Bologna’s maps

Here is the map of Bologna, with some pics about most important monuments and attractions.

You can download the map in your own language (www.bolognawelcome.com):

• English
• Spanish
• Russian
• Chinese

Short Bologna’s timeline

The first settlements in Bologna date back to at least 1000 BC. The city has been an important urban center under the Etruscans and, after, under the Celts. Romans gave to Bologna the actual name “Bononia” and built roads and buildings that somewhere in the center you can see.

Then, in the 5th century, after a long decline, Bologna was reborn and rebuilt under Bishop Petronius and in the Middle Ages it became a free municipality, the fifth largest European city based on population (bigger than Paris!).

Bologna has the oldest university of the world, founded in 1088, and has got the longest underwalk in the world, that brings to San Luca Basel. There are more or less twenty medieval defensive towers remained out of up to 200 that were built between the 12th and the 13th centuries. The most important and famous one, that became the symbol ot the town, is the Torre Asinelli from the name of the richest family who built the tallest tower of the city.

Defensive towers and ancient churches

Defensive towers and ancient churches is what we recommend to see: Santo Stefano church, San Pietro Dome and San Petronio church, San Luca Sanctuary, Torre Asinelli, Re Enzo palace.

This is the view from S. Peter’s church, a unique view of the major square (piazza Maggiore), of the biggest church of Bologna (San Petronio Church), of Palazzo Re Enzo and Palazzo d’Accursio.

The most famous tower in Bologna is the Asinelli tower, that is the tallest one but also the most visited and it’s often crowded and, to get in, there are often long queues. To avoid the touristic flows, on Saturday afternoon it’s possible to visit another stunning tower, in via Avesella, on the back of the cathedral of S.Peter.

Here are some pics from the guided tour of St. Peter’s bell tower.

As you can see, from this tower you can have a 360 degrees view of the city and a professional guide will wait you at the top of the tower, to tell you the fascinating history of this magic place.

Santo Stefano Church or The Seven Churches – Piazza Santo Stefano

Opening: All days from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Santo Stefano church is the most particular church and perhaps monument in Bologna. It’ s also called The Seventh Churches because of the seven parts of which it has been constructed from the Middle Ages and first on a Roman Isis Temple.

According to tradition Saint Petronius, a bishop of the city during the 5th century, built the basilica over a temple of the goddess Isis. The saint wished to have a building that recalled the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The different parts of the complex include:

• Church of Saint John the Baptist or of the Holy Crucifix (8th century)
• Church of the Holy Sepulchre (according to tradition: 5th century)
• Church of the Saints Vitale and Agricola (4th century, rebuilt first in the 12th century)
• Courtyard of Pilate (“Santo Giardino”, 13th century)
• Church of the Trinity or of the Martyrium (13th century)
• Chapel of the Bandage (“Cappella della Benda”) dedicated to the strip of cloth worn around the head by the Virgin Mary as a sign of mourning.

Pilate’s Courtyard recalls the lithostrotos, where Jesus was condemned; it leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the center, a basin called the “Catino di Pilato”, a Lombard work from 737-744.

Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca

Opening: All days from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca is a basilica church, sited atop the hill Monte della Guardia, some 300 metres above the city, along the road called Via Saragozza.

While a road now leads up to the sanctuary, it is also possible to reach it along a (3.8 km) monumental roofed arcade (Portico di San Luca) consisting of 666 arches, which was built in 1674-1793.

The present church was constructed in 1723 using the designs of Carlo Francesco Dotti. The lateral external tribunes were built by Carlo Francesco’s son, Giovanni Giacomo, using his father’s plans.

From 1931 to 1976 an aerial cable car operated from the base of the hill on the outskirts of Bologna, to the summit. The total distance covered in the 7 minute travel time was 1328m with a vertical difference of 220m. The operation was closed due to increased usage of private transport to ascend the hill. The top station is abandoned but intact, the bottom station has been converted into apartments but remains structurally the same, and the single pylon remains intact in a field.

Hidden Bologna: Michelangelo and Cimabue in Bologna

We usually associate the name of Michelangelo with Florence and Rome, where the great Renaissance artist was most active, leaving outstanding works of art.

However, not many people know that, at some point during his career, Michelangelo spent his time in Bologna – twice to be precise – and left some works of art here too. The first time Michelangelo came to Bologna was after the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici (1492), when he found himself with no patrons and no salary. The young artist decided to try his luck in Venice, but nobody wanted to commission him any work.

On his way back to Tuscany, passing through Bologna, he was stopped at customs and fined for not having paid the entry tax.

A Bolognese senator, the wealthy Giovan Francesco Aldrovandi, witnessed what was happening, paid the fine for the penniless Tuscan and offered him a job: to be a lecturer at his house for the works of Tuscan literary masters Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, so he wouldn’t have to hear them read with a Bolognese accent.

Thanks to Aldrovandi’s connections, Michelangelo was assigned the task of making three small sculptures (Saint Petronius, Saint Proclus and an angel holding a torch) for the Arca di San Domenico (Ark of Saint Dominic), the monumental tomb containing the remains of Saint Dominic, to which other major artists of the time contributed.

The monument is one of Bologna’s most important pieces of art, and this is how Bologna too can boast some art by Michelangelo.

Where can you see it? In the Basilica of San Domenico, on the piazza by the same name.

Outside the Basilica of San Domenico you can find some particular high tombs: these are the tombs of glossators (that you can find outside the beautiful romanic Basilica of San Francesco, placed in Piazza San Francesco), the most important professor of the ancient University in Bologna, in particular in Law and Arts (medicine, philosophy, arithmetic, astronomy, logic, rhetoric and gramma).

In Bologna you can see also a painting of Cimabue in the wonderful church of Santa Maria dei Servi in Strada Maggiore, where, during Christams time, there is a famous Christmas market named “Santa Lucia’ Christmas Market”.