In Bologna (Bologna) is the oldest active university in Europe, covered arched galleries, stretching for a total of forty kilometers, the fifth largest temple of the planet. Here you can see firsthand the anatomical theater, where ten centuries ago anyone could watch the preparation of corpses.
In one of the local churches there is an organ on which Mozart himself played, an icon painted by the hand of the Apostle Luke is kept.
City `s history
The city of Bologna is located 310 km north of Rome (Roma), at the foot of the Northern Apennines (Appennino settentrionale). On the geographical map, it can be found at the following coordinates: 44 ° 30 north latitude, 11 ° 21 east longitude. Presumably, the settlement was founded in the sixth century BC by the Etruscan king Fero, who named the city in honor of his daughter - Felsina.
Thanks to its favorable location, fertile land, and trade, the settlement developed rapidly. After some time, he was captured by the battles (Celtic tribe) and since then the city began to be called Bononia. Over time, the name transformed into a modern version.
After the battles suffered a final defeat from the Romans (this happened in 191 BC), the former Felsina became part of the Roman Empire. Three years later, the Romans paved the road through the city center that connected Bonnonia with other cities of the country. After that, a series of ups and downs followed in the history of the city, when it passed from hand to hand, burned, rebuilt, experienced a siege and collapsed again. The city survived the collapse of the Roman Empire, the fragmentation and formation of a new state, the persecution of the Christian church and its revival.
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University of Bologna
The most famous attraction of Bologna is its university (Università di Bologna), which is located on Luigi Zamboni street (via Giacomo Venezian). The central building, in which the administration is located, is located at number thirteen.
The University of Bologna appeared in 1088, and older than it was only opened in Morocco two centuries earlier Al-Karaouin. But Bologna University has an advantage over this educational institution: higher education diplomas here began to be issued several centuries earlier.
Interestingly, for the first time, students had the right to choose deans and even paid lecturers a salary, which gave students some independence. Therefore, it is not surprising that Nikolai Copernicus (lat. Nicolaus Copernicus), Albrecht Dürer (German Albrecht Dürer), Carlo Goldoni studied here. The first female teacher was the daughter of lawyer Accursio. Like her father, she taught law. It was the 13th century.
At first, Università di Bologna taught rhetoric and Roman law, but already in the XIV century, in addition to the legal, theological and medical faculties were opened. Since then, the institution has expanded significantly: now there are twenty-three faculties, where about ninety thousand students study.
Square
The central streets of Bologna are two adjoining squares. This is the Main Square (Piazza Maggiore) and Neptune Square (Piazza Nettuno) located at an angle to it. Here are the most important and interesting buildings of the city: palaces, government offices, museums, temples
Main square
The central square of Bologna is considered piazza Maggiore. Its length is 115 m, its width is 60 m. Until 1877 there was a market here that existed until 1877. Also here are the main institutions of the city where the fate of people was made - the Palace of the City Administration (Palazzo del Podestà), the Palace of the Commune (Palazzo Comunale o Pubblico). On this square the largest church of the city is built - the Basilica of St. Petronio.
Neptune Square
Piazza Nettuno glorified the fountain, which was installed here in the sixteenth century. He gave the name of the street: placed in the center of the statue depicts the god of the sea. Some Bologna students believe that if you walk around the fountain counterclockwise twice with a thoughtful look, you can successfully pass the session. At least that was what the architect Giambologna did before inventing the appearance of a fountain.
On the square is a palace in which, until death, from 1249 to 1272, the king of Sardinia, Enzio, languished in custody. Therefore, the building was named in his honor - Palazzo di Re Enzo.
It is said that the king had a mistress among local residents. They had a son who became the founder of the Bentivoglio clan. Its representatives ruled in Bologna at the end of the fifteenth century. Now in the palace is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Prisoners (Cappella Madonna dei prigionieri), the city archive, the medieval courtroom, and the cells in which the prisoners were sitting.
