Insight Guides Pocket Bologna (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Perfect day itineraries and top travel tips in a pocket-sized package.

Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering fun and interesting things to do and see in Bologna, from top tourist attractions like Mambo, Neptune's Fountain, the Portico and Le Due Torri to hidden gems, including Santo Stefano, as well as the best places to try its world-famous pasta sauce.

Compact, concise and packed with essential information about Where to Go and What to Do, this is an ideal on-the-move pocket travel guide when you're exploring Bologna.

- Cultural: delve into the city's rich heritage and get to know its modern-day life and people
- Inspirational: discover where to go and what to do, highlighted with stunning photography
- Practical: get around with ease with a free pull-out map featuring key attractions
- Informative: plan your visit with an A to Z of advice on everything from transport to tipping
- Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
- Covers: Piazza Maggiore, the university Quarter, around the centre and the Bologna Hills.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839051883

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Bologna, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Bologna, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Bologna are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Bologna. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Bologna’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Top Attraction #2

Top Attraction #3

Top Attraction #4

Top Attraction #5

Top Attraction #6

Top Attraction #7

Top Attraction #8

Top Attraction #9

Top Attraction #10

A Perfect Day in Bologna

Introduction

Bologna La Grassa

Cultural Legacy

A Living City

A Brief History

Early Settlers

Huns, Goths and Lombards

Communes and Dynastic Powers

Centuries of papal domination

Foreign Intervention

World War II

Modern Bologna

Historical Landmarks

Where To Go

Piazza Maggiore and Around

Piazza del Nettuno

Palazzo Re Enzo and Palazzo del Podestà

Palazzo d’Accursio

Salaborsa

Piazza Maggiore

Basilica di San Petronio

Museo Civico Archeologico

Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio

Quadrilatero

Santa Maria della Vita

East of Piazza Maggiore

Due Torri

Piazza della Mercanzia

Strada Maggiore

Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica

Museo Civico d’Arte Industriale e Galleria Davia Bargellini

Santa Maria dei Servi

Santo Stefano

The University Quarter

San Giacomo Maggiore

Oratorio di Santa Cecilia

Piazza Verdi and Teatro Comunale

Palazzo Poggi

Pinacoteca Nazionale

North and West of Centre

The Jewish Ghetto

Cattedrale Metropolitana di San Pietro

Palazzo Fava

Museo Civico Medievale

San Colombano

MAMbo

San Francesco

South of the Centre

Basilica di San Domenico

Via d’Azeglio

The Bologna Hills

Excursions from Bologna

Parma

Modena

Ferrari Museums

Ferrara

Ravenna

Rimini

What To Do

Entertainment

Classical Music, Opera and Theatre

Cinema

Nightlife

Shopping

Gastronomy

Markets

Sport

Motor Valley

Active Pursuits

Sports in Emilia Romagna

Children’s Bologna

Calendar of Events

Eating Out

Where to Eat

Antipasti

Primo

Secondi

Dolci

Gelati

Wines

Reading the Menu

To Help you Order

Menu Reader

Restaurants

Piazza Maggiore and Around

East of Piazza Maggiore

University Quarter

North and West of Piazza Maggiore

South of the Centre

Ferrara

Modena

Parma

Ravenna

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation

Airport

B

Bicycle Hire

Budgeting for your Trip

C

Camping

Car Hire

Climate

Clothing

Crime

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergencies

G

Getting to Bologna

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

L

LGBTQ Travellers

M

Maps

Media

Money Matters

O

Opening Times

P

Police

Post Offices

Public Holidays

T

Telephones

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

Travellers with Disabilities

V

Visas and Entry Requirements

W

Websites and Internet Access

Y

Youth Hostels

Recommended Hotels

Piazza Maggiore and Around

University Quarter

North and West

South

Bologna’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Shutterstock

Santo Stefano

Enchanting complex of medieval churches, cloisters and crypts. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #2

iStock

Le Due Torri

The Two Towers are celebrated symbols of the city. Climb to the top of tilting Torre degli Asinelli for splendid views of the city. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #3

Alamy

MAMbo

A sleek modern Arts Centre, with a fashionable café. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #4

Shutterstock

The Portici

An impressive 35km (22 miles) of elegant porticoes provide handy protection from the elements. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #5

iStock

Gastronomy

Indulge in Bologna’s culinary delights and find out why they call the city ‘La Grassa’ (The Fat). For more information, click here or click here.

