The Wonders Of Our Wanders

When we visit new cities, we usually sign up for one of those "free" walking tours where a discretionary tip is given to the guide at the end. Unfortunately, because this trip is well outside of the high tourist season, there are no tours available. As an alternative, I downloaded an app that offers self-guided tours of many major cities around the world, in a very robotic female AI voice. It definitely lacks the charm and local knowledge that a human guide offers, and it refuses to answer our questions, no matter how loud I scream at my phone, but it's better than wandering the streets aimlessly (which we also do a lot).

Anyway, Bologna is a beautiful city, and the food on offer is reason enough to plan a trip here, but this post is all about what we saw during our stay.

Let's get the churches out of the way first. The 14th century Basilica di San Petronio is enormous, with a seating capacity of 28,000, and would have surpassed Rome's Saint Peter's had Pope Pius IV not diverted funds to establish a university. As a result, the facade has been left incomplete for 800 years with only the lower half being clad in marble. Ladies, never again complain about your men taking too long to get things done around the house.

Dating back to the 5th century, the Complesso di Santo Stefano was originally a complex of seven interconnected churches, of which only four remain today. After exploring the complex, the layout is so much like a labyrinth, we had to use the exit signs to find our way out.

Piazza Maggiore, like the name suggests, is the city's major public squares. The wide open space is surrounded by the Basilico San Petronio, Palazzo d'Accursio (also known as Palazzo Comunale), Palazzo del Podestà, and Palazzo della Mercanzia. I found it hard to stand in the middle of the square and keep my jaw from dropping too low as I looked around at the majesty of the buildings surrounding me.

The Archiginnasio Municipal Library, which was the main university building from the 1500's to the 1800's, is adorned with over 7000 student's coats of arms.

The Salaborsa Library, located inside the Palazzo d’Accursio, once housed the stock exchange, and it's ceiling is covered with colourful ceramic tiles. In the basement, an archeological site shows Roman ruins of ancient building foundations and wells.

No blog about Bologna sites would be complete without a photo of the icons twin towers, known as Asinelli and Garisenda. They are respectively 47 meters and 97 meters tall. The Asinelli tower was originally 60 meters tall, but it has been periodically shortened to prevent it's collapse. As it stands today, the tower has a more severe lean than the famous tower in Pisa.

The statue of Neptune, right near the towers, holds a hilarious secret. The sculptor, Giambologna, wanted to endow Neptune with impressive genitalia without drawing the ire of the catholic church. He extended Neptune's left arm, to signify the god's mastery over the seas and oceans. However, when viewed from just the right angle, his left thumb becomes quite a different appendage.Read more