Churches
There are many churches in Bologna, and each of them is interesting in its own way. Here is the Cathedral of St. Petronio, which was to outshine the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, if the Pope did not intervene. In the Basilica of St. Dominic (Basilica Di San Domenico), Mozart himself played the organ. There is also the Church of the Madonna of St. Luke (Santuario della Madonna di San Luca). To see her, you must go four kilometers through a covered gallery: it is the longest on the planet. An icon painted by the Apostle Luke is kept in the temple.
Basilica of St. Petronio
In the south of piazza Maggiore is the main cathedral of the city - the Basilica of St. Petronio (La Basilica di San Petronio). The construction of the Gothic building began in the XIV century. Interestingly, the construction of the temple was not the idea of the church: they decided to build it as a sign of the greatness of communal power in Bologna.
It was planned that the construction in scale will exceed the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome (Basilica di San Pietro). According to the plan, the length of the building was to be 208 meters, width - 142 meters. Therefore, to implement the project, towers, houses of citizens, eight small temples were demolished. But the Pope could not allow this, intervened in the situation, and the construction plan was redone.
As a result, the size of the temple amounted to:
- Length - 132 meters;
- Width - 60 meters;
- The height of the arches is 45 meters;
- The height of the unfinished facade (the dome remained unfinished) is 51 meters.
The construction lasted about three centuries, and ended in 1663. It is believed that this is the last temple built in Italy in the form of a Latin cross.
Now the basilica is the fifth largest Catholic church in the world. The church has the oldest organ in the country, made in 1475. On the floor of the temple, Giovanni Domenico Cassini drew a meridian to prove that our planet revolves around the Sun. Zodiac signs are marked on its various sections, and a hole is located on the roof through which the ray of the Sun falls, indicating the month of the year.
Interestingly, the church of St. Petronio for centuries was the property of the commune. That is why both Christian rites and court hearings, city meetings, and other solemn events were held here. The Basilica passed into the possession of the church in 1929.
Church of St. Stephen
The piazza Santo Stefano houses the Church of St. Stephen (Basilica di Santo Stefano). It is part of the "Seven Churches", to which in addition to it the following structures belong:
- Cathedral of John the Baptist or the Holy Crucifixion (Chiesa Del Crozifisso) - the construction of the eighth century;
- Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Chiesa Del San Sepolcro) - erected in the fifth century;
- Church of the Holy Trinity (Chiesa Dell Trinita) - thirteenth century;
- Basilica of the Martyrs Vitaly and Agricola (Chiesa Dei Santi Vitale E Agricola) - fourth to fifth century;
- Portico or Courtyard of Pilate (Cortile Di Pilato) - the thirteenth century. The portico represents the platform where Jesus Christ was judged. In the courtyard is a swimming pool, "Pilate's washstand";
- Monastery.
Although these structures were built at different times, and three churches were not preserved, the churches were built in the same style. The Church of St. Stephen is notable for the fact that it has kept the relics of St. Petronio for several centuries. And only in 2000 they were transferred to the temple, named after him.
Basilica of St. Dominic
The Basilica of St. Dominic (Basilica Di San Domenico) is located on the Piazza San Domenico.
The temple was founded in 1221 by Dominic Guzman (Spanish: Domingo de Guzmán Garcés), who arrived in Bologna three years earlier. He was so amazed at the boiling energy of the city that he decided: here his service to God would be of the greatest benefit, and therefore he settled in a monastery. But the power of the preacher’s words was so strong that the monastery church did not accommodate those who wanted it. Therefore, the brothers decided to build a church.
Unfortunately, Dominic died in the same year in which construction began. Therefore, the temple was completed without it (the construction took about twenty years). Since the church was built by monks belonging to the beggarly order, the facade is made of brick, and the center is decorated with a large stained glass window. After this, the temple was subjected to restoration and alteration several times. For example, in 1530, a chapel appeared near the church, under the dome of which the remains of St. Dominic are stored.
In the basilica of St. Dominic installed his bust, which is an exact reconstruction of the skull of a monk (1946). Amadeus Mozart honed his art on the organ of this cathedral in the eighteenth century.
Temple of the Madonna of St. Luke
The longest covered gallery of the planet belongs to the temple of the Madonna of St. Luke. The cathedral was built on top of a hill, the height of which is three hundred meters.
