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The hotel was about a fifteen minute walk from the centre of the city, which proved rather easy to find. Indeed it was down Via dell'Indipenzia, which was the first road we came across upon turning right out of our lodgings. At the corner of this street and the ring road upon which our hotel was situated, there was the Piazza XX Settembre, an old stately building which looked like it was being renovated. Across the road from here was a rather ornate wall with a horsey image on it, marking the entrance to a park on a higher level. Staircases swooped either side of the wall and there were a few ornate lampposts under one of which there was apparently a geocache. Alas, we could not find this during the scant time we had on Monday morning to try and secure it before getting the bus to the airport, but it didn't matter too much as I had already picked up a cache the night before over the road from here on a metal fence. This, at least, got me my Italy badge.
Anyway, I digress. As we approached the heart of the city, the crowds became thicker and the atmosphere more revelry, such was the pleasant nature of the day. En route, we stopped off at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore with its dark heavy atmosphere, which was in quite significant contrast to the jovality outside, but it was fun to be in this rather cavernous building with its huge columns supporting a rather impressive roof covered in frescos. This was to be a theme throughout our stay in Bologna but one which didn't get old as every church we entered proved to be an architectural delight.
Discourging on the Piazza Maggiore, the main square in the city, there was a lively atmosphere as throngs of people enjoyed the spring sunshine. Hawkers were selling a range of plastic tat for children while buskers abound, filling the electric atmosphere with song. There were a large number of doggo friends being walked by attentive owners - a theme we saw repeated throughout our time here - while in the antechamber known as the Piazza del Nettuno, we saw the huge bronze statue of Neptune, with his manhood on show for all to see. Sculpted by Giambologna in 1556, the nude muscled body of the Greek god was considered obscene by the papacy and there was a Counter-Reformation edict that he should be robed. This delighted the locals, who often had a turbulent relationship with Rome, and even today they point out the best angle at which to see his penis, the one which makes its size bigger.
The rivalry between Bologna and Rome can most clearly be seen in the city's cathedral, the Basilica di San Petronio, which looks half-finished sitting on the southern edge of the square. It sits like this, with pink cladding only a third of the way up its structure, because it was going to be bigger than St Paul's in Rome until Pope Pius IV put a stop to this and diverted the funds to build a university, the Palazzo Archiginnaiso. The top two-thirds of the building is barren brickwork and although it points to a very interesting historical story, you cannot help think that it would have been as impressive as Florence Cathedral had it been finished. Still, its exterior was but a sideshow to the sheer grandeur of its interior, which was another pleasure to behold once we had navigated past the armed guards. The interior of the basilica is quite basic in pink and white, but no less awesome, with the highlight being the sundial that follows the meridian line along the floor. We missed this first time around (bizarrely as you have to walk over the damn thing to leave the building) but we did catch it on our second visit. Measuring almost 60m in length, it is said to be the world's longest sundial in a church and played an important part in the development of astronomy at the nearby university, which just so happens to be the oldest higher education institution in the world. The other highlight in the cathderal was the second chapel on the left, bedecked in green and brown marble, which is dedicated to Saint Petronio and contains relics of the saint. There are twenty chapels in the cathedral overall and a rather grand standalone alter containing a green and gold cross. Walking around the building was a huge privilege although we were a little saddened to discover that the museum and tower were both closed, as was the viewing gallery due to ongoing renovations.
Having concerns about museum opening hours during Easter Sunday, we were assured that the Museo Civico Archeological would be open. We decided therefore to visit that on the Sunday, heading to the Palazzo dell'Archiginnaiso instead. Largely because this was a smaller museum and we only had an hour before everything closed, I also wanted to go as this was the first permanent seat of the university, built in 1562-3. Remaining the seat of the university until 1803, this place united all the faculties under one roof, and it was the Teatro Anatomico which held most interest for me. I had studied that the world's first dissection took place in Padua in the 1530s and Bologna was not far behind, with this theatre being specifically built for it. Around a table where the cadavar lay, there was wooden seating for the students to sit and an imposing wooden chair surrounded by carved naked figures from which a professor would dictate the works of Galen as the surgeon did his work. Having read so much about this at university, it was a real privilege to be in this room, with pictures of the greats (including Galen) adorning the wooden pannelled walls. This was a real thrill for me.
