Tourism Bologna - Italy

Bologna: Tourism information Bologna

Bologna

Bologna (IPA [bo'lo??a], from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in the local dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Pianura Padana, between the Po River and the Apennines, exactly between the Reno River and the Sàvena River.

Bologna: Importance

Bologna is a very important railway and motorway hub in Italy. The city's Fiera District (exhibition area) is the second largest in Italy and the fourth largest in Europe, with important international exhibitions, like the Motorshow (cars, motorcycles; considered the most important in the world), Saie, Saiedue and Cersaie (buildings), Cosmoprof (beauty culture, considered the most important in the world), Lineapelle, etc. Bologna and its metropolitan area have several important industries in the fields of mechanics, foods, and electronics, important retail and wholesale trade (the "Centergross" in the northern metropolitan area, built in 1973, was the largest in Europe for several years), and the first Italian vegetable and fruit market. Bologna also has important monuments, museums, and a rich cultural life.
The importance of Bologna in Italy and in Europe, considered from the cultural, industrial, trade, social, political, and economic points of view is much greater than suggested by its demographic data: there are about 400,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 1 million in the metropolitan area, including over 100,000 students of the ancient and renowned University of Bologna, founded in the 11th century.

Bologna: Main sights

Until the late 19th century, when a large-scale urban reconstruction project was undertaken, Bologna remained one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe; to this day it remains unique in its historic value. Despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in 1944, Bologna's historic centre, Europe's second largest (after Venice), contains a wealth of important Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque artistic monuments.
Bologna developed along the Via Emilia as an Etruscan and later Roman colony; the Via Emilia still runs straight through the city under the changing names of Strada Maggiore, Rizzoli, Ugo Bassi, and San Felice. Due to its Roman heritage, the central streets of Bologna, today largely pedestrianized, follow the grid pattern of the Roman settlement.
The original Roman ramparts were supplanted by a high medieval system of fortifications, remains of which are still visible, and finally by a third and final set of ramparts built in the 13th century, of which numerous sections survive. Over twenty medieval defensive towers, some of them leaning precariously, remain from the over two hundred that were constructed in the era preceding the security guaranteed by unified civic government.

Bologna is home to numerous important churches. An incomplete list includes:

the basilica of San Petronio, one of the biggest in the World
San Pietro Cathedral
Santo Stefano basilica and sanctuary
San Domenico basilica and sanctuary
San Francesco basilica
Santa Maria dei Servi basilica
San Giacomo Maggiore basilica
Beata Vergine di San Luca basilica and sanctuary, on Colle della Guardia
San Michele in Bosco
San Paolo the Great, basilica

The cityscape is further enriched by elegant and extensive arcades (or porticos), for which the city is famous. In total, there are some 38 kilometres of arcades in the city's historical center[1] (over 45 km in the city proper), which make it possible to walk for long distances sheltered from rain, snow, or hot summer sun. The Portico of San Luca, the longest in the world (3.5 km, 666 arcades) connects the Porta Saragozza (one of the twelve gates of the ancient walls built in the middle ages, which circled a 7.5 km part of the city) with the San Luca Sanctuary, on Colle della Guardia, over the city (289 m/o.l.s.).
The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca is a notable site, located just outside the main city on the Colle della Guardia (Guard Hill). Built in the 11th century, it was much enlarged in the 14th and 18th centuries. The interior contains works of several masters, but probably the most important is the painting of the Madonna with Child attributed to Luke the Evangelist. The best way to visit this Sanctuary is by foot; you can walk under the portico mentioned above.

Bologna: Culture

Over the centuries, Bologna has acquired many nicknames: "the learned one" (la dotta) is a reference to its famous university; "the fat one" (la grassa) refers to its cuisine.
"The red one" (la rossa) has also been said to refer to the city's left-leaning politics. Until the election of a centre-right mayor in 1999, the city was a historic leftover of socialism and communism. The centre-left gained power again in the 2004 mayoral elections, with the election of Sergio Cofferati. It was one of the first European settlements to experiment with the concept of "free" public transport.
Another nickname for Bologna is the Basket City, referring to Bologna's obsession with basketball, unusual in football-dominated Italy. The local derby between the city's two principal basketball clubs, Fortitudo and Virtus (often called after the clubs' principal sponsors), is intense.
Football is still a popular sport in Bologna; the main local club is Bologna F.C. 1909, which was relegated to Serie B at the end of the 2004/2005 season.
The city of Bologna was appointed a UNESCO City of Music on 29 May 2006. According to UNESCO, "As the first Italian city to be appointed to the Network, Bologna has demonstrated a rich musical tradition that is continuing to evolve as a vibrant factor of contemporary life and creation. It has also shown a strong commitment to promoting music as an important vehicle for inclusion in the fight against racism and in an effort to encourage economic and social development. Fostering a wide range of genres from classical to electronic, jazz, folk and opera, Bologna offers its citizens a musical vitality that deeply infiltrates the city’s professional, academic, social and cultural facets."