The construction dates back to the end of the twelfth century. According to legend, the basilica was erected in order to store in it the icon of Our Lady of the Guidebook, painted by the hand of the Apostle Luke (Greek pilgrims brought it). The annals tell a different story: Angelica Bonfantini, a noble citizen of Bologna, became a hermit and provided her lands to the church.
To get to the temple, you need to climb the hill through an arched gallery, which is almost four kilometers long: it connects the church with the city. At first it’s not difficult to walk through the gallery: at first it leads along the lowland. But then it begins to gradually rise up, steps appear. Closer to the cathedral on the walls of the gallery you can see icons and tablets with the names of architects who built this or that arch.
The gallery has 666 arches. The number of the devil during the construction was not chosen by chance: Mary icon painters were often depicted as a serpent trampling the foot, which is considered the embodiment of Satan. A winding, long gallery speaks of a defeated reptile that lies at the foot of the Church of the Virgin.
There is another purpose for which such a long gallery was created. Pilgrims gather to worship the icon. In the gallery, they can wait out the bad weather and take refuge from the burning rays of the sun.
Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi
The Temple of Santa Maria dei Servi (Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi) is located at Strada Maggiore 43. The basilica is small: one hundred meters - long, twenty - wide, made in the form of a Latin cross.
The construction of the temple began in 1346, completed in the fifteenth century. The facade is made of brick and looks rather plain-looking. But the courtyard in the style of the early Christian churches definitely attracts attention. Inside the temple there is a marble altar by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, murals from the fourteenth century, as well as one of the best organs in Europe.
Church of San Giacomo Maggiore
The Church of San Giacomo Maggiore (Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore) is located on via Zamboni 15. The Augustinian monks began building the church in 1267, completing work eighty years later. After that, the church was rebuilt more than once: at the end of the XV century. the bell tower was completed, there was a portico, a chapel of St. Cecilia.
The western facade is best preserved, from which the construction of the temple began. A niche with a sculpture of Christ has been preserved here. To the left of the altar is the Bentivoglio Chapel, which was founded by the son of the King of Sardinia, Enzi. It is decorated with paintings and frescoes by Lorenzo Costa: Madonna on the throne, surrounded by the Bentivoglio family, murals about the triumph of Death and Glory, Vision of the Apocalypse.
Temple of St. Peter
St. Peter's Basilica (Cattedrale di San Pietro) is famous for its huge bell tower, whose area is 70 meters. The number of bells here exceeds two dozen, and the largest of them weighs three tons and is known as "grandmother".
The cathedral is located at: via Indipendenza 7, a hundred meters from the Main Square. The earliest information about this temple dates back to X century. Two centuries later, the building burned down, was restored and supplemented by a bell tower and a crypt. A hundred years later, the temple was damaged by an earthquake, but was rebuilt.
After this, the temple was repeatedly reworked: the work was completely completed in the middle of the eighteenth century. This became the reason for the mixing of Gothic, Romanesque and Baroque styles. The temple is interesting not only for the bell tower, the works of Prospero Fontana, Ludovico Carracci, Alfonso Lombardi. There is also a museum-treasury where objects of religious utensils, which were given to the church by famous people over the past five hundred years, are stored.
Museums
History buffs can not only wander through the medieval streets of the city, visit numerous temples, but also go to museums that tell you how Bologna lived and breathed in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It will be interesting to look at funerary objects that relate to VI art. BC. and testify to the antiquity of the city.
National Pinacotheca
The National Pinacoteca (Pinacoteca nazionale di Bologna) is an art museum. You can find it on via Belle Arti, 56 in a room that used to belong to the Jesuit Order. Here are collected works of Italian artists of the XIII-XIX centuries.
