The Towers and Squares That Define Bologna's Heart
Stand at Piazza di Porta Ravegnana and look up. The Torre degli Asinelli rises 97 metres above you, a medieval needle that has pierced Bologna's skyline since 1119. Its companion, the Torre dei Garisenda, leans dramatically beside it—a 12th-century tower that tips more than 3 metres out of true. These are the Due Torri, the iconic pair that orient every visitor and every local. The Torre degli Asinelli closed to the public in October 2023 for a decade-long renovation, but you can still walk beneath them and feel the weight of 900 years pressing down from above.
Move south into Piazza Maggiore, the ceremonial heart of the city, ringed by palaces that tell the story of Bologna's power. The Basilica di San Petronio dominates with its unfinished Gothic façade—it was meant to be the largest church in the world, but ambition outran resources. Inside, you'll find the Bolognini Chapel, paintings by Parmigianino, and a controversial medieval sundial by Cassini that tracks the exact day of the year. The Fontana di Nettuno, renovated in 2017, stands in the adjacent square with Neptune's bronze form commanding the space. This fountain, sculpted in 1563 and later embellished by Giambologna, has become one of Bologna's defining symbols.
- Basilica di San Petronio: Monday–Saturday 09:30–12:30, 14:30–17:30; Sunday 14:30–17:00. Enter to see the Gothic vault and chapel treasures.
- Fontana di Nettuno: in Piazza del Nettuno, freely viewable at any hour.
- Palazzo d'Accursio (Palazzo Comunale), the city hall at Piazza Maggiore 6: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00. Climb the monumental staircase designed wide enough for horse-drawn carriages, and see Renaissance paintings and sculptures. Children under 14 are free.
- Palazzo Re Enzo, just off Piazza del Nettuno: The palace where King Enzo of Sardinia was held prisoner for more than 22 years after 1249, its Gothic form restored in 1905.
Underground Time and the University's Anatomical Secrets
Beneath Piazza Maggiore lies the Scavi Romani di biblioteca salaborsa—ruins that move from Roman roads of the 2nd century BCE through a 16th-century cistern, all suspended on metal walkways in a basement wrapped inside a converted 19th-century stock exchange hall that now functions as a library. The contrast between the weight of archaeological time below and the airy modern reading room above makes this small museum feel larger than its footprint. A voluntary contribution gets you in.
Just south of Piazza Maggiore, the Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio once housed the main building of the University of Bologna, established in 1088. Now it shelters the Archiginnasio Municipal Library and two museums within: the Teatro Anatomico, a wood-lined dissection theatre where medical students learned by observing cadavers, and the Sala dello Stabat Mater, a hall of manuscripts and frescoes. Both spaces carry the intellectual intensity of centuries.
- Scavi Romani di biblioteca salaborsa, Piazza Nettuno 3: Monday 14:30–19:00, Tuesday–Saturday 10:00–19:00. Voluntary contribution.
- Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, Piazza Galvani 1: Monday–Friday 10:00–18:00, Saturday 10:00–19:00, Sunday 10:00–14:00. €3 for Teatro Anatomico and Sala dello Stabat Mater.
Medieval Streets, Scholar Tombs, and the Weight of History
Walk Via Rizzoli, one of Bologna's main thoroughfares, and it opens into Piazza di Porta Ravegnana where the towers stand. But turn instead toward Piazza San Domenico and Piazza Malpighi, where the Tombe dei Glossatori (Tombs of the Glossators) cluster—stone monuments honouring the medieval lawyers and scholars who annotated and expanded Roman law, reshaping jurisprudence for Europe. These tombs, dating from the late 13th century, are where Bologna's intellectual legacy becomes visible in marble and inscriptions.
The Basilica di San Domenico itself, nearby, has been open since the 7th hour each morning and into the evening, welcoming visitors to a sacred space that has harboured both worship and scholarship. Via Santa Caterina, lined with 16th-century houses squeezed close together, offers the texture of residential Bologna—narrow, human-scaled, and undisturbed by major traffic.
- Basilica di San Domenico, Piazza di San Domenico: daily 07:30–13:00, 15:30–19:30.
- Tombe dei Glossatori: freely viewable in the piazzas surrounding them.
- Via Santa Caterina: a quiet pedestrian street worth wandering.
The 666 Arches and Baroque Faith at San Luca
Leave Piazza Maggiore and head south toward Porta Saragozza. What begins as a normal medieval gate becomes, beyond it, something altogether singular: a portico of over 600 arches—4 kilometres long—climbing steadily uphill toward the Sanctuary of San Luca. This is the longest portico in the world, built over centuries so that pilgrims could process to the mountain-top church without exposure to the elements. Walk it at any pace; the arches create a rhythm that steadies thought. At the summit, the baroque Santuario Madonna di San Luca, with its unusual round shape, offers a panoramic view that encompasses the city spread below and the hills beyond. The sanctuary houses the icon of the Madonna di San Luca, a citywide symbol of protection and devotion.
If the uphill walk does not appeal, the San Luca Express tourist train runs from Porta Saragozza (€13), or you can take the number 58 TPER bus, though it runs only every 30 minutes.
- Sanctuary of San Luca, Via di San Luca 36: daily 07:00–18:00. Reach it by walking the 666-arch portico from Porta Saragozza, or by train or bus.
- San Michele in Bosco, Via Pupilli 1: daily 09:00–12:00, 16:00–18:00. Another hilltop church with panoramic views, reachable by number 30 bus if the climb is steep.
Stone Passages and a Glimpse of Medieval Waterways
Bologna's arcades—the Portici—total 38 kilometres of covered walkways, built by municipal order to shelter travellers and traders. They are wide enough that a medieval traveller could lie down and sleep beneath them, a practical urban innovation that has become architectural poetry. Wander under them without purpose; they connect the city in a way that streets above cannot.
At the Finestrella di Via Piella, a small window frames the Moline Canal—a rare visible remnant of the water system that once made Bologna a trade hub. This brief glimpse of water and reflected light, framed like a painting, reminds you that beneath the medieval streets runs an older geography of commerce and connection.
- Portici (arcades): accessible throughout the old city; the longest and most famous route climbs to San Luca.
- Finestrella di Via Piella: a free viewpoint onto the canal, easily found near the city centre.
Bologna's compact centre is made for walking, and each turn reveals another layer of medieval, Renaissance, and baroque time. Begin with the towers, descend into the Roman ruins, climb the longest portico in the world, and wander the arcades that have sheltered travellers for centuries. Then plan your trip.