Full of Bologna

Our incredible weather luck officially gave out this morning. We awoke in Bologna to pouring rain, gray skies, and a wintry chill. According to our weather apps, the rain was not going to stop anytime soon in the next two days, so we decided to attempt our Bologna walking tour in the pouring rain.

Luckily, Bologna is a city with 38 kilometers of covered portico archways (all designated as a UNESCO Heritage site). But I'm not gonna lie- it was a soggy day.

Bologna is ancient. I honestly had no idea that this city has been around in some form since 1000 B.C. (that is not a typo!). Its prestigious university was founded back in the 11th century. That's amazing, and not just a little intimidating for someone with just a day to see it all. So we started in Piazza Maggiore, Bologna's main piazza. It's dominated by the 16th century Fountain of Neptune, considered a Renaissance masterpiece, and one of the symbols of the city.

This massive square contains several medieval Italianate masterpieces, including the Biblioteca Salaborsa. It's now a modern library...except for the ruins of Bononia from 200 B.C. (ancient Rome's original name for Bologna) lying just beneath the transparent glass floor of the atrium. We took the stairs down to the archaeological site, which is free and frankly amazing.

Across from the Biblioteca on Piazza Maggiore is the Basilica di San Petronio, Bologna's main church. It features a bizarre half-marble, half-brick mismatched façade. Apparently its construction began in the classic Renaissance style in the 14th century, until the Pope got wind of the city's plan to use the basilica for "civic endeavors" rather than purely religious. So the Pope pulled the funding plug when only a third of the façade was built, and it remains unfinished to this day. And here I thought that Spain was the only country that couldn't finish a church- but Sagrada Familia's 2026 completion date will definitely win the race against the Bologna basilica's "how about...never."

We toured the Palazzo D’Accursio, the town hall next to the Basilica. To be clear, we only went inside because it was free to enter, and out of the pouring rain. But we were happily surprised by how beautiful the Palazzo is; aside from its stunning 12th century architecture, it's also filled with ceiling frescoes and statuary, including a massive statue of Hercules.

After seeing the Palazzo, we stopped for snacks and wine. We stumbled into Bologna's oldest wine bar, Osteria del Sole, which has been in the same spot since 1465. There's no food offered- you're expected to bring in food from the nearby market- just glasses of wine and beer served on scarred wooden tables and benches. It was fascinating to watch Bologna families pile in for Sunday picnics. We sipped Lambrusco while trying to dry our soaking wet selves.

We bought salumi sandwiches and pastries at a nearby alimentari (like an Italian deli), and continued our exploration. Given that it was late Sunday afternoon, and dark and rainy, many sites were closed up early. So we window shopped, enjoyed the Christmas decorations and the Christmas markets, and stopped for more wine and snacks at adorable little salumerias and enotecas. We spent a few hours in La Prosciutteria, sitting on tiny wooden stools and sampling the house-made grappas, poured by a very friendly (and handsome) bartender.

Our final stop on the walking tour was an unexpected surprise. Apparently, back in 12th and 13th centuries, Bologna had a network of canals similar to Venice's. But in the "modern" era, especially after World War II, most of the canals were covered over by roads and parking lots. But five of these canals still flow underground, and the "Finestrella di Via Piella" (Little Window of Piella Street) offers a view into what Bologna might look like if these canals hadn't been paved over. The city cut a square "window" into a portico wall of a building over the canal, and you can look down into a different world. Mind blown. I had no idea.

Later that evening, we had dinner at Osteria Le Mura, a small trattoria with a more modern (and less weird) vibe than last night's Ristorante Diana. Matt ordered one of Bologna's most classic dishes- salsiccia e gramigna, a pasta dish with ground sausage. I ordered the tagliatelle, and Rey-Rey ordered another Bologna staple: Tortellini en brodo (tortellini in a clear broth). It was all very good, but have I mentioned that I would kill for a vegetable?

Tomorrow is our last day in Bologna! Czytaj więcej