The idea to create a place where the altar paintings will be kept came to the mind of the future Pope Benedict XIV (lat. Benedictus PP. XIV) in 1762. In less than twenty years, more than a thousand icons and paintings of famous artists have been collected. Among them - the works of Raffaello Santi (Raffaello Santi,) Annibale Carracci (Annibale Carracci), Lorenzo Costa (Lorenzo Costa);
In 1796, the power of the Pope was overthrown, after which a republic was established. The paintings were confiscated and transferred to temples and monasteries. In 1802, authorities opened the Pinakothek on 56 Fine Arts Street. Since then, the collection has been constantly replenished with paintings from private collections and in other ways, until it became the best art museum in Italy.
Archimnasium
Not far from the administration of Boston University, the building of its first complex is located. Here is an archigymnasium, inside of which one of the largest libraries in Europe is located. Exact address: Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, Piazza Galvani, 1.
There is another interesting place in the building of the Archimpression School - this is the restored Anatomical Theater (Teatro Anatomico), where four centuries ago anyone had the opportunity to see how the corpses are prepared. An anatomical theater appeared in 1637 and is an interesting example of how students of those years studied.
The room itself is designed in the form of an amphitheater, the walls of which are upholstered with wood, and benches for spectators are installed along them. The hall is decorated with wooden sculptures depicting famous doctors, on the ceiling are the constellations and Apollo, the patron saint of medicine. In the center there is a marble table where the deceased used to lie. The places where students used to sit at the autopsy used to be seated now are occupied by spectators, in front of which the actors play theatrical performances on the topic of anatomy.
Palazzo Poggi Museum
Palazzo Poggi (Musei di Palazzo Poggi) is located on via Zamboni, 33. Many consider it one of the most interesting museums in Bologna.
The first exhibition opened in 1721 in the castle of Giovanni Poggi, who was fond of science and creativity. Therefore, here was the residence of the Scientific Institute. The exact author of the project is unknown, but there is evidence that at first it was supposed to be collected and presented in order of chronology of the discovery in the field of astronomy. Then the museum expanded.
In the Palazzo Poggi you can see fossils, land and marine plants, minerals, stuffed sea animals. Several rooms are devoted to physics, astronomy. There is an exposition of ship models, geographical maps.
Of interest is the school of obstetrics, as well as figures made of wax, which allow you to familiarize yourself with the process of childbirth in detail, study layer by layer the structure of the skin, muscles, and human skeleton.
Attention is drawn to a figure showing the torment of a girl in the last moment of her life.Her stomach and chest are open, which makes it possible to see the state of internal organs.
Parents who come to Bologna with their children should consider that such a presentation of materials is not for children's eyes.
Archaeological Museum
Many memorials of the early history of Felsina are on display at the Bologna Archaeological Museum (Museo Civico Archeologico), which is located on via dell'Archiginnasio, 2. The reason for its discovery was the ancient burial ground that was discovered near the Certosa cemetery, as well as a necropolis, found during the arrangement of the Margarita Gardens park.
In the seventies of the nineteenth century, the first exposition of archaeological finds, which were found during excavations, was organized at the archimpress school. Ten years later, authorities opened a museum in the Palazzo Galvani Palace. The exhibition is arranged so that the visitor sees all the exhibits in one short excursion.
Here, the visitor to get acquainted with the history of Bologna, Etruscan, Gallic, Greek, Roman periods. In the Egyptian hall there are mummies and other attributes of the Egyptian culture. Old coins are of interest.
Medieval Museum
The Gizilardi Fava Palace, via via Manzoni 4, houses the Bologna Medieval Museum (Museo Civico Medievale in Palazzo Ghisilardi). There are exhibits from private collections of the artist Palagi, the Marquis of Cospi, General Marsili.
Here are sculptures and paintings by medieval masters, frescoes by Jacopo della Quercia. Interesting crafts from ivory, bronze, glass, Carrara marble. The collection has weapons, tombstones, medieval documents. The fountain of the 13th century, where sculptures of four Atlanteans are installed, attracts attention.
In one of the halls, the first sculpture of the Pope was put on display at a secular institution. So perpetuated the memory of Boniface VIII (lat. Bonifatius PP. VIII), which did a lot to end the war between Ferrara (Ferrara) and Bologna. Of interest is the bust of Mercury, made of bronze by the architect Giambologna (Giambologna) in honor of the Emperor of Austria Maximilian II.