The Stabat Mater, so called because this was where Rossini's first performance in Italian of Stabat Mater took place in 1842, was equally impressive. Now a lecture theatre, its role was similar back then as it was the reading room for the lawyers. This room is very richly decorated, with the two-headed heraldic eagle of Cardinal Legate Fabrizio Savelli being particularly dominant on the southern wall. There are also many coats of arms, with an emblem of the German nation dating these to 1569. Meanwhile, a grand fresco of the Virgin with Child dominates the west wall and adds a more religious presence to what is clearly a civic room. With bookshelves lining the lower portions of these walls with books dedicated to the majority of scholary pursuits, Wolfie and I enjoyed just sitting down and drinking it all in as we took advantage of the many seats laid out assumedly for a lecture of some sort. This whole university was something else, with frescos also adorning the corridors of the building too although some of the shield motifs were overly fussy in my view. In one section there was an exhibition dedicated to book binding, highlighting (sometimes rather tenuously) why the books displayed all came from Bologna due to the various techniques used. This was a little dry in all honesty, but we did enjoy the emblem of the wolf going bleh, which became the second meme of the trip after erectile dysfunction guy. There was also a more engaging temporary event dedicated to the fiction of American children's author Richard Scarry but all of the explanations were in Italian, which was odd considering he wrote in English. I did like the book entitled 'Is This The House of Mistress Mouse?' for my own furry reasons. We were told by the guidebook that there was also a rather impressive courtyard but all we got to see was a clock tower poking out from under some scaffolding as work was being carried out.
We headed east after this, arriving pretty swiftly at Bologna's most iconic sight - the Due Torri. In Medieval times, Bologna had over 120 towers, but only a handful now remain, with these two being the most famous. Dating back to the twelfth century and functioning as both watchtowers and status symbols, legend has it that the two richest families in the city - the Asinelli and Garisenda, after whom the towers are named - competed to see who could build the biggest one. The Asinelli tower is open to the public but the queue was rather long, meaning it was closed by the time we got to its base. Wolfie didn't really fancy it either, so we just admired them from the bottom. Both towers are tilting, Garisenda pretty rakishly so, and that's even after part of it was lopped off in the fourteenth century due to it being built on weak foundations. The towers are so striking that Dante included them in The Inferno, being inspired when he was living here in exile from Florence.
I had the sense of wanting to see more of the city so we decided to head past the merchants' buildings of the Piazza della Mercanzia and down Via Santa Stefano to the church complex bearing this very name. This is the city's most hallowed spot and is a labryinth of ancient and Medieval churches, with the first one being founded as early as the fifth century. One seemlessly flows into the other, although the architectural style understandably differs, while the tucked away courtyards added a certain magical element to them, particularly those blooming with springtime flowers. I got a commemorative coin from here - the only place where I found a machine selling them - which was fitting as this was one of the highlights of the trip for us.
Aware of the diminishing daylight, with the time now approaching 7:30pm, we decided to head back to the city centre and explore the warren-like streets of the Quadilatero, which was thronging with the buzz of people dining. This is the food quarter of the city and there were a large number of restaurants and charcuterie places selling their wares. The streets were teeming with life and it was a pleasure ambling down them, with you being able to get a real sense of the history of the place as I'm sure this has been the scene here for hundreds of years. In the Medieval period, most of the guilds were set up here so the area was always a marketplace, and with excellent hams and plump fruit on offer, little has probably changed. The jewel is perhaps the Mercato di Mezzo, the old covered market that has been turned into a stylish food hall, and it was here that we discovered the taproom of the Balladin Brewery, one of the places recommended to us by the barman in Brewdog Florence. We had been on our feet for the best part of three hours by this point so fancied a break, and upon discovering the whole market would be shut for Easter Sunday the next day, we decided to sample a couple of thirds of their delicious local beer. We were a little worried about the toilet situation as we noticed the market only had one set of communal ones but as it turned out they were on the same level as this basement bar so it was all fine. When we entered, it was incredibly quiet but it got busier and busier during the hour we stayed there, as we sat back and enjoyed the strong range of beer they serveds us.
