Bologna

Bologna (Italian: Bologna, Emilian-Romagnol: Bulåggna) is a city in northern Italy, capital of the metropolitan area of the same name and of the Emilia-Romagna region, located between the Reno and Savena rivers, near the Apennines. It is one of the best preserved historical cities and has the second largest medieval old town in Europe, after Venice.

Toponymy

In Spanish the city is known as Bologna. In Italian his name is Bologna (pronounced/bojlo/a/( listen)). In emiliano-Roman language the toponym would be Bulåggna ([Boying]).

History

It was founded by the Etruscans, under the name Felsina. Later, the city became the Roman colony known as Bononia. Bologna la docta: the city has retained its reputation as a cultural city since Roman times (Marcial called it the cultured Bononia), when it was one of the main centers of the via Emily. Likewise, the famous Bologna interview took place there, in 43 BC. C. that resulted in the formation of the Second Triumvirate of the Roman Republic, made up of Octavio, Marco Antonio and Marco Emilio Lépido

The Bologna Charter or Statutes, drawn up in 1248, is the oldest known original Masonic document.

Bologna in the Lower Middle Ages, with its tall houses-torres.

During the Early Middle Ages it had a period of decline, but recovered in the communal period (XI-XIV). In 1361 the long papal rule began, disturbed by some rebellions and external occupation attempts, but which, despite these, lasted until 1796, the year in which Napoleon Bonaparte's troops entered Bologna.

It was also an important political center, since on February 24, 1530, Charles V was crowned in the Basilica of San Petronio (patron saint of Bologna) by Pope Clement VII. The event would soon be mythologized, as it was the last time that an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was crowned by a pontiff. The festivities of the coronation should have been framed by the city of Rome, but the memory of the recent sacking that it had suffered in May 1527 advised its transfer to Bologna. The festivities opened with the reception offered to Clemente VII on October 24, 1529. Days later, on November 5, the same would be done with Carlos V.

In the Renaissance, Bologna became a center of culture and one of the largest cities in the Papal States. Bologna was also one of the most important commercial centers in Italy, thanks to its numerous channels through which merchandise circulated, channels that today are buried except for one. Part of the taxes collected from the merchants were used to pay the professors of its famous university founded in 1088. It is estimated that of the 1,000,000 inhabitants of Bologna and its metropolitan area, 100,000 are students of this important and historic university..

Earthquakes

Bologna is known for the terrorist attack that the neo-fascists Valerio Fioravanti and Francesca Mambro committed on August 2, 1980 at the railway station (the most important in northern Italy). In the attack 85 people died and some 200 were injured.

Bologna has been and is one of the key cities in the Italian and European labor and alternative movement. It has been a place of congresses and labor agitation. First as a socialist hard core and, after 1945, a communist. Thus, from 1946 to 1999 it was governed uninterruptedly by the communist PCI (from 1991 to 1999 by its social democratic heir PDS-DS) and again, since 2004, after the center-right local government hiatus from 1999-2004 (mayor Giorgio Guazzaloca), an event that made a great impression on the Italian political scene.

Demographics

Its 394,649 inhabitants give the city a population density higher than the Italian average with 2,799 inhabitants/km. The population is distributed unequally. Less than 10% live in the center, while in the new and widening neighborhoods, high density forces the urban center to spread out. Its low birth and mortality mean that the average life expectancy is 78 years in one of the most developed regions of Italy, which means that its population is maintained with the reduced local immigration.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Bologna between 1861 and 2021

Source ISTAT - Wikipedia graphics

Geography

Bologna is located on the Padana plain on the slopes of the Apennine hill between the Reno and Savena valleys. The territory of the Metropolitan City extends from the southern margin of the Padana plain bordering Ferrara to the Tosco-Emilian Appennino mountains, the height ranges from 29 m above sea level in the Corticella fraction, to 54 m above sea level. center, up to 1945 m from the Corno alle Scale. For the Catholic Church the city belongs to the Archdiocese of Bologna.

Climate

Bologna has a continental climate, unable to enjoy the influence of the sea, with harsh winters and hot, dry summers.