Villa Aldrovandi Mazzacorati
The museum dedicated to toy soldiers is housed in Villa Aldrovandi Mazzacorati. Exact address: via Toscana, 17-19. An exhibition appeared in 1974 at the initiative of Mario Massachezi and other lovers of this unusual hobby, who collected their collections to make them available to the public.
The fund of the museum has collected thirty thousand soldiers, twelve of which are on display by the public. The exhibition presents figures from lead, tin, wood, cardboard, plastic. Of interest are reconstructions of battles, costumes, weapons of troops, from antiquity to the twenty-first century.
Villa Aldrovandi Mazzacorati is a building dating back to 1761. The building is decorated with two rows of balconies that support the caryatids, and on the facade - sculptures of sirens. A portico with six columns and a triangular pediment, decorated in a neoclassical style, attracts attention.
Carducci House
Carducci House (Casa del Carducci) is located at Piazza Carducci 5. Now it is a museum in memory of Nobel Prize winner, poet Josue Carducci (Giosuè Carducci).
The building used to belong to the Carducci family, and the poet himself lived here for seventeen years. When he died, the house was bought by Queen Margherita of Savoy (Margherita von Savoyen). She gave the building to the city so that the townspeople would equip it with a museum dedicated to the memory of the great Italian. Now the museum has a library, which consists of 40 thousand manuscripts and volumes, there are personal things of the poet.
Through a spiral staircase, a visitor can climb to the second floor, where the rooms of Carducci are located. The windows overlook the ring road and the square, named after the poet. Near the house there is a garden with sculptures, one of which depicts Carducci. Also here you can see the faun, Freedom, riding a dark horse. The garden is also interesting because it rests on the old city wall, which avoided destruction.
On the first tier is a museum dedicated to Risorgimento. So called the national liberation movement in Italy. Here are paintings, weapons, flags, uniforms, documents.
Walls and Towers
There are few reminders of early history in Bologna. These include the ruins of the first city walls, towers. The need for towers is caused not so much by the need to hide from an external attack, as by the fact that many families of the city were at war with each other. In addition, the towers showed others the wealth of the family that owned them.
Walls
Scientists find it difficult to say when the townspeople erected the first city walls: the approximate date is the sixth-eighth century AD. But they agree that the construction lasted more than one year: some sections of the wall were built efficiently, while others were obviously erected in a hurry.
Fortifications were made from selenite (a variety of gypsum), which was mined from Mount Donato, located on the south side of the city. Also in the construction, the craftsmen used stones and cobblestones from old buildings. The height of the first defense ring of the city in some places was at least eight meters and was made without fastening mortar. Now the remains of the first wall are stored in the Archaeological Museum of Bologna, as well as on the street. Manzoni (via Manzoni).
The second line of fortifications appeared in the XII century. The length of the defensive walls was four kilometers, and they went down in history under the name "Ring of Torresotti" (Cerchia dei Torresotti). It took twenty years to build, and if the first ring had four exits from the city, eighteen gates were provided here. Some of them are still preserved. It:
- Porta Piella (Pella Gate);
- Torresotto San Vitale (Torresotto San Vitale);
- Porta Nova (New Gate).
A hundred years later, the city was surrounded by a third line of defensive walls. This building is known under two names: "Ring of the Boulevards" (Cerchia dei Viali) or "Chirkla" (Circla). At first the wall was wooden, then a brick fence was built instead.
The length of the new defense line was 6 km, height - 9 m. Citizens entered the city through twelve gates. Ten of them have survived to the present, while the walls were demolished at the beginning of the twentieth century. Instead, a ring of boulevards appeared, which frames the historical center.
Two falling towers
Symbols of Bologna are two falling towers - Asinelli (La torre Asinelli) and Garisenda (Garisenda), located two hundred meters from the Cathedral of San Petronio.
They were built a few meters from each other and tilted in different directions. The reason for this is non-compliance with the correct construction technology.
