Sunday October 23 was a warm humid day with a high of 24C. We said arrivederci to Genova. Our host came over to the apartment at about 10:30 a.m. and helped us with the luggage.
I'm not sure whether I mentioned this already, but our trip was really enhanced by seeing the Rubens in Genova exhibit early in our stay and seeing or visiting many of the Palazzos in the network of buildings with the Rubens/Genova signage around the city. It gave us a great perspective of the history of the city. We began to recognise the key players in 16th and 17th century Genova. It is a city of contrasts and one well worth visiting.
One cannot train directly from Genova to Bologna. We caught the 11:19 a.m. train to Milano which arrived on time at 12:55 p.m. We then hoofed it over to another platform and caught the 1:10 p.m. train to Bologna. We arrived at 2:24 p.m. The first train was an older train, but we had a very nice fast train from Milan to Bologna. Luckily for us, we shared a four seater with a lovely couple in their late 20s/early 30s. They are living in Zurich and had left there on the train at about 8:30 a.m. He was from Rome, where they were headed for a 4 day break to see his family. He worked in high tech and his wife, who was from Taiwan, was in the food business. They both raved about Bologna for its food. He said the food was better than Rome and probably the best in Italy. He also told us to have our aperitivos and small charcuterie plates at the places that are food shops as the meat and cheeses would be very fresh. Good advice. He helped us with our luggage when we got off at Bologna.
Bologna, the capital of the Emilia- Romagna, has a metropolitan population of around one million (about 400,000 in the city). It has three nicknames: La Grassa (the Fat One) due to the fabulous food; La Dotta (the Learned One) due to it having the world's oldest University- in continuous operation since 1088; and La Rossa (the Red One) after the multitude of red buildings as well as its left-wing politics.
There are about 62 km of porticoes in Bologna of which about 40 km are in the city centre. In 2021, the Bologna porticoes were named a UNESCO world heritage site. The charm of the Centro Storico can be attributed to city counsellors who, at the beginning of the 13th century, decreed that roads could not be built without portici (Porticoes).
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| Bologna Train Station-- it was quite large inside |
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| Porticoes everywhere |
Our Airbnb is on a street that is a continuation of a major street that leads right to the main Piazza Maggiore. Our host left us instructions for a lock box as he was not in the city centre on Sunday.
The apartment is on the first floor (in Canada, second floor). It is an older apartment, but very large and sprawling with very high ceilings. There is even an extra office/spare bedroom. Very well equipped. The street seems to be a shopping street with a number of clothing stores. We are only about six minutes from a food market that will be open on Monday.
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| Porticoes on our street |
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| Walking toward the main square |
Next to the Piazza Maggiore is the Piazza Nettuno (Neptune), established in 1564 to highlight the statue of Neptune to which it owes its name.
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| Sunday crowds in the square |
The Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune Fountain) has a bronze statue of Neptune, by the Flemish sculptor Giambologna, that the locals call "Il Gigante" (the Giant). The baroque fountain and monument was built in 1563-66. On the two sides of the Piazza del Nettuno, are the Biblioteca Salaborsa and the Palazzo Re Enzo.
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| The Fontana del Nettuno |
We walked into the adjacent Piazza Maggiore where the tourist office is located. One is knocked out by the immense Basilica San Petronio. It is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, Saint Petronius, who was the bishop of Bologna in the fifth century. Its construction began in 1390 and it still isn't finished today as the facade is only partially decorated, lacking most of the marble that was intended to adorn it. The main doorway was carved in 1425.
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| Basilica of San Petronio |
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| Palazzo del Podestà |
After our visit to the Tourist Office, we headed into the Quadrilatero- Bologna's old market area where delis and specialist food shops have been in abundance since medieval times. We headed down Via Pescherie Vecchie to check out the scene.
There are two or three amazing shops with the most incredible cheeses, meats and pastas. Most have some stools outside for people to have charcuterie/cheeses from the stores. Some have indoor seating too.
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| The food--just amazing- pastas, meats and cheeses |
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| We got some cheese and prosciutto |
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| A few artichokes too- gorgeous antipasto |
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| Tables outside the delis |
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| Very busy on Sunday |
We ended up getting a table at Simoni, a salumeria that has been around since 1960.
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| Walking through the store to our table. |
We had a table near the open door leading to the tables outside. Turned out to be perfect- less crowded, though still lots of air.
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| Alonso with the Mortadella and Parmigiano Romano and home made bread |
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| With my Spritz Bolognese and a picture of Sophia Loren in a film called La Mortadella!! |
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| Inside the shop- tables too |
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| Everyone having the mortadella and parmigiano platter with their drinks |
I don't think we have been in an Italian city that was so buzzy on a Sunday evening. Lots of people out for their passeggiata (evening walks), eating out, or just hanging in the two main Piazzas.
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| Night photo of the Basilica |
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| Other side of the square |
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| We stepped into Cineteca Bologna for a moment- great bookstore |
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| Eerie shadows from the Neptune statue |
We then decided to walk down another major street- Via dell'Indipendenza.
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| We went into the Church on the right |
Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro (St. Peter's Metropolitan Cathedral), dedicated to Saint Peter, is the cathedral of Bologna. Most of the present building dates from the 17th century.
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| Inside the Cathedral |
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| Sculptured group in terracotta depicting the Compianto su Cristo morto ("Lament over the Dead Christ"), by Alfonso Lombari, early 16th century. |
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| Beautifully lit with the amazing porticoes |
Trick or Treat-- fabulous Halloween chocolate windows
We headed back to the apartment. Travel days are always a bit tiring. Bologna is a very lively and energetic city. While I had been there briefly in the 80s, it is Alonso's first visit. It is a beautiful city and the food scene is incredible. On Monday, we will be taking a food tour (from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.).
Stay tuned!
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