Let the Recon Begin!

After a relaxing day yesterday, we kicked off our apartment hunt today by wandering through the neighborhoods around the Centro Storico. You see, having a signed and registered lease is a must for applying for an ERV (elective residence visa).

First up was Bolognina, a neighborhood mentioned to us by the Bolognese guy on our flight to Bologna. Naturally, there were plenty of photo ops and sightseeing along the way.

We started by taking a little detour from our apartment, just to shake things up a bit, and popped into the Basilica Parrocchia di San Martino for a quick peek inside. Then, we retraced the route we took to the apartment from the train station on the 15th. The buildings along the canal were another great spot for photos, with reflections and pigeons splashing around in the puddles.

As we walked past Piazza dell’8 Agosto, we checked out La Piazzola, a historic market that’s open on Fridays and Saturdays. Then, crossing the street, we made our way to Montagnola Park, Bologna’s oldest urban green space … which has been open to the public since 1664. We followed the path along the park’s edge and exited through the monumental staircase, which offered a nice view of the ruins of the 14th-century Castello di Galliera.

After crossing the bridge over the train tracks at Bologna Centrale, we decided to make a couple of stops. First, we snapped a photo in front of the Teatro Testoni Ragazzi, which I discovered online is all about young people’s culture. Then, we quickly peeked inside the Chiesa del Sacro Cuore di Gesù (The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). This huge parish church, with its copper dome and brick decorations that blend into the walls, is quite impressive—almost monumental, you might say.

Around 11:15a, we arrived in Bolognina, one of Bologna’s youngest and most cosmopolitan neighborhoods. Young people = working, and at that hour, the tree-lined streets were surprisingly quiet. I think we only saw about 10 people the whole time we were wandering around.

There were older buildings mixed with modern high-rises, but the latter only had apartments for sale. A quick check on the real estate website Mui had been looking at showed only a few apartments for rent near the stadium. No thanks. Maybe a realtor will have some options for us to check out. In the meantime, we moved Bolognina to the bottom of our list and retraced our steps back towards the train station.

After stopping at a candy store to buy some Baratti & Milano chocolates — from the company that has been around in Turin since 1858 — we arrived at Porta Galliera, one of the 10 gates of Bologna that still stands today

By this time, it was well past noon, so we turned our attention to food. Again, wanting an out-of-the-way trattoria, Mui searched Google and found Valerio, which started as a grocery store in an old salt warehouse back in 1898. The restaurant, which serves traditional Bolognese cuisine, has been in the same family for over 100 years, though the current location isn’t where it all began.

Since sidewalk dining wasn’t an option, we settled inside … fortunate to snag a table since we had no reservation. We really appreciated the cozy, old-world feel of the little place as we shared a caprese salad, tortelloni stuffed with ricotta and served with sage-infused butter, and a pork cutlet cooked Bolognese style with ham and melted cheese. It was all absolutely delicious!

After lunch, Mui suggested we take a walk to the Porto-Saragozza district, where he had recently stumbled upon what looked like a lovely penthouse apartment … walking distance to Centro Storico.

We wandered down some side streets, stopping along the way … to peek inside a small church, get some delicious gelato from Vero, and snap photos of the murals we saw.

Of course, we couldn’t see the apartment itself — it’s by appointment only — but we got a good sense of the peaceful neighborhood. We liked what we saw, so we’re planning to try to get in to see the apartment next week. But we have one concern. The listing says that it is unfurnished. If that’s true, it would be a deal breaker. Maybe the realtor will have furnished properties he can show us in this area, since we liked the neighborhood.

After heading over to Porta Saragozza, another one of Bologna’s last remaining gates, we strolled back to Piazza Maggiore — about 20 minutes away — by way of a road lined with colorful buildings and porticos.

We wrapped up our day shortly after 4:00p by taking a different route back to the apartment, passing salumerias and prosciutterias that had us salivating. We’ll have to go back for a tasting.Read more