AMO ITALY Travel Guide

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Bologna City

About Bologna

Bologna's Map

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia Romagna region and is the seventh largest city in Italy ※. It's situated on the halfway between Milan, Venice and Florence. The population of the center is about 380,000 and in total 95 million people including the suburbs. Bologna is an inland city located in the south end of the river Po, surrounded by the vast Padana Plain or Po Plain, at the foot of the northern Apennines.
*Rome 1st, Milan 2nd, Naples 3rd, Turin 4th, Palermo 5th, Genoa 6th


Bologna City
Podesta palace and Tower of Arengo

Past, present and future of the Bologna

Bologna city has its antique origin of the Etruscan city, Felsina. Later the more powerful tribe Celts had conquered this area in place of the Etruscans and then, in the second century BC Romans had constructed the city named Bononia. In the Middle Ages it flourished as an autonomous city and even today the vestiges of the old town remain everywhere. Developed for its important geographical location with transportation, nowadays this city is on the way of the railways and highways not only between the capital Rome and Milan, but also networks connecting all over Italy.

Bologna, a seat of Learning (Bologna la dotta)

There are three words used as nickname of the city of Bologna. One is "education". Europe's oldest and world famous university was founded in Bologna in 1088. Now this university has 23 faculties and about 80,000 undergraduate students. Bologna is a lively city and especially in the summer there are a variety of events for the young generation. Also active in cultural activities. Every month in July, free outdoor screenings of movies are held in the Piazza Maggiore: "cinema under the stars". Plus there are lots of exciting projects and exhibitions.


Bologna City
Look these pigs!! Pork meat is main ingredient

Bologna, a city of Obesity? ! (Bologna la grassa)

The second term is "obesity". The food is enough good to become fat easily. Since here is hinterland, pork meat is its main ingredient. Be careful, not to eat too much!! To tell the truth, I'm concerned about my waist size sometimes. But surprisingly the people of Bologna eat lots of fruit and salad at home and on the weekend they go to run in the park, they are longeval!! During your trip, please walk well and enjoy the delicious cuisine of Bologna, without worrying about calories!

Bologna, a city of towers (Bologna la turrita)

The third is "tower". Bologna's symbol is two Leaning Towers in the Piazza Maggiore. In the Middle Ages, there were about 100 towers and now remain 20. However it's quite difficult to find them due to the high surrounding buildings. Please try soaking in a secret satisfaction to discover those towers, not listed in guidebooks.


Bologna City
Bologna's central railway station adjacent to the Old Town

Day trips and traffic

By air, there is a Bologna Marconi airport. If by train it takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Venice or Milan by Eurostar. From Florence 1 hour and from Rome 2 hours and 45 minutes. Since there are many small but nice towns near around, you can travel other places staying at a hotel in Bologna. As a possible day trip destination, you can visit Ravenna, Ferrara, Modena and Parma, include the Republic of San Marino. The amazing mosaic of Ravenna, listed on UNESCO World Heritage site would attract you.