After four third measures each, we decided to push on, heading to the west side of the city which is where Brewdog is. We had meant to try another bar in the city centre, but we didn't really get chance, instead opting to do the one thing we had come to the city to do. On our way, we crossed back across Piazza Maggiore, this time under the grey arches of the building set right in the middle of the square. In front of us, looming into view as we emerged from this tunnel was the imposing Palazzo d'Accuriso which dominates the western flank of the square. This medieval town hall is most famed for its clock and also contains the Biblioteca Salaborsa, which used to be the old stock exchange but is now the city's main library. I really wanted to visit this building but it was shut entirely over the Easter Period, meaning we didn't get the chance. Outside this building is a wall of photographs commemorating the locals who died in 1944 attempting to liberate the city, while near here is a list of the 85 people who were killed when a fascist group detonated a bomb in a packed waiting room at Bologna station on 2 August 1980. I had no idea that this had happened and learning about it was harrowing, particularly as the clock at the station was set at 10:25am, the time of the explosion.
Pushing further west, it was about a twenty-five minute walk to Brewdog, but we hadn't had anything to eat so our plan was to stop for some dinner first. We were headed to Pasta Fresca Naldi, another place recommended to us by the barman in Florence, who had told us that this place was run by a number of grandmothers who make their own pasta. It's on one of the main bar streets in the city so must do significant trade, even though it is a rather small and pokey place. When we walked in, all of the eight stools around the edge of the restaurant were taken, but this didn't stop us from ordering our tagliatelle con ragu, the traditional spaghetti bolognaise, which is not served with spaghetti at all. It came to us after a short wait in a sealed plastic container, and we sat down on two of the stools, which had been vacated as we had waited. The tagliatelle was pretty much al dente but the richness of the meat and a sauce which contained very little tomato was exquisite and this was one of the finest meals I had had in a long while. Served with parmesan, the flavours balanced each other perfectly and it set us up perfectly for a few drinks. In addition, the lady serving was incredibly friendly and before we started eating, she hoped fervently that we would enjoy the food as I told her how we had gotten there. We certainly did enjoy the food.
Brewdog was literally around two corners from this place, but we had noticed a number of other interesting bars to try as we walked towards the pasta place. Alas, we didn't get chance to sample them in the end, favouring instead Brewdog and a place called Il Punto (another Florence barman recommendation) just up the road. Having gotten our stamp, we sat in Brewdog, noticing that it was only about half full. The students are all back at home of course, which may relate to this, while we did notice the place getting fuller as the evening wore on. Despite the lack of numbers though, it was a very relaxing place to be, and the bar staff as ever were convivial. Indeed, this was our 48th Brewdog bar, which is quite a tail to tell, and a number of them were interested. There were only four beers we had not drank here though - annoyingly in some cases as to get the Brewdog Bologna badge on Untappd, you needed to drink five (something we didn't discover until the next evening) - but this just gave us more time at Il Punto which had quite the range of local Italian beers. Even better was that I noticed they did a beer and cheese pairing, which I leapt on pretty quickly. Knowing that we wanted to try as many beers as possible, the kindly lady behind the bar gave us four new ones to go with our four cheeses. The pairings were perfection, but the cheese was divine, particularly the final two cheeses we sampled. One was a goat's cheese in a raisin rind, which was heavenly, while the blue cheese was so rich and creamy it was a sheer privilege just to be there eating them. When combined with the beer, the flavours were just enhanced too, so suffice to say we were very pleased indeed. Indeed, it was probably one of the finest gastronomic experiences of my life, it was so good and the envious looks from a number of the other patrons in the place was testament to this. The beers kept flowing here as there were quite a few to try, even if Wolfie had parked us on the table right next to the bins, and as the early hours approached, we felt more needing our beds than more beer. Therefore, instead of going to the other bars on the street down which we had walked before, we decided to head back to the hotel, which was about a twenty-minute walk away. Upon arriving back there, we were saddened to discover the erectile dysfunction commerical wasn't on, which only catalysed Wolfie's desire to go to sleep. This caused a bit of friction as I wanted to stay awake and sober up slightly but in the end I relented and turned off the lights. I wasn't that drunk anyway and Sunday was going to be a long day indeed.