Top Attraction #6

iStock

Neptune’s Fountain

Giambologna’s show-stopping bronze of Neptune is a favourite rendezvous in the heart of the city. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #7

Shutterstock

San Luca

Climb the world’s longest portico to the hilltop sanctuary church of San Luca. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #8

Getty Images

Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio

Former university building with Anatomical Theatre where human corpses were dissected. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #9

Shutterstock

Basilica di San Petronio

The monumental basilica ranks among the most imposing of Italy’s Gothic churches. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #10

Getty Images

Pinacoteca Nazionale

The city’s finest art collection with works by Bolognese and other Italian masters. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Day in Bologna

9am

Breakfast

Kick off the day with coffee and diet-busting brioches at the Caffè Sette Chiese on Piazza Santo Stefano. Secure a seat under the arches of the portico for fine views of Santo Stefano. After breakfast wander through the delightful jumble of medieval churches, cloisters and courtyards.

10am

Strada Maggiore

From Via Santo Stefano take the Corte Isolani, a quaint medieval warren of galleries and cafés, to Strada Maggiore where porticoes and palatial homes line the street. Browse in elegant antique shops and/or visit the delightful Museum of Music and Gothic Church of Santa Maria della Vita.

11am

Historic core

Head for Piazza del Nettuno, host to Giambologna’s celebrated statue of Neptune, and beyond to Piazza Maggiore, which is overlooked by the Basilica di San Petronio. Here, absorb everyday life in this sweeping square, then take a peek inside the monumental interior of San Petronio.

Noon

Culinary delights

Plunge into the maze of medieval alleys off Piazza Maggiore with tantalising delis, fresh food stalls and a chic covered food hall. For lunch grab a piadina (sandwich) crammed with Parma Ham, Mortadella and local cheeses, or head for Tamburini at Via Caprarie 1, a famous gourmet deli and café.

2pm

Ancient university

Take Via dell’Archiginnasio where porticoes shelter elegant designer stores. Visit the frescoed Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio, first seat of Europe’s oldest university and where, in the Teatro Anatomico, some of the earliest dissections in Europe were performed. Take a restorative coffee at Zanarini, an upmarket café with divine cakes on the corner of Piazza Galvani.

3pm

Leaning towers

Head northeast to the Due Torri and gawp at the tipsy towers. Offload a few calories by taking the 480 steps to the top of Torre degli Asinelli. Wander around the nearby former Jewish Ghetto, now home to some delightful artisan workshops.

4pm

University quarter

Wander along Via Zamboni for a flavour of the university. Pass noble palaces converted to bustling faculties, bohemian bars, eclectic cafés and arty bookshops.

6pm

Aperitivo time

Head to Le Stanze, the private chapel of the Palazzo Bentivoglio at Via del Borgo di San Pietro 1, for a unique combination of cocktails and 16th-century frescoes.

8pm

Trusty trattoria

Close by, dine on fabulous Bolognese pasta (made on the spot as you will see) at Dal Biassanot, Via Piella. Beside the restaurant take a peek through the Finestrella (little window) di Via Piella over the canal and you might believe you were in Venice.

10pm

Jazz in the cellar

Listen to the best live jazz in Bologna at Cantina Bentivoglio, Via Mascarella 4/B, in the antique cellars of the Palazzo Bentivoglio.

Introduction

Capital of Emilia Romagna, arguably the most civilised region of Italy, Bologna is renowned for its university, its cuisine and its traditional left-wing stance. Hence the oft-quoted sobriquets: Bologna ‘La Dotta’ (the Learned), Bologna ‘La Grassa’ (the Fat), and Bologna ‘La Rossa’ (the Red). The city is also famous for its beautifully preserved historic centre, and La Rossa refers as much to the rich red of its palaces, towers and porticoes as it does