October 9, 2022

October 9, 2022

We checked out of our hotel in Padova, Italy and took the train from the Veneto region to the Emilia-Romagna region south of the Po River. The Veneto was the lands controlled by the Venetian Republic. It is a very foggy ride to Bologna, capital and largest city of Emila-Romagna.

We get lucky and our hotel lets us check in early. After dropping our bags, we set out to explore the city. Rain is forecast so we bring along raincoats. We need not have bothered. Bologna is a World Heritage City due to its extensive porticoes or covered walkways. We could pretty much cross the city without getting wet.

On our way to the Centro Historico, we peek inside the churches we pass. Santa Maria Maggiore has some nice, frescoed ceilings from the 17th century. The Cathedral of St. Peter is massive but looks slightly unfinished. Since it is Sunday, all are having service, so we have to tiptoe around.

We eventually reach Piazza Nettuno with a nice Renaissance trident-holding Neptune Fountain. Water is squirting out the body parts of the female sea nymphs. Aimee immediately notices a Muslim wedding party on the square.

Around the corner is Piazza Maggiore. It is crowded with sports festivities of all kinds. This main square of the city has several huge imposing brick Renaissance government buildings around it. One side has the equally enormous Basilica of San Petronio. Oddly it is half finished and has been since medieval times. The brick understructure is only clad in decorative white marble on the lower half of the front facade. Apparently it was intended to be the largest church in the world, but the pope convinced them not to finish it.

At first blush Bologna seems the ‘city of huge’. Almost everything seems oversize. Bologna’s most famous symbol is two towers. The taller of the two, Torre Asinelli, is 319 feet tall with almost 500 stairs to reach the top. Both lean slightly and were built around 1100 AD.

Around the corner is Galvani square. Luigi was a local Bolognese scientist who made important discoveries about electricity. Many physics terms are named after him. Another Italian, Alessandro Volta took his discoveries and developed the Galvanic Pile, the first battery. It was an immediate hit.

Bologna is the home of the 'Boloney' sausage I ate as a child. It's also the Culinary Capital of Italy, so we found a nice private table in a secluded cafe and had a delicious lunch of the local specialty, Tagliatelle con Ragu alla Bolognese. By the time we finished every table in the restaurant was full.

Bologna is a hive of activity today. Beside the sports events in the main square, a combination craft fair and flea market extends around the historic center. Aimee and I have fun exploring. I like the interesting old structures that seem to pop up around every corner. That includes some of the original medieval wooden porticoes. Aimee likes checking out the stalls. I have to agree some of the items are very unique. I see one West African selling what looks like smuggled Benin bronzes. Other items remind me of stuff we might have bought on vacation and afterwards scratched our head with ‘what were we thinking?’

Our last adventure is taking a toy tourist train from the main square to a point high above and south of Bologna, the Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca. But we are not here for the pilgrimage or the view. Instead we chuck our return ticket, and we walk down the longest covered walkway in the world.

This 2.5-mile portico connects the Sanctuary with Bologna. We think we are doing good walking down it, but we pass tons of people climbing the pathway. It ends at one of the many gates in the wall that once encircled medieval Bologna. My feet are sore and we are still far from our accommodations.

Finally back in the main square, we have to sit and rest. I have a nice cold beer at an outdoor cafe facing the unfinished church. Most every restaurant charges a cover charge. This nominally is to pay for the table service and oftentimes, bread or a few snacks. Salty potato chips is exactly what we needed.

On Sunday, the main drag of Independence Street is shut to traffic and becomes a long pedestrian zone. It is packed. I think every Bolognan must be out strolling the wide avenue.

We end at the Fountain of the Nymph with its monumental staircase. Across the street are the ruins of the Papal Palace. Bologna became part of the Papal States apparently to the displeasure of the locals. They regularly rioted and destroyed this palace, only for the soldier Popes to rebuild it every time. It stood next to the northern wall of the city. We followed the ruined wall back to our hotel. Humorously it stops right at the hotel. Our room sits directly atop where the old wall stood.