Tom`s travels: Bologna (20/12/2018)

After coming back from Hamburg to Vicenza for the Christmas holidays, I decided to do a day trip and visit the city of Bologna which I hadn't seen in so many years. So after finding a super cheap deal with a bus company called Marino I booked the ticket for both ways costing me just 10 euros in total. The bus left the station in Vicenza in the early morning so that gave me plenty of time to explore Bologna. After reaching the city's bus station three hours later I headed towards the city center and immediately stopped to have a look through a small window set inside a wall. As I opened the window I was able to have a look at one of the many canals that used to flow through the city. This canal called Canale delle Moline is one of the few that managed to survive the coverings that took place between the 1930s and 50s. Along it, in the past, the washerwomen would stand on wooden boards and wash their clothes there. A little further on I then reached the church of San Martino, which despite being under reconstruction was still open; I thus decided to head in and visit it. Built during the 13th century it was refurbished the following three centuries in a mostly Gothic style. The interior held some nice features such as the remains of a 15th-century fresco by the famous painter Paolo Uccello. After that, I headed back out through the streets and reached the Basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore not much further on. A beautiful mix of Romanesque and Gothic, the church was built around 1267 and just slightly modified the following centuries, mostly in its interior. After entering the building a priest that had been sitting down on the benches came up to me and started discussing a bit about the Augustinian order, which manages the church, and about God and religion in general. After a long monologue, he finally let me go and I was able to tour the interior of the basilica which featured a mainly renaissance structure with Baroque additions. In the far back of the church, next to the apse and main altar is a beautiful renaissance chapel belonging to the Bentivoglio family with incredible frescoes. The entrance was barred, as it can only be visited during the weekend, but one could see the whole structure from the outside. It was quite dark though and a coin was necessary to illuminate the frescoes, which I opted not to do and just see it through the natural light. After exiting the church and walking right behind the apse a small door led to a large room where a lady asked me if I wished to buy the ticket to see the Oratory of Saint Cecilia. After paying the small fee the lady gave me a plaque and briefly described the structure before letting me tour around myself. Known as Bologna's Sistine Chapel, it features a beautiful array of early 16th century frescoes by local artists with stories of Saints Cecilia and Valeriano. Even though photography was not allowed, I nonetheless managed to take a few pics of the beautiful frescoes. As I exited the oratory I continued walked and passed by a section of street flanked by huge porticoes. Bologna is in fact known for its porticoes which put together form 38km in just the city center and up to 53 if counting the outer areas too. They are a typical feature of Italy and even more of the city of Bologna and in fact, there is no other city in the world with that amount with Torin coming in second place with "just" 18km. After walking under such an interesting structure I reached the triangular-shaped square, Piazza Santo Stefano. One of the most pretty and characteristic of the city center, it features a large basilica on the shortest side, Basilica of Santo Stefano, which gave the name to the square. Also known as the seven churches, it is called so due to being made up of several small churches and chapels which together form up a continuous structure. Having really ancient origins, it is thought to have been built during the 5th century upon a temple dedicated to Isis in order to recreate the church of the holy sepulcher of Jerusalem. As I entered, I first passed through the main part which consisted the church of the holy crucifix built as a single nave originally dating to the 8th century but with a 17th-century altar featuring a crucifix from 1380. A small door then led to an octagonal structure called the church of the holy sepulcher, originally built during the 5th century but rebuilt during the 11th century after the Magyar invasions. The octagonal building holds a marble structure at its center which was supposed to represent that of the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem. Another door led to another church, that of Saints Vitale and Agricola. Considered as the oldest of the complex, it features a plain nave with reutilized roman columns supporting the structure. Due to the upcoming Christmas festivities, they had set up a nice nativity scene all along the central nave. Moving onwards I then reached the Courtyard of Pilate, with at the center an 8th-century longobard basin and bordered by romanesque portals to the south and north, the former leading to the church of the holy sepulcher and the latter to the church of the trinity which I then proceeded through. A small arcaded structure it was meant to become a larger church but was never finished and instead turned into a baptistry featuring still some 14th-century frescoes. A door then led to the cloister, a beautiful large Romanesque structure dating to the 12th century with a nice renaissance well at its center. Along its eastern end are a series of small rooms which now feature a small pretty museum with gothic works of art. After the visit of the incredible complex, I then headed further and reached the large Piazza San Domenico. Named so because of the large Basilica which stands at its southern side, it hosts some interesting monuments as well. There are two columns, one holding Saint Domenico and another holding the statue of Mary and built in 1632 to commemorate the end of a plague which had hit the city. There are also two free-standing tombs in the form of a baldachin which were built during the 14th century as resting places for two law professors and jurists. One for Rolandino dei Passaggeri and the other for Egidio Foscherari, they are topped with a green pyramid-like structure supported by columns. As I admired the monuments I then decided to enter the Basilica, originally built during the 13th century but which suffered various