Azinelli is the highest falling tower in the country: the height is 97.2 m, and the upper part is deviated by 2.2 m. The structure was erected at the beginning of the twelfth century, and at different times the tower served as a fortress or prison. To save Asinelli from falling, the building is constantly being restored. Access to tourists is open to the top: 498 steps of a wooden spiral staircase lead to the observation deck.
The state of the neighboring Garisenda is significant, although it is two times lower: the tower displacement is three meters. Therefore, the tower, whose height was originally 60 meters, was shortened three times, and now the building rises above the ground by 48 meters. For tourists, Garisenda is closed.
Azzoguidi Tower
A hundred meters from piazza Maggiore is the Azzogudidi Tower, also known as Altabella (in Italian it sounds like Torre Azzoguidi detta Altabella).Exact address: via Altabella, 7. A tower was erected at the end of the twelfth century by the Azzogudidi family, whose representatives actively participated in the political life of the city.
Altabella is the second highest in height after Azinelli: its height is 61 m. But unlike it, it stands straight and does not fall: Azzogudidi was built in compliance with all proportions.
Considering the thickness of the walls, scientists suggest that Azzogudidi was taller. The base of Altabela is laid out by selenite. A portal in the form of a lancet arch, which is decorated with a decorative border, is made of the same material.
Prendiparte Tower
To see the tower of Prendiparte (Torre Prendiparte detta Coronata), from the Main Square you need to walk two hundred meters. Exact address: Via Sant'Alò, 5. The hotel is now located here.
During the construction of the tower, the craftsmen used blocks of celite and Bologna brick. The height of the building is 59.5 meters, has twelve floors. A comfortable staircase leads upstairs.
The tower was erected at the end of the twelfth century by representatives of the Prendiparte family, whose members held high positions in the city. Three centuries later, the tower passed into the possession of the Fabruzzi family, a hundred years later - to the church. In the eighteenth century, a punishment cell was placed in Prendiparte, where they were imprisoned for crimes against Christianity. That is why autographs of prisoners can be seen on the walls.
Predeparte is also known as Coronata. The name of the tower was given by ledges, reminiscent of the crown of the tower, which are located fifty meters from the ground.
Palaces and architecture
A tourist who wants to explore all the palaces and architecture of Bologna will have to spend more than one day: each house here is able to tell its story about the people who lived here, created, weaved intrigues, were born and died. But there are buildings in the city that every tourist must visit.
Palazzo Comunale
In the center of the city is the Palace of the Commune (Palazzo Comunale o Pubblico). This is the Bologna City Hall, which is located on Piazza Maggiore, 6. It consists of two houses - the Palazzo d'Accursio and the Palazzo del Legato.
The oldest part of the town hall is in the palace of d'Accursio. The building is named after the teacher of law, Professor Francesco d'Accorso, whose residence was acquired by the city authorities at the end of the XIII century. At first, offices of several city services were located here, and they also kept public grain. But already from 1336, the Elders began to sit in the palace of d'Accursio and it became the residence of the city authorities.
In the fifteenth century, the palace of d'Accursio expanded. Its tower was decorated with a clock with a carousel, which depicted the wise men and Mary with a baby (removed in 1796). After that, the building was restored several times. Under Pope Julia II, a residence for the Papal Legate (Palazzo del Legato) was built near the palace of d'Acursio. Due to this, the Town Hall has increased.
Today, at the bottom of the town hall is the city hall hall, decorated with allegorical frescoes, the Hercules hall. On the second tier, tourists will be interested to look at the Farnese hall and the Legato chapel, where Charles V (1530 g) was crowned. On the third floor there is a museum where canvases of artists of the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries are exhibited, as well as a museum of the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi.
City Administration Palace
The City Hall (Palazzo del Podestà) is located on Piazza Maggiore 6. Towering above it is the Arengo Tower (Torre dell'Arengo), the bell of which for centuries has called the townspeople to meetings, heralded important incidents.
The house was specially erected on the main square of Bologna, so that the city government would sit in it. Notaries also worked here for a while, until a separate building was built for them. First, the house was built in the Romanesque style, then in the fifteenth century the facade was redone in the spirit of the Renaissance.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the main hall of the palace was decorated with frescoes by Adolfo de Carolis, which tell the story of Bologna.