Anyway, I digress. As we approached the heart of the city, the crowds became thicker and the atmosphere more revelry, such was the pleasant nature of the day. En route, we stopped off at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore with its dark heavy atmosphere, which was in quite significant contrast to the jovality outside, but it was fun to be in this rather cavernous building with its huge columns supporting a rather impressive roof covered in frescos. This was to be a theme throughout our stay in Bologna but one which didn't get old as every church we entered proved to be an architectural delight.
Discourging on the Piazza Maggiore, the main square in the city, there was a lively atmosphere as throngs of people enjoyed the spring sunshine. Hawkers were selling a range of plastic tat for children while buskers abound, filling the electric atmosphere with song. There were a large number of doggo friends being walked by attentive owners - a theme we saw repeated throughout our time here - while in the antechamber known as the Piazza del Nettuno, we saw the huge bronze statue of Neptune, with his manhood on show for all to see. Sculpted by Giambologna in 1556, the nude muscled body of the Greek god was considered obscene by the papacy and there was a Counter-Reformation edict that he should be robed. This delighted the locals, who often had a turbulent relationship with Rome, and even today they point out the best angle at which to see his penis, the one which makes its size bigger.
The rivalry between Bologna and Rome can most clearly be seen in the city's cathedral, the Basilica di San Petronio, which looks half-finished sitting on the southern edge of the square. It sits like this, with pink cladding only a third of the way up its structure, because it was going to be bigger than St Paul's in Rome until Pope Pius IV put a stop to this and diverted the funds to build a university, the Palazzo Archiginnaiso. The top two-thirds of the building is barren brickwork and although it points to a very interesting historical story, you cannot help think that it would have been as impressive as Florence Cathedral had it been finished. Still, its exterior was but a sideshow to the sheer grandeur of its interior, which was another pleasure to behold once we had navigated past the armed guards. The interior of the basilica is quite basic in pink and white, but no less awesome, with the highlight being the sundial that follows the meridian line along the floor. We missed this first time around (bizarrely as you have to walk over the damn thing to leave the building) but we did catch it on our second visit. Measuring almost 60m in length, it is said to be the world's longest sundial in a church and played an important part in the development of astronomy at the nearby university, which just so happens to be the oldest higher education institution in the world. The other highlight in the cathderal was the second chapel on the left, bedecked in green and brown marble, which is dedicated to Saint Petronio and contains relics of the saint. There are twenty chapels in the cathedral overall and a rather grand standalone alter containing a green and gold cross. Walking around the building was a huge privilege although we were a little saddened to discover that the museum and tower were both closed, as was the viewing gallery due to ongoing renovations.
Having concerns about museum opening hours during Easter Sunday, we were assured that the Museo Civico Archeological would be open. We decided therefore to visit that on the Sunday, heading to the Palazzo dell'Archiginnaiso instead. Largely because this was a smaller museum and we only had an hour before everything closed, I also wanted to go as this was the first permanent seat of the university, built in 1562-3. Remaining the seat of the university until 1803, this place united all the faculties under one roof, and it was the Teatro Anatomico which held most interest for me. I had studied that the world's first dissection took place in Padua in the 1530s and Bologna was not far behind, with this theatre being specifically built for it. Around a table where the cadavar lay, there was wooden seating for the students to sit and an imposing wooden chair surrounded by carved naked figures from which a professor would dictate the works of Galen as the surgeon did his work. Having read so much about this at university, it was a real privilege to be in this room, with pictures of the greats (including Galen) adorning the wooden pannelled walls. This was a real thrill for me.
