Bologna, Italy

Exploring the city

April 28-29, Bologna, Italy

April 28th, our second day on our own, we explored Bologna by walking around a different area of the city center. Our guide, Benjamin, suggested that we might be interested in making use of a construction elevator being used in renovations of the San Petronio Church. The ride up at least ten stories in the rickety elevator cost 3 Euros, and we had to sign a release form before going up. After walking the last two flights of stairs, we entered a platform from which we could see out over the city of red roofs and tiles. It was a great view that included the hills north of the city.

We also found the market streets where merchants sold fruit, vegetables, meats and fish. It was clear that many locals shop of a daily basis for their groceries. Occasionally we found some produce that we could not identify -- something we don't have at home.

By evening the final four of our group arrived. We met for our welcome briefing and time to get to know one another, as well a get information regarding our whole pre-trip that goes from Bologna to Lucca.

The morning of the 29th we were met by a local guide for a half day walking tour of the city center. There is a lot to learn about this city, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region. The town of Bologna was established in 1116. It is the home to one of the oldest universities in the world, established in 1088 and today hosts about 80,000 students. We visited one building now used as a library, but which housed the historic anatomy lecture room where they did cadaver dissections for study.

This is a city of many towers, including two famous leaning towers. The tallest, which is 318 ft. high, is the tallest leaning tower in Italy. They lean because the ground under them is giving away. Towers were built for a number of reasons; one was for safety in times of wars and conflicts, then there was vertical storage for possessions and supplies, and of course, there was prestige. Bologna was reputed to have the largest tower in the city.

Bologna is also famous for its many porticoes which cover the sidewalks. These are convenient to keep pedestrians away from the elements, but that wasn't necessarily why they originated. In order to increase the amount of living space on the second stories and above, builders started to build out further over the sidewalks, Eventually, these sections had to be supported by posts, and in that way, became porticoes. Many are very elaborately designed and decorated with arches.

Food is going to be an important theme on this trip, and today we had our first experience learning about the local pasta. Bologna citizens make their pastas with just eggs and flour; no water. We visited a shop where we went upstairs to have a lesson on how they make their famous tortellini, which is usually stuffed with pork. They were very emphatic that there is no spaghetti in Bologna, (it comes from southern Italy) and that a Bolognaise sauce should never be served with spaghetti.

After the lesson in pasta making, we stopped by a local shop where one could buy all kinds of meats and cheeses, and also get all kinds of food to eat for lunch. Most of us did not explore the place well enough first. We chose the first thing that looked good - salads. There were all kinds of other options such as sandwiches and hot dishes. It all looked delicious.

During the afternoon, which was scheduled as time at leisure, we chose to follow Benjamin. He took us back by the two leaning towers and on to the Jewish historic section of the city before heading back to the large famous Plaza Maggiore. From there we were free to do as we wished, but, since we had already been walking for almost seven hours, it was time to head back to the hotel. Resting for a while felt good before meeting in the evening for our "Welcome Dinner" at a nice restaurant just a short way down the street.

That is it for now,
Grace and Paul