzo and the outdoor stalls on Via Clavature are the centre of it.

Come between 9am and noon when the market is at its peak. Do not skip the Mercato delle Erbe (Via Ugo Bassi) for produce.

The University and Archiginnasio

The University of Bologna (founded 1088, the oldest in the world) operates across the city, but the Archiginnasio — the 16th-century main building — is open to visitors. The anatomical theatre (Teatro Anatomico) on the upper floor is one of the most extraordinary rooms in Italy: a wooden amphitheatre where public dissections were performed, decorated with carved figures and a marble professor’s chair.

The student energy of the city is palpable — Bologna has 100,000 students in a city of 400,000.

Pinacoteca Nazionale

The national gallery has one of the best collections of Emilian painting in Italy: Raphael’s Ecstasy of St Cecilia, works by the Carracci family, and a strong representation of the Bolognese Baroque. Undervisited compared to the Uffizi or the Brera. Free on the first Sunday of the month.

Basilica di Santo Stefano (the Seven Churches)

A complex of interconnected medieval churches and courtyards — seven in total, though the number has varied over centuries. The oldest parts date to the 5th century. The Courtyard of Pilate (where, according to local tradition, Pilate washed his hands) is the most atmospheric space in Bologna.

Day Trips

Bologna’s central position makes it the best hub in northern Italy for day trips:

• Modena (40 minutes by train) — Parmigiano-Reggiano, balsamic vinegar, Ducati museum
• Parma (55 minutes) — Prosciutto di Parma, Correggio frescoes in the Duomo
• Ravenna (1 hour) — the finest Byzantine mosaics in the world
• Ferrara (25 minutes) — the Este Renaissance city, flat and cyclable
• Florence (35 minutes by Frecciarossa) — the fastest city-to-city rail connection in Italy

Eating and Drinking

Bologna is Italy’s food capital. The eating imperative: tortellini in brodo (Sunday tradition, but available daily in the best trattorias), tagliatelle al ragù (the original Bolognese), and mortadella from the market. The aperitivo culture here rivals Milan — the bars on Via del Pratello and in the university district offer free food with evening drinks.

Do not leave without eating once in the Quadrilatero area and once in the student district below the university (around Via Zamboni).