Bologna: Cuisine

Bologna is renowned for its culinary tradition and some regard it as the food capital of Italy. It has given its name to Bolognese sauce, a meat based pasta sauce called in Italy ragù alla bolognese but in the city itself just ragù as in Tagliatelle al ragù .
Situated in the fertile Po River Valley, the rich local cuisine depends heavily on meats and cheeses. As in all of Emilia-Romagna, the production of cured pork meats such as prosciutto, mortadella and salame is an important part of the local food industry. Well-regarded nearby vineyards include Pignoletto dei Colli Bolognesi, Lambrusco di Modena and Sangiovese di Romagna.
Tagliatelle al ragù, lasagne, tortellini served in broth and mortadella, the original Bologna sausage, are among the local specialties.

Bologna: University

The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is the oldest existing university in Europe, and was an important centre of European intellectual life during the Middle Ages, attracting scholars from throughout Christendom. A unique heritage of medieval art, exemplified by the illuminated manuscripts and jurists' tombs produced in the city from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, provides a cultural backdrop to the renown of the medieval institution. The Studium, as it was originally known, began as a loosely organized teaching system with each master collecting fees from students on an individual basis. The location of the early University was thus spread throughout the city, with various colleges being founded to support students of a specific nationality.
In the Napoleonic era, the headquarters of the university were moved to their present location on Via Zamboni (formerly Via San Donato), in the north-eastern sector of the city centre. Today, the University's 23 faculties, 68 departments, and 93 libraries are spread across the city and include four subsidiary campuses in nearby Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna, and Rimini. Noteworthy students present at the university in centuries past included Dante, Petrarch, Thomas Becket, Pope Nicholas V, Erasmus of Rotterdam, and Copernicus. Laura Bassi, appointed in 1732, became the first woman to officially teach at a college in Europe. In more recent history, Luigi Galvani, the discoverer of biological electricity, and Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer of radio technology, also worked at the University. The University of Bologna remains one of the most respected and dynamic post-secondary educational institutions in Italy. To this day, Bologna is still very much a university town, and the city's population swells from 400,000 to over 500,000 whenever classes are in session. This community includes a great number of Erasmus, Socrates, and overseas students. Several American colleges and universities, such as Brown University, Dickinson College, and the University of California, sponsor exchange programs. There is also a consortium of several universities, the Bologna Cooperative Studies Program, that is headed by Indiana University. The University of Denver also has an embedded study abroad program in Bologna, in coordination with the Center for Civic Engagement. In addition the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies maintains a permanent campus in the city.
Today the University of Bologna controls twenty-three faculties: Agricultural sciences; Industrial Chemistry; Economics; Pharmacy; Law; Engineering; Literature and philosophy; Foreign languages and literatures; Medicine and surgery; Veterinary medicine; Sciences of education; Mathematics, physics and natural sciences; Sciences of physical education; Political Sciences; and Statistics; only in Cesena: Architecture; Psychology; and only in Ravenna: Conservation of cultural heritage.

Bologna localities:
Argelato BARICELLA Bazzano Bentivoglio BOLOGNA Borgo Tossignano Budrio Calderara Di Reno Camugnano Casalecchio Di Reno Casalfiumanese Castel D''aiano Castel Del Rio Castel Di Casio CASTEL GUELFO DI BOLOGNA CASTEL MAGGIORE CASTEL SAN PIETRO TERME Castello D''argile CASTELLO DI SERRAVALLE CASTENASO CASTIGLIONE DEI PEPOLI CRESPELLANO Crevalcore Dozza Fontanelice Gaggio Montano Galliera Granaglione Granarolo Dell''emilia Grizzana Morandi IMOLA Lizzano In Belvedere Loiano Malalbergo MARZABOTTO Medicina Minerbio MOLINELLA MONGHIDORO MONTE SAN PIETRO MONTERENZIO MONTEVEGLIO MONZUNO Mordano Ozzano Dell''emilia PIANORO Pieve Di Cento Porretta Terme Sala Bolognese San Benedetto Val Di Sambro San Giorgio Di Piano SAN GIOVANNI IN PERSICETO San Lazzaro Di Savena SAN PIETRO IN CASALE Sant''agata Bolognese SASSO MARCONI SAVIGNO Vergato ZOLA PREDOSA

Part of the information regarding the history, the art, the traditions and the events of the province of present Bologna on this page is drawn from the situated one www.wikipedia.org respecting the GNU Free Documentation License.