The Stabat Mater, so called because this was where Rossini's first performance in Italian of Stabat Mater took place in 1842, was equally impressive. Now a lecture theatre, its role was similar back then as it was the reading room for the lawyers. This room is very richly decorated, with the two-headed heraldic eagle of Cardinal Legate Fabrizio Savelli being particularly dominant on the southern wall. There are also many coats of arms, with an emblem of the German nation dating these to 1569. Meanwhile, a grand fresco of the Virgin with Child dominates the west wall and adds a more religious presence to what is clearly a civic room. With bookshelves lining the lower portions of these walls with books dedicated to the majority of scholary pursuits, Wolfie and I enjoyed just sitting down and drinking it all in as we took advantage of the many seats laid out assumedly for a lecture of some sort. This whole university was something else, with frescos also adorning the corridors of the building too although some of the shield motifs were overly fussy in my view. In one section there was an exhibition dedicated to book binding, highlighting (sometimes rather tenuously) why the books displayed all came from Bologna due to the various techniques used. This was a little dry in all honesty, but we did enjoy the emblem of the wolf going bleh, which became the second meme of the trip after erectile dysfunction guy. There was also a more engaging temporary event dedicated to the fiction of American children's author Richard Scarry but all of the explanations were in Italian, which was odd considering he wrote in English. I did like the book entitled 'Is This The House of Mistress Mouse?' for my own furry reasons. We were told by the guidebook that there was also a rather impressive courtyard but all we got to see was a clock tower poking out from under some scaffolding as work was being carried out.
We headed east after this, arriving pretty swiftly at Bologna's most iconic sight - the Due Torri. In Medieval times, Bologna had over 120 towers, but only a handful now remain, with these two being the most famous. Dating back to the twelfth century and functioning as both watchtowers and status symbols, legend has it that the two richest families in the city - the Asinelli and Garisenda, after whom the towers are named - competed to see who could build the biggest one. The Asinelli tower is open to the public but the queue was rather long, meaning it was closed by the time we got to its base. Wolfie didn't really fancy it either, so we just admired them from the bottom. Both towers are tilting, Garisenda pretty rakishly so, and that's even after part of it was lopped off in the fourteenth century due to it being built on weak foundations. The towers are so striking that Dante included them in The Inferno, being inspired when he was living here in exile from Florence.
I had the sense of wanting to see more of the city so we decided to head past the merchants' buildings of the Piazza della Mercanzia and down Via Santa Stefano to the church complex bearing this very name. This is the city's most hallowed spot and is a labryinth of ancient and Medieval churches, with the first one being founded as early as the fifth century. One seemlessly flows into the other, although the architectural style understandably differs, while the tucked away courtyards added a certain magical element to them, particularly those blooming with springtime flowers. I got a commemorative coin from here - the only place where I found a machine selling them - which was fitting as this was one of the highlights of the trip for us.
Aware of the diminishing daylight, with the time now approaching 7:30pm, we decided to head back to the city centre and explore the warren-like streets of the Quadilatero, which was thronging with the buzz of people dining. This is the food quarter of the city and there were a large number of restaurants and charcuterie places selling their wares. The streets were teeming with life and it was a pleasure ambling down them, with you being able to get a real sense of the history of the place as I'm sure this has been the scene here for hundreds of years. In the Medieval period, most of the guilds were set up here so the area was always a marketplace, and with excellent hams and plump fruit on offer, little has probably changed. The jewel is perhaps the Mercato di Mezzo, the old covered market that has been turned into a stylish food hall, and it was here that we discovered the taproom of the Balladin Brewery, one of the places recommended to us by the barman in Brewdog Florence. We had been on our feet for the best part of three hours by this point so fancied a break, and upon discovering the whole market would be shut for Easter Sunday the next day, we decided to sample a couple of thirds of their delicious local beer. We were a little worried about the toilet situation as we noticed the market only had one set of communal ones but as it turned out they were on the same level as this basement bar so it was all fine. When we entered, it was incredibly quiet but it got busier and busier during the hour we stayed there, as we sat back and enjoyed the strong range of beer they serveds us.
