Do you love authentic Italian food? In Italy and all over the world, Bologna is recognized for the variety of its food and for the good quality of its traditional meals: ragù, tortellini with the typical broth and tagliatelle.
Beside it, Bologna has a thousand souls, which have to be discovered slowly. Otherwise, you can totally immerse yourself in its immensity. Bologna is comfortable, capital of the ‘good living’. It is a city able of being loved for its young and jovial soul, for its cheerful and funny inhabitants and for its culture and multiculturalism.
Even if it is not a metropolis as Milan or Rome, Bologna is considered as one of the most beautiful Italian cities, thanks both to its monuments, that marked important steps of Italian history, culture and art and to the cultural ferment perceivable in each square.
Bologna between culture and hospitality
Bologna is considered a very lively city, especially from the cultural point of view, thanks to the presence of one of the most ancient universities of the world. In this city many artists and singers have found inspiration for their works: just think to Francesco Guccini and Lucio Dalla, who tell the poetry of the city with their songs.
Bologna, porticos and towers
Rain or snow, summer sun or wind, the porticos of Bologna (potential Unesco World Heritage) are 40 km of elegance and politeness. They allow to have a walk through the main streets, go shopping or move from a museum to another, always finding a safe shelter in every season.
When in the year 1100 the growth of the University pushed to create another urban space, these porticos have become an area, once public and private, to socialize and for the commerce. An open air sitting room, symbol of the Bolognese hospitality.
From ‘sporti’ to porticos
The portico born from the ‘sporto’, a wooden balcony built on the façade of houses to have a wider living space, especially at the first floor. As much as the sportis increased, more wooden supports placed on the floor were necessary.
The diffusion of wooden porticos allowed to artisans to use the covered space as outdoor laboratory to protect from summer sun or from rain.
Even nowadays, it is possible to find example of these first buildings in the centre of Bologna: the Portico Ligneo of Casa Isolani (the wooden portico of the Isolani House) at number 19 of Maggiore street, that of Palazzo Grassi at the 12 of Marsala street and the Portico of Case Reggiani-Seracchioli in Mercanzia square.
On the other hand, the longest portico of the world is religious: the portico of San Luca. This portico, with its 3796 metres of length from the city, leads to the Shrine of the Virgin Mary of San Luca, on the Guardia hill.
Since its origin, the Shrine is the destination of the pilgrimage towards the holy figure of the Virgin with the Baby, called ‘of San Luca’.
The city of towers
Bologna is also known as the city of Towers. It praises the most ancient prototype of modern skyscrapers. Today, only twenty towers, of the one hundred, have survived from the medieval time and some of them can be still visited.
Someone has compared the towered medieval Bologna with the modern skyline of Manhattan, even if what makes it special is its ancient beauty, which gives it charm and mystery.
Bologna is the cradle of art and independence and it represents a first-class choice also for the New York Times that in January of 2018 inserted it among the 52 destination in the world that has to be visited absolutely.
Bologna and around it
Bologna, Emilia. How not to mention Ferrari, symbol of perfection in the automotive field?
This is “the land where speed was born”. You are going to hear the rumble of the most celebrated motors of the world pulsating in your heart. Emilia Romagna in its Motor Valley, holds the record of being the motherland of others indisputable brands: Ducati, Maserati, Lamborghini. A region of dreamers who, between the post-war years and the ‘60s, have materialized the concept of innovation.
Getting married in Bologna
If you choose Bologna as the city where to celebrate your union, you are a couple who loves culture in all its different shades:
- Good food, related to the tradition and territory, which will give you a sensorial experience of delicious refinements.
- Art and history will surround you and your guests. Think to the important houses of historic Bolognese families: among them, there could be the perfect scenario for a suggestive wedding lunch. Or, another option could be the heart of the medieval Bologna, in the beautiful Palazzo Isolani, where you can have dinner in the rooms where popes and cardinals talked about the politics of the 14th century. Once again, there could be Villa Zarri, an historic Bolognese villa of the XVI century, renovated in 1700. It has been preserved since then, together with the amazing centuries-old park around it.
- Art and nature. Instead, if you are fascinated by a more bucolic location, you could choose Palazzo Stella, a wonderful example of Bolognese villa built at the end of the XVI century. It is a typical rustic but elegant farm, surrounded by a romantic park of three hectares with centuries-old trees. To conclude, we have to mention Rocca Isolani, a splendid fortress built in the ‘300, enclosed by green. Next to it, we find Villa Isolani, majestic and elegant, with the beautiful dovecote.