Bologna

Bologna is a city located in central-northern Italy in a region called Emilia Romagna. It has more than 380,000 inhabitants but this amount is not stable as one needs to add hundreds of people studying in the Università di Bologna, one of the oldest universities of Italy. As the city of Bologna lies on numerous hills, its climate is continental and winters can be very cold. Snowfalls are very frequent.

There is an international airport called Guglielmo Marconi near the city. It serves lots of flights which connect the city with the rest of Italy. Some flights are performed by low cost companies like RyanAir, Windjet and so on.

The symbol of the city consists of two twin towers called Torre degli Asinelli and Torre Garisenda, even though the first one is taller than the latter. They are strategically located at downtown near the famous Piazza Maggiore. These towers were built for military purposes like signalling, defending as well as for showing off the social prestige and the power of the builders. The Torre degli Asinelli was built in the 12th century by Asinelli family. It has an internal staircase consisting of 498 steps. Torre Garisenda was built in the same period. It is 47 meters tall but a violent subsidence of the ground made it shorter. Nowadays, visitors can only enter the first tower as the second one has been being closed for years.

Visitors cannot miss another symbol of the city: the Basilica di San Petronio. It lies in Piazza Maggiore near Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo d'Accursio (seat of the local government) and the statue of Neptune sculptured by a Renaissance artist called Giambologna.

The Basilica of San Petronio is dedicated to the local patron and it is 132 meters long, 66 meters wide and 47 meters high. Its construction began in the end of the 14th century thanks to the architect Antonio di Vincenzo. The original model was commissioned to the architect in order to celebrate the power recaptured by the city. One century later an erlargement was proposed with the new form like a Latin cross, but Pope Pius IV blocked the works. The facade was left unfinished and one of its main features is a statue created by Michelangelo Bonarroti.

Visitors will be surprised by the presence of astrological elements like the zodiacal signs on the ground and the sundial created by the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini.

The city is quite lively on evenings and during the weekends. So, if visitors want to enjoy Bologna by night they might book in hotels which are located in the centre city.

Many Bologna hotels are perfectly arranged, modern and excellently organized to provide as much comfort as possible.

Bologna is a very appealing tourist destination and an important cultural centre thanks to its university and the plethora of festivals and events. During the feast days, the city is visited by many people who arrive there in order to watch the concerts, the fair or the motor show.