Palazzo dei Notai
The Palazzo dei Notai is located on via de 'Pignattari, a side street that adjoins the Main Square. Exact address: 1. A house was built specifically for the notary community in 1287, and for a long time it was a residence. It also housed an archive where wills and other papers were kept.
The purpose of the house is indicated by a tablet on the facade of the house and three inkwells with feathers on a red background - the emblem of the community of notaries. Now there are government services.
Palazzo Day Banks
The last building on the piazza Maggiore was the Palazzo dei Banchi. The house was built in the XVI century. and is not so much a building as a decorative facade of fifteen arches, behind which several small buildings are hidden. The palace is connected by a portico with the Archimhimnasium.
Archbishop's palace
The Archbishop's Palace (Palazzo Arcivescovile) was built in the thirteenth century by order of Cardinal Enrrico della Fratta. The building is located on via Altabella, 6, has a common courtyard with the church of St. Peter.
They decided to build the palace between the towers of Azzogwidi, Prendiparte, Altabella that were built earlier. Therefore, they frame the palace and seem to be one.
In the sixteenth century, the masters renewed the facade, arranged a courtyard, and attached a portico of four arches. The chapel on the ground floor was decorated by Minozzi in 1790. In the nineteenth century, the building was restored.
Palazzo Bologini
There are two residences of the wealthy silk merchant Bolognini on Santo Stefano. The main one is at number eighteen, the second is eleven.
Giovanni Bolognini, who wanted his family to live in more luxurious conditions, decided to build a second residence. Preparatory work lasted twenty years. Therefore, the construction of the Palazzo Bolognini on via Santo Stefano 11 began in 1513.
The facade of the building was decorated with a veranda with terracotta busts and carved capitals. Interestingly, over the porch, led by Andrea da Formigine, was the Propertia de Rossi, the first female sculptor in European history.
Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, the building has been leased to various organizations. From 1823 to 1855 the tenant was Casino dei Nobili. Then there were concerts where Haydn and Rossini performed.
House bero
House Bero (Casa Berò) is located on via Rolandino, 1. There was a building in the XVI century, the material for construction is brick, the facade of the master was decorated with terracotta reliefs, numerous arches. The building is unique: it is not a palace-residence of the nobility, but the house of a wealthy bourgeois who lived in the Renaissance, knew and appreciated art.
Citizens call this building the House of Caracci. here was the workshop of Agostino, Annibale and Ludovico Carracci (Annibale, Agostino, Ludovico Carracci). These painters lived and worked in the late sixteenth century.
Palazzo del podesta
You can get to the Palazzo del Podestà during exhibitions or special occasions. The house is located on Piazza del Podestà and adjoins the Enzio Palace in Neptune Square.
The building was built at the end of the XV century. commissioned by Giovanni II Bentivoglio. It was intended for the residence of the heads of local administrations. The project was not completed due to the expulsion of Bentivoglio from the city.
The building was used in different ways. At first there was a court, a century later the theater was located. It lasted two centuries, after which they played ball in the house. At the bottom there were craft shops, now there are luxury shops.
Palazzo loyani
Palazzo Loiani / Aldini-Sanguinetti is located on Strada Maggiore, 34. At first it belonged to the Loiani family, in the middle of the XVI century it was bought by the Riario brothers.
The palace underwent significant reconstruction in 1796, when its owner became Count Antonio Aldini. He attached a nearby tower to the building, and also ordered to divide the large hall in two. The result was two rooms - the Festive Hall and the Hall of Virtue. Their decor is considered a striking example of neoclassicism.
Today, the palace has a library of music and the International Rossini Museum (Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna). Gioachino Antonio Rossin (Gioachino Antonio Rossin) stayed here during the repair in his home.
Arcade
The arched galleries of Bologna stretched for forty kilometers in the city center. They give the city a delicacy, and the combination of styles and decor of different eras gives an unusual look.
