|
Anyone visiting Bologna, wherever
they may come from, will notice that almost every
street hereis lined with porticoes.
Bologna in fact olds the record for having about 40
km of porticoes winding around each are of the city.
In the oldest part you'll be able to see Medieval
woodenporticoes or marvellous arches from the Cinquecento
or Seicento
It is lovely to walk around Bologna under the porticoes
and look at the windows
of old shops or market stalls especially behind Piazza
Maggiore.
As soon as you get to Piazza Maggiore,
the heart of the city, you'll come across the Fontana
del Nettuno, one of the symbols of Bologna.
This beautiful fountain, dedicated to the sea god, is
the work of Giambologna and was built between 1564 and
1566.
The brass sirens and putti at the base were made designed
by Tommaso Laureti.
To the right you'll see Palazzo  del
Comune (town hall) built in the 13th and 14th centuries
and its bell tower (1444) with a magnificent carillon
clock.
Three important works of art are on the façade
of the palace: the Madonna di Piazza by Nicolò
dell'Arca, the statue of Pope Gregory XIII and an eagle
attributed to Michelagelo. Inside the building is marvellous
and so are its treasures, such as the Museo Morandi.
The square is dominated by the Church of San Petronio.
It was built by the Free Comune. 
The church was meant to be bigger than St Peter in Rome,
but the money ran out and the building remained unfinished.
The first foundation stone was laid in 1390 as planned
by Antonio di Vincenzo. The church was built over several
centuries.
The semicircular apse was completed only towards the
middle of the 17th century.
The base of the façade, which contrasts with
the unfinished upper part, is characterized by elegant
mouldings made of red Veronese marble and Istrian stone.
The middle portal was ordered to Jacopo della Quercia
in 1428. When the artist died ten years later it had
not yet been completed. .
The inside is gothic, with a nave and two aisles divided
by 10 brickwork pillars supporting ogival arches. 
The aisles have 11 chapels each with polychrome window
glasses. In the chapels, full of works ofart, are the
tombs of some of the most famous citizensof Bologna.
To the east of the square, opposite the church, stands
Palazzo di Re Enzo (King Enzo's Palace), built between
1244 and 1246.
It was here that king Enzo, Frederick II's son, defeated
at the battle of Parma in 1248, was kept prisoner from
1249 till his death in 1272 
On the other side of the
square you'll see the Pavaglione, a mass of building
whose porticoes are a meeting point for the Bolognesi.
It is made of two buildings planned by Terribilia:
the Palazzo dell'Ospedale della Morte (Palace of the
Death Hospital) of the 16th century and the Palazzo
dell'Archiginnasio, built between1562 and 1563.
The former is the seat of the Museo Civico Archeologico,
which contains Palaeozoic, Etruscan and Roman finds,
and of the Museo Civico Medievale e del Risorgimento.
The Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio instead is the seat
of the Biblioteca Comunale with its 700,000 books,
rare manuscripts and codexes. It is the most important
public library in Italy.
It was the first seat of the University of Bologna
in the 16th century.
The walls inside are covered with the polychrome coats
of arms of the Italian and foreign students that attended
the university.
You can't miss the Teatro Anatomico (Anatomy Theater)
(1638-49), whose walls are covered with wood panels,
statues of famous ancient doctors and figures by Ercole
Lelli (1753).
Beyond these splendid buildings you'll find afull of people looking for
the typical products of Bolognese cuisine.
You can't miss this area just a few yards away from
the marvellous Piazza Maggiore
 Piazza
San Domenico is cobbled and dominated by two tall
columns of the Settecento on top of which are the
statues of Saint Dominic and Our Lady of the Rosary.
Here also stands the Church of San Domenico, where
the Dominican Order was born and where the saint's
remains are kept.
Thechurch was begun soon after the saint's death in
1221. On one side of its Romanesque façade
is the reanissance Cappella Ghisilardi, planned by
Baldassarre Peruzzi.
You'll see some important works by Nicolò Pisano,
Nicolò da Bari, Michelangelo, Guercino, and
Guido Reni.
The convent next door is also worth visiting for its
cloisters (14th, 15th and 16th centuries) and library,
planned like a basilica, which dates back to 1466.
Not too far away is the Oratory of the Holy Spirit
built in the 15th century.
It is a small building which stand out for its precious
façade decorated with terracotta figures and
reliefs in shades of warm colors.
 If
you walk down Via Santo Stefano, you'll get to the
square of the same name lined with porticoes.
There are seven churches here all built on the site
of an old pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Isis,
which make up the Olivetan Benidictine Monastery.
The different buildings stand for the sites of Passion
of Christ.
These buildings were made in the 11th and 13th centuries
recycling old materials, partly Roman and Byzantine.
Besides the Chiesa del Santissimo Crocefisso, with
its 1019 crypt and inscription dedicated to the Roman
goddess Isis, there is the Chiesa del Calvario, centrally
planned, containing a 13th-century copy of the Holy
Sepulchre where the relics of Saint Petronius, patron
of Bologna.
The other important buildings are: the Chiesa dei
Santi Vitale e Agricola, planned like a basilica,
which contains two engraved sarcophagi with the reliquies
of two 4th century
martyrs from Bologna and the Chiesa della Trinità
(13th century). Inside there is also the Cortile di
Pilato (13th century)
and the Cloister with its loggia on two floors, a
typical feature of Romanesque art in Emilia.
At ashort distancefrom Piazza Maggiore you'll find
the Towers, symbols of Bologna. The Torre degli Asinelli,
which belonged to an important local family, was built
at the beginning of the 12th century. It is the taller
of the two towers being about 98 m.
It is open to the public and if you want, you can
climb to the top but, be warned, you'll have to climb
498 steps.
The Torre della Garisenda dates back to the 11th century.
It was lowered around 1360 for fear it would collapse.
Not far away you'll see the Piazza della Mercanzia,
famous for its outstanfing Loggia dei Mercanti.
This is a gothic stone building built byAntonio di
Vincenzo between 1384 and 1391.Several old buildings
with wooden porticoes look onto the square.
Leaving the towers behind and walking down the porticoes
of Strada Maggiore you'll get to the Church of Santa
Maria dei Servi.
It was built in the 14th century, with four sides
and a central square in front of the church.
Thin columns and terracotta decorations distinguish
the portico.
The church was planned like a basilica and built in
1346. It was later extended in the 15th century. Brick
pillars support Gothic vaults. A Madonna by Cimabue
is worth seeing
|