Average weather parameters of Bologna
Month	Ene	Feb	Mar	Abr	May	Jun	Jul	Ago	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dic	Year
Average maximum temperature (°C)	6.0	9.0	14,2	17.7	23,0	27.1	30.4	29.8	25.4	18.6	11,1	6.8	18.3
Average minimum temperature (°C)	-0.5	0.9	4,1	7.4	12,0	15.7	18.5	18.4	14,8	10.1	4.3	0.4	8.8
Precipitations (cm)	3.4	4.4	5.4	7.4	5.8	5.7	4.0	5.3	6.8	7.2	6.8	4.9	67.1
Ice days (Tmin ≤ 0 °C)	17	11	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	14	49
Source: Bologna-Meteoam.it Climate 1971-2000

Education

University of Bologna

The University of Bologna (UNIBO) is believed to be the oldest university in the Western world. This public center was founded in 1088 and among its students are Dante Alighieri, Petrarca, Thomas Becket, Erasmus and Nicolás Copernicus, as well as an endless list of Spanish schoolboys who, since 1369, the year in which the Royal College of Spain opened its doors. They have done their studies there. We can highlight among the most outstanding Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Antonio de Nebrija, Antonio Agustín or San Pedro de Arbués.

Monuments and places of interest

Atardecer in the historic center

The Two Towers (Due Torri) is the most famous place in Bologna. Actually, in the 12th and XIII many towers were built in Bologna, these being the most famous of those that remain. The tallest tower is almost 98m and has 498 steps. On a clear day, you can see as far as Verona, the Dolomites and the Apennines from the Asinelli tower.

Canale delle Moline

Among the most important visits in the city we can mention the National Art Gallery of Bologna, with a magnificent collection of artistic masterpieces of the Bologna School, from the Renaissance to the Counter-Reformation; the church of San Esteban (The Seven Churches), Santo Domingo, San Jorge, the Communal Theatre, San Petronio, Piazza Maggiore, the Royal College of Spain, the tombs of the Glosadores, the spectacular Arch-gym and an infinity of churches scattered around the whole city. And, above all, its 37 km of porticoes in the old town (about 50 km throughout the city), with the Portico of San Luca, the longest in the world (3.5 km in length and 666 arches, from the Puerta de Zaragoza up to the church of San Lucas, on the Colle della Guardia), from where you can see the Padan plain, the Reno valley, the city and the Apennines.

On August 6, 1221, Santo Domingo de Guzmán, one of the greatest defenders and propagators of the Catholic Church, died in Bologna. He was canonized by Gregory IX in 1234 and his remains rest in the Basilica of Santo Domingo, of the Convent of Preachers of Bologna (San Domenico ), in a beautiful and artistic chapel.

Garisenda and Asinelli, the most famous Towers of Bologna.

• The Two Towers (Due Torri), two famous medieval towers that characterize the panorama of the city. The tower of the Asinelli (97.60 m height) was erected in the centuryXII, perhaps for the homonymous family, but it is more likely that the Commune will rise to serve as a tower of vice; from its top it is covered with the look of the entire city; the Garisenda (the Garisenda)48.16 m) is much more inclined and perhaps attributed to the Garisendi family; it was built at the end of the centuryXI.
• Piazza Maggiore, the main square of the city flanked by great and noble buildings; in front of San Petronio is the palace of the Podesta (centuryXIII), current headquarters of the City Council, rebuilt at the end of the centuryXV; on the east side is the palace of the Banks, building of the centuryXVI due to Vignola; next to the church, the Palazzo dei Notai (siglos XIV-XV); and on the west side rises the Communal Palace (siglos) XIII-XV).
• Basilica of San Petronio, one of the largest churches of the existing ones; it was projected in 1390 by Antonio di Vincenzo and erected at intervals in the centuries XV, XVI and XVII. The lower part of its facade is covered by marbles and the upper part was unfinished. The beautiful central portal, was started by Jacopo della Quercia in 1425 and modified in part in the centuryXVI; they decorate it interesting bas-reliefs; the lateral portals are due to several artists of the centuryXVI. Its vast interior is Gothic, with three naves and lateral chapels closed by rails (some of them are illuminated by beautiful stained glass windows of the centuryXV); in the first and fourth of the left there are frescoes by Giovanni de Módena (1379-1455), in the seventh a Virgin with Saints of Lorenzo Costa; at the bottom to the left is the Museum; also interesting is the solar quadrant of the pavement. The tribune that dominates the main altar is of Vignola; in the nave chapel of the right nave, there is a statue of San Antonio attributed to Sansovino, in the sixth a altarpiece of Lorenzo Costa with San Jerónimo and in the fifth a Piedad de Amico Aspertini. In this church in 1530, he was crowned Emperor Charles I.
• Basilica of San Francisco, a beautiful Gothic church (restored widely after the bombings of 1943) that was built in the mid-centuryXIII; the influences of the French architecture are evident in the radial chapels and in the apse arbotants, in front of the three Arks of the Glossors (comentarists of legal works, of the centuryXIII). Its interior retains a altarpiece of the Dalle Masegne. Also interesting are the cloisters.
• National Pinacoteca. It was constituted in the centuryXIX and offers great interest in his emilian school paintings of the centuries XIV Al XVIII. In the Primitives Section there are works by Vitale da Bologna (Saint George and the dragon), Giotto and assistants (Virgen and Santos), Simone dei Crocifissi and Jacopino da Bologna. In the Renaissance section: paintings by the Vivarini de Cima, de Costa, de Rafael (Éxtasis de Santa Cecilia) of Parmigianino (Virgin of Santa MargaritaFrance and Roberti. In the Baroque section: works of the Carracci (Announcementfrom Annibale, Guido Reni, Domenichino, Crespi and Guercino.