refurbishments. The interior, in fact, presented a typical Baroque style dating from the 18th century but with some earlier features such as the outstanding Arca di San Domenico, an impressive monument holding the remains of Saint Dominic. Built by the famous sculptor, Nicola Pisano in 1267, with the help of his apprentice Arnolfo di Cambio, who would then become famous as well, it then received further additions, one of which during the 15th century by the then young Michelangelo. I then went out through a door and walked around the small yet pretty cloister which granted a view of the southern part of the basilica that was still surrounded by a bit of snow that had not yet melted away. After seeing the church I then headed back out and walked until I reached the building of the Archiginnasio, the city's university main building. The University of Bologna is, in fact, the world's oldest having been founded in 1088. The Archiginnasio was built a few centuries after, around the 16th century, and became then the main seat of the university. As I walked through its courtyard I noticed the beautiful coat of arms of all students coming from all over the then known world. Students were in fact organized as groups from the same nations or area and it was interesting to spot those from all over Europe on the building's walls. As I walked upstairs I then reached a long hallway which led on one side to the university library, currently used by students, and on the other to the 17th-century anatomical theatre used to show medical operations to students. As the entrance to it required a ticket I decided to skip for this time and head further to explore the city. From there it was a really short walk to reach the central square, Piazza Maggiore. As I entered from the south-eastern side I walked by the renaissance Palazzo dei Banchi on the right, and the Basilica of San Petronio on the left. Then right in front was the 13th century Palazzo del Podestà, where the governor of the city used to reside, while the western end of the square was flanked by the 14th century Palazzo dei Notai and the 14th century Palazzo d'Accursi, also known as Palazzo Comunale, as it served as the seat of the city's administration and still serves as city hall today. I then decided to head to visit the church after admiring its incomplete yet impressive facade. Originally built during the 14th century, an incredible marble facade was planned with just the bottom half being completed during the 16th century. The upper half was left with the bare brick making it a sharp contrast with the elegant lower part. After entering the building I walked through its immense nave featuring a typical Gothic structure. The church is, in fact, the largest brick gothic church in the world measuring 132 meters long, 66 wide and 47 tall. Photography was strangely not allowed and a part was closed off for those not possessing a ticket. After admiring the interior I then headed back out to the square and through another smaller square, the Piazza del Nettuno, which was basically a continuation of the main one to the north. At its center stands the beautiful Fountain of Neptune, a monumental civic fountain constructed in 1567 by the architect Giambologna. As in other cities around Italy, the figure of Neptune, God of the sea, is a prominent feature particularly due to the nature of the fountain as a dispenser of water. Back through the main square I then walked under Palazzo dei Banchi to reach a dense area of the city. This used to be one of the main commercial areas of the city and where the labor corporations used to practice their trades. Now after so many centuries its destination has not changed much and it is the area known as Mercato Vecchio or old market. All kinds of food shops found a place here from small family-owned enterprises showcasing beautiful and moth watering hams, cheeses and so forth to the larger and more known international markets like Eataly. After admiring all kinds of local specialties I decided to stop at one of the small shops/restaurants and try a mortadella-filled sandwich. After having lunch and feeling satisfied I then continued my walk through the city, passing by two medieval towers. These two towers, the Torre degli Asinelli, and the Torre della Garisenda are two famous attractions of the city. The city used to be in fact once filled with towers, reaching a grand total of 150 just in the city center, and these two towers are just a small reminder of that grandeur. Both leaning sideways, with the Asinelli by 2.2m and the Garisenda by 3.2, they are impressive to look at. The former reaches a height of 97.2m making it the tallest leaning tower in Italy. As I continued on I then reached and entered the National Art Gallery, one of the leading art museums in the city. Mostly centered on Emilian artists from the 13th to the 18th centuries, it also features works of art of other artists which in some way influenced or were influenced by the city. Among the many medieval altarpieces and frescoes, and the 15th and 16th-century paintings were also examples of famous artists such as Giotto, Titian, Parmigianino, and Raphael. After touring the museum for a bit I then walked back through the city center passing once more by the main square and ending up in a small square, sided by the late mannerist church of San Salvatore and a building which had a plaque indicating that was the birthplace of Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio. As I walked further I then reached the impressive Basilica of Saint Francis, located on the western end of the old town. Right behind its apse, on a small garden, where three more examples of free-standing tombs with the typical green pyramid structure this time dedicated to three other law professors and jurists from the 13th century, Odofredo Denari, Rolandino dei Romanzi, and Accursio. Passing by the tombs I then entered the church and visited its large interior, which being built around the 13th century, presents a Gothic structure but more like the french style thus making it one of its best examples in Italy. A beautiful marble altar from the 14th century stands above the main altar. After seeing the interior I went out from the front and turned around to admire the facade which still fitting well with the rest of the church actually presents a Romanesque style. The sun was starting to set and it was time for me to head back to the bus station from where I took my ride that took me back home in Vicenza.