Bologna: top attractions & road trip guide
Bologna is the capital of Emilia-Romagna, a city of red-brick porticoes, medieval towers, and Europe's oldest university, founded in 1088. Nicknamed "la dotta, la grassa, la rossa" (the learned, the fat, the red) for its scholarship, cuisine, and terracotta rooftops, it is regarded as one of Italy's culinary capitals, birthplace of tortellini and ragù.
Sitting at a crossroads of major Italian highways, Bologna makes a practical stopover on road trips linking Tuscany, Venice, and the Adriatic coast. Its historic center is covered by a ZTL zone monitored by cameras, so visitors generally park in one of the guarded lots near the ring road and explore the porticoed streets on foot.
Top attractions
Two Towers (Le Due Torri)
The leaning Garisenda and taller Asinelli towers, both built in the early 12th century, are the surviving landmarks of dozens of medieval defensive towers.
Basilica di San Petronio
One of the largest church buildings in the world, dominating Piazza Maggiore with an unfinished marble facade and a giant sundial on its floor.
Piazza Maggiore
Bologna's central square since the 13th century, framed by the Palazzo d'Accursio, Palazzo del Podestà, and the Fountain of Neptune nearby.
Portico di San Luca
The world's longest continuous portico, nearly 4 kilometers of arches climbing a hill to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca.
Quadrilatero Market District
A tangle of narrow medieval streets behind Piazza Maggiore lined with butchers, cheesemongers, and delis that have traded here for centuries.
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