Historic villas and palaces

Army

• Airborne brigade "Friuli".
• 121° Anti-aircraft artillery regiment "Ravenna".
• Regiment of railway engineers.

Culture

Museums

Theatres and performance halls

Gastronomy

Cafés in Via Caprarie

Bologna's gastronomic tradition is closely linked to the university: the mix of several students of different nationalities enriched the culture of food, and required a good organization of food supply. There are numerous restaurants specializing in the Mediterranean diet, especially in preparing the typical dish of the city, the bolognese tagliatelle or tortellini in brodo (tortellini in soup). It is also typical to accompany the pasta with a good glass of Sangiovese wine.

Tallarines with bolognese sauce

Bolognese cuisine, as well as that of Emilia-Romagna in general, is distinguished by the abundant use of meat, especially pork sausages, and pasta. That is why the city is nicknamed as "Bologna la gorda" (Bologna la grassa). The use of dairy products such as butter, fresh cheese and Parmesan cheese is also abundant. Many Bolognese recipes are distributed throughout the world as the excellence of Italian cuisine, and the proliferation in the city of commercial activities related to food, have led the Italian and foreign press to give the city the name of "Food City" (Città del cibo).

Among the typical products of Bologna are tagliatelle, tortellini, ragù bolognese, lasagna bolognese, passatelli, bologna mortadella, cotoletta bolognese, certosino di Bologna, zuppa inglese and the mascarpone cream

Economy

Bologna has the largest Italian fair after Milan: Motorshow is the most important automobile exhibition in the world (1.3 million visitors per year), also famous in the same field for having the manufacturer of Lamborghini sports cars within his town (Villa Santa Ágata), as well as the manufacturer of Ducati motorcycles, one of the leading brands in the MGP championship.

Transportation

Airport

	Airport	IATA Code	ICAO Code
	Bologna Airport	BLQ	LIPE

The Marconi Express automatic elevated train line connects Bologna Central station to the airport.

Roads

Currently, the city and its metropolitan area are the most important Italian communication hub (and no longer Milan or Rome) by road, motorway (four motorways reach Bologna: the Autostrada del Sole (Autostrada del Sole) from the north (Milan), the Autostrada del Sol from the south (Naples-Rome-Florence), the Venice-Padua highway and the Adriatic Highway (Autostrada Adriatica) from Taranto (via Bari-Pescara-Ancona)).

Railroad

The city of Bologna is also an important railway junction, with several stations and railway stops, the main station being the Bologna Central station, through which some 70 million passengers pass per year. Other dependencies are the San Donato railway unloading station (with another from Interporto), which is the largest in Europe.

Public transportation

The city is connected by its more than 40 local bus lines and up to 800 intercity ones.

• Public Transport of Bologna
• Metropolitan Railway Service

According to the report carried out by Moovit in July 2017, the average time people spend on public transport in Bologna, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 53 min, while that 9% of people spend more than 2 hours every day. The average time that people wait at a stop or station is 12 minutes, while 16% of people wait more than 20 minutes each day. The average distance that people usually travel in a single trip is 5.4 km, while 7% travel more than 12 km in one direction.

A future means of urban public transport in the town will be the Bologna tram. Work will begin in 2022 for commissioning in 2026.

Sports

The city of Bologna has hosted the 1934 and 1990 Soccer World Cups, with the matches being held at the Renato Dall'Ara Stadium. In this stadium, the home games are played by Bologna FC, a team founded in 1909 and which has been Serie A champion five times, being the fifth most successful team in this regard.

As for basketball, it has two of the best Italian teams in history, Virtus Bologna and Fortitudo Bologna. Virtus has been a two-time Euroleague champion and a 16-time Lega Basket Serie A champion; while Fortitudo has 2 Legas, both achieved at the beginning of the XXI century. In the year 2022, Virtus managed to win the EuroCup, returning to the highest European competition several years later and being the first Italian team to win said trophy.

It features one of the "classics" best known in the cycling calendar. Every year, at the end of the season, the Giro de Emilia is held with a finish in the ascent to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of San Luca, being one of the tests that is included in the UCI ProSeries.

Twinned cities

Bologna is twinned with the following cities:

Notable people