After four third measures each, we decided to push on, heading to the west side of the city which is where Brewdog is. We had meant to try another bar in the city centre, but we didn't really get chance, instead opting to do the one thing we had come to the city to do. On our way, we crossed back across Piazza Maggiore, this time under the grey arches of the building set right in the middle of the square. In front of us, looming into view as we emerged from this tunnel was the imposing Palazzo d'Accuriso which dominates the western flank of the square. This medieval town hall is most famed for its clock and also contains the Biblioteca Salaborsa, which used to be the old stock exchange but is now the city's main library. I really wanted to visit this building but it was shut entirely over the Easter Period, meaning we didn't get the chance. Outside this building is a wall of photographs commemorating the locals who died in 1944 attempting to liberate the city, while near here is a list of the 85 people who were killed when a fascist group detonated a bomb in a packed waiting room at Bologna station on 2 August 1980. I had no idea that this had happened and learning about it was harrowing, particularly as the clock at the station was set at 10:25am, the time of the explosion.
Pushing further west, it was about a twenty-five minute walk to Brewdog, but we hadn't had anything to eat so our plan was to stop for some dinner first. We were headed to Pasta Fresca Naldi, another place recommended to us by the barman in Florence, who had told us that this place was run by a number of grandmothers who make their own pasta. It's on one of the main bar streets in the city so must do significant trade, even though it is a rather small and pokey place. When we walked in, all of the eight stools around the edge of the restaurant were taken, but this didn't stop us from ordering our tagliatelle con ragu, the traditional spaghetti bolognaise, which is not served with spaghetti at all. It came to us after a short wait in a sealed plastic container, and we sat down on two of the stools, which had been vacated as we had waited. The tagliatelle was pretty much al dente but the richness of the meat and a sauce which contained very little tomato was exquisite and this was one of the finest meals I had had in a long while. Served with parmesan, the flavours balanced each other perfectly and it set us up perfectly for a few drinks. In addition, the lady serving was incredibly friendly and before we started eating, she hoped fervently that we would enjoy the food as I told her how we had gotten there. We certainly did enjoy the food.
Brewdog was literally around two corners from this place, but we had noticed a number of other interesting bars to try as we walked towards the pasta place. Alas, we didn't get chance to sample them in the end, favouring instead Brewdog and a place called Il Punto (another Florence barman recommendation) just up the road. Having gotten our stamp, we sat in Brewdog, noticing that it was only about half full. The students are all back at home of course, which may relate to this, while we did notice the place getting fuller as the evening wore on. Despite the lack of numbers though, it was a very relaxing place to be, and the bar staff as ever were convivial. Indeed, this was our 48th Brewdog bar, which is quite a tail to tell, and a number of them were interested. There were only four beers we had not drank here though - annoyingly in some cases as to get the Brewdog Bologna badge on Untappd, you needed to drink five (something we didn't discover until the next evening) - but this just gave us more time at Il Punto which had quite the range of local Italian beers. Even better was that I noticed they did a beer and cheese pairing, which I leapt on pretty quickly. Knowing that we wanted to try as many beers as possible, the kindly lady behind the bar gave us four new ones to go with our four cheeses. The pairings were perfection, but the cheese was divine, particularly the final two cheeses we sampled. One was a goat's cheese in a raisin rind, which was heavenly, while the blue cheese was so rich and creamy it was a sheer privilege just to be there eating them. When combined with the beer, the flavours were just enhanced too, so suffice to say we were very pleased indeed. Indeed, it was probably one of the finest gastronomic experiences of my life, it was so good and the envious looks from a number of the other patrons in the place was testament to this. The beers kept flowing here as there were quite a few to try, even if Wolfie had parked us on the table right next to the bins, and as the early hours approached, we felt more needing our beds than more beer. Therefore, instead of going to the other bars on the street down which we had walked before, we decided to head back to the hotel, which was about a twenty-minute walk away. Upon arriving back there, we were saddened to discover the erectile dysfunction commerical wasn't on, which only catalysed Wolfie's desire to go to sleep. This caused a bit of friction as I wanted to stay awake and sober up slightly but in the end I relented and turned off the lights. I wasn't that drunk anyway and Sunday was going to be a long day indeed.