Arcades began to be built in the Middle Ages in order to expand houses in the squeezed conditions of the city. At first the galleries were built of wood, then they were replaced by stone buildings with columns. There are no arcades in the city, below 2 m 66 cm: the rider on the horse had to freely pass through them.
Since the construction of arcades did not stop until the nineteenth century, here you can study the history of arcade construction in recent centuries. The longest arcade leads to the Church of the Madonna of St. Luke.
Gardens and parks
The most famous parks in Bologna are the Margarita Gardens (Giardini Margherita), the Montagnola Gardens (Giardino della Montagnola) and the Botanical Garden (Giardini Botanici).Each of them is attractive in its own way.
Margarita Gardens
Main entrance to the Margarita Gardens park via Murri. It was opened in 1879, and since then its appearance has changed little. Here on an area of 26 hectares lies a lake with fountains, which is surrounded by artificial rocks made of selenite. A wooden palace is built nearby.
The park has many pebble paths, long alleys, spacious glades. You can relax in the oak groves and among conifers.
In the park there is an archaeological zone where at the end of the 19th century Etruscan burials were discovered: 243 graves, the oldest of which date back to 550 BC. This find gave rise to archaeologists to condemn the antiquity of the city.
Horseshoe-shaped steles made of sandstone turned out to be a feature of the burials. They depict paintings on the theme of travel to the kingdom of the dead. The stele and funerary objects, among which there are many valuable things, can be seen in the archaeological museum. And in the archaeological zone of the park, a reconstructed hut of the Villanova era is installed. This is the name of the most ancient culture of the Iron Age, which refers to the XII-VIII centuries. BC.
Bologna Botanical Garden
The Bologna Botanical Garden is located on via Irnerio, 4. It is one of the oldest on the continent. The garden is interesting not only for its age, flora, but also for the fact that it moved several times over several centuries.
The first botanical garden of the city appeared in 1568 in one of the courtyards of the Main Square of the city on the initiative of the University of Bologna. Twenty years later, the garden was transferred to the gates of Santo Stefano (Porta S. Stefano), where he allocated an area of 5 thousand km2.
At its present place, the botanical garden turned out to be in the early nineteenth century, when the building of the college of Ferrario (Ferrario) passed to the university. Immediately after that, greenhouses were made, and places for planting were arranged. Some time later, a training center was opened in which anyone will receive the maximum data on the local plants.
The botanical garden was severely damaged by the bombing during World War II. A serious loss is the destruction of the greenhouse, where plants have been grown since the time of Napoleon. Now the area of the botanical garden occupies two hectares, on which five thousand species of flora grow.
Montagnola Gardens
Montagnola Gardens are located on the hill of the same name, whose height is sixty meters. Upstairs you can climb the marble staircase, not far from which are the ruins of the Castello Di Galliera fortress and the Porta Galliera gate from the third ring of fortifications.
At the foot of the hill is a sculpture of Pasquale Rizzoli. It is dedicated to all the fallen citizens in August 1848: they defended Bologna from the Austrian troops. The composition depicts an Italian with a banner in his hands, at whose feet a fallen Austrian soldier.
In former times, a forest grew here, which in the seventeenth century was thinned and paved paths for horseback riding. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the park was divided here in the French manner. The first sculptures appeared, an artificially created pond. The marble staircase was built in 1896.
It connects Bologna with the major cities of Italy and Europe at the Aeroporto Internazionale Guglielmo Marconi Airport. Therefore, a plane flies from Moscow for three and a half hours. The airport itself is located six kilometers from the city, and therefore you can get to the center of Bologna in less than 30 minutes by bus or taxi - for the last, more comfortable option you will have to pay about 35 euros. We recommend booking a transfer in advance at kiwitaxi.ru - you will be met with a sign, the cost is fixed and there are no surprises with taxi drivers.
The bus station of the city also accepts international buses. The station is located on Piazza XX Settembre, near the train station.
One and a half kilometers from the Main Square is the largest railway station in the country - Bologna Centrale. Trains come here not only from all over the country, but also from major European cities. Florence is an hour away, and Venice is half an hour longer. The road to Milan, Rome, Turin by fast train will take less than two hours.
