Lunch Break

Our admission to the clock tower included free access to the art museum housed in Palazzo d’Accursio.

Since the museum did not open until mid-afternoon, we decided to take a break … get a bite to eat. That we did a short stroll with some sightseeing along the way … well, that was the bonus.

Leaving the palazzo, we turned left instead of right off the monumental staircase to check out the courtyard. We’d passed through it previously, but it was over-crowded then. Today, there were very few people in what the sign identified as the Cortile Guido Fanti … who, amongst other positions, was the Mayor of Bologna and the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region. I was especially taken by the way the sun was spotlighting the fountain in the center of the courtyard and the orange/yellow façades of the buildings surrounding it.

We were on our way to the AirBNB to rest up when Mui asked if we could take a circuitous route. He wanted to find the company that runs the tours of the Canals of Bologna. We found Succede Solo a Bologna APS not far from Torre de Galluzza, talked to the man who was manning the desk, and got several ideas for tours for when we return to Bologna next year.

Completing that errand, we again set off for the AirBNB. Mui again asked for a detour … through Via Pescherie Vecchie. He wanted to see if we could find the fish mongers. This time we succeeded and found them on a street bisecting the one that is named for the fishmongers. Fresh fish … quite a wide variety.

Somewhere along the way, we gave up on resting at the AirBNB in lieu of food. We went to the Mercato di Mezzo (Middle Market) to get a bite. L’Antica Bottega, which we had settled on for a quick, casual lunch, was inside the market.

Dating back to the Middle Ages — specifically to the 12th century when it was known as Forum Medii — the 15th century found the market serving as a grain market. It became Bologna’s first covered market after the Unification of Italy. These days, having been renovated in 2014, the place is lined with take-away food stalls, a pizzeria, and craft breweries.

Perusing the display case, we opted to share a piadina … made with an Italian flatbread from the Romagna region. Our choice consisted of thin slices of mortadella, shavings of parmesan, and arugula … drizzled with balsamic. Because we were there before noon, we had our pick of the bistro-style communal tables where we perched to eat our meal. Fresh ingredients … fresh bread. What’s not to like. We shared the piadina and then supplemented our lunch with gelato from the Cremeria.

After lunch, we finally headed back to the AirBNB … with a short detour that I requested this time near the Due Torri. I wanted to check out a photograph I saw last week of some of the towers of Bologna … the place was closed then because it was Sunday.

Turns out that what I had spotted was a collection of historical photos of Bologna taken by Pietro Poppi, who lived in the city back in the 19th century. He apparently photographed the city to document its transformation over the years he lived here. A treasure trove of images.

It is unexpected finds like these that add to our travel pleasure.

After a short rest, we headed back to Palazzo d’Accursio and went back up to the Farnese Hall. When we stopped to have our tickets validated for our free museum admission, the woman on duty reminded us to take a quick peek at a temporary exhibit … “Shared Sacred Sites.”

It was an interesting exhibit that consisted of a series of photographs taken at religious sites to show that while these places might have been intended for a single religious group, one often finds believers of other faiths praying there as well … representing harmony. Seeing photos from places like Meryemana and Büyükada in Türkiye featured in the exhibit was a nice surprise.

(Rather than doing a separate footprint, I’m including a couple of the photos in this one.)Read more