Bologna, Italy

The origins of Bologna can be traced right back to the Bronze Age. Around 3,000 years ago, a population of unknown origin settled in the Appenine region, on the banks of the Apose and Ravone rivers. During the Iron Age, this population developed its own authentic culture and came to be known as the Villanovian Civilization.

These Villanovian villages were inhabited by skillful potters and smiths who developed working relationships with other civilizations such as the Etruscans, the Greeks and the Phonaeceans. This meant the Villanovians were able to play a central role in the trade route network covering northern and central Italy.

In around the sixth century BCE, the settlement of villages was eventually surrounded by the Etruscans (who brought with them their culture) and the area was transformed into the wealthy and prosperous Felsina. The Etruscans in Felsina (mentioned by Pliny in one of his works) added to the trade links already established by the Villanovians and it soon became the commercial center of Etruria. The population here was a peace-loving one, which an interest in both crafts and commerce.

In around 350 BCE, Felsina found itself incapable of repelling a rash attack by the Galli Boi who had reached the surrounding plains. The coarse, dirty and ugly Galli Boi did not leave any important heritage behind - except perhaps the name of the city: it is said that the name Bologna is derived from the word Boi or bona which means city in the Celt language.

It was only after two hundred years of Celt domination that they were finally defeated in battle by Publio Cornelio Scipione Nasica and sent into flight. Bononia (as it was then called) became a Roman colony. In 187 BCE, the Roman Consul Marco Emilio Lepido had the Via Emilia constructed, thus giving the city an important position in the center of Peninsula Italy's road network.

During the Roman period, Bononia re-acquired some of its lost splendor. Many important architectural works were built including the Roman castrum, the road network (part of the paving of which is still visible in Via Manzoni, as well as the Palazzo Fava Ghisilardi, and Fava Ghisilieri, the Roman theatre in Via Carbonesi.

The fall of the Roman Empire also brought about the decline of Bononia. Realizing that they were lacking in defenses and therefore vulnerable to raids by Barbarians, the citizens rushed to repair the city's defenses and fortify the city with a high defensive wall made from selenite. In an effort to bring new hope to the weary population and re-build the fragmented society, the Bishops of Rome (who had been granted freedom of religion by an edict from the Emperor Constantine in 313 CE) were able to have churches constructed.

In 431 CE, the city regained a semblance of its former vitality, mainly due to the deeds of Bishop Petronio who reinforced the fortifications, restored the public buildings and initiated the construction of the Basilica di Santo Stefano. His actions left such an imprint on Bologna's history that 900 years later, the splendid Basilica di San Petronio was built in his honor on the Piazza Maggiore. This piazza soon became the religious and political heart of the city.

This period of relative peace was however rudely interrupted and between 535 and 553 CE Bologna became involved in the bloody Byzantine-Gothic war. It was then the turn of the Longobards who in 569 CE invaded the plains, attempting to win the region from the Byzantines.

It was only in 727 that the Longobard king Liutprando succeeded in defeating the Byzantines. Bologna was then ruled peacefully for the next 50 years. Very little evidence remains of the Longobard period, with the exception of the Catino di Pilato (Pilate's Basin) which stands in the courtyard of the Santo Stefano Basilica.

In 774, the Longobards gave way to Charlemagne who, after being summoned by Pope Adriano I, ceded both Bologna and l'Esarcato to the papacy. Throughout the 9th Century, Bologna was therefore ruled by Dukes who had been appointed by the Pontificate.

The end of the first millennium brought about a mixture of good and bad events. The Metropolitana di San Pietro was built, the city walls were widened and reconstruction work on the Basilica di Santo Stefano was commenced.

The danger of Byzantine domination was definitively staved off during the struggle for investiture between the Pope and the Emperor, and this was reconfirmed when the Church of Rome took over patronage of the city. The close ties between the Church and the city were maintained for a long time, but they were not always amicable ones.

In the meantime, the city began to rebuild itself and the first municipal institutions began to appear. These were built with the approval of the Emperor Enrico V. In 1088, the most important university in Europe was built by the Master of Laws - Irnerio.

This was a period of frenzied activity for the city. The more that was happening here, the more it became a potential target for the major powers. Regimes with colonial expansionist urges began to set it in their sights. Federico Barbarossa attempted to remove its autonomy by imposing his own magistrates on the city's government, but Bologna refused to submit to this. In 1167, it joined the League of Lombardy and entered into armed struggle to defend its autonomy.

Bologna was a hotly contested city. It was sought after by the Church, by the Imperial powers, and by rich and powerful members of the nobility. There were many reasons for this, not least its strategic geographical location, the economic and cultural benefits brought about by the presence of the university and its flourishing markets which had been revitalized as a result of fervent activity on the part of the Corporazioni delle Arti (Art Guild). There were a large number of craftsman's workshops in the city, and these even gave their name to some of the streets, which are still visible today in the Mercato di Mezzo district.

Many illustrious personages were buried here and great funereal monuments - such as the Glossatori Arches which can be seen near the Piazza San Domenico and the Piazza Malpighi - were built for them.

In the 13th Century, waves of discontent continued to wash over the citizens of Bologna, due to the alternate domination of the city by both the Guelfs and and the Ghibellines.

The Emperor Frederico Barbarossa never actually managed to subjugate Bologna, and his nephew, King Enzo of Sardinia was even taken captive during the battle of the Fossalta. He was incarcerated until his death in a palace which bears his name to this day: Palazzo Re Enzo.

The Church met with a different fate, but it was no less effective. Often, when the citizens of Bologna felt they'd had enough of the abuse of power of the Papal Legate, they would rail against the Rocca di Galliera. This building - constructed by Cardinal Bertrando del Progetto - as the official residence of the Papal Legate - was the stronghold of the Catholic Church in Bologna.

Bologna courageously resisted all attempts at subjugation, even during the bloody civil wars which were to follow. The powerful Geremei, Lambertazzi and Pepoli families fought for domination of the city for years, siding from time to time with the Papacy or the Emperor for support.

It was only the fury of the Papal Delegate which managed to temporarily curb the heated disputes which were taking place between the opposing factions to the point where even he only narrowly managed to avoid being thrown out of the city.

Bologna did however, have its moments of glory. The Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi was built and the Basilica di San Domenico was finished. Contruction work on Basilica di San Petronio was commenced in 1390.

In the 15th Century, the Bentivolgio family came to power. There was also a power struggle between the Viscounti of Milan and the Pope for domination of the city, from which the church emerged victorious. The Rocca di Galliera was consequently rebuilt. Pope Alessandro V felt that the city was finally at peace and attempted to stabilize the political sitution. He died in 1410 and his body was preserved in the sepulchre at the Basilica di San Francesco.

However, the tensions in the city were still simmering away and relations with the church continued to be problematic until the 19th Century. Every time the church attempted to calm the population, it would allow itself to be calmed. However, as soon as the papal legate became in any way controversial, the citizens of Bologna would once more be up in arms.

Bologna's other enemies, the Visconti, took full advantage of the situation and continually threatened the city, in an attempt to realize their ambition of territorial expansion into Emilia. The Bentivoglio family repeatedly attempted to reinstate the rule of the Signoria (or nobility), as did both King Louis XII of France and Cesare Borgia, grandson of Pope Alessandro VI. In 1506, the church once more intervened and it was Pope Giulio II that finally liberated the city from domination by the Bentivoglio family and reinstated papal rule, definitively making Bologna part of the Papal State.

In the years which followed, various major events took place: in 1530, Carlo V was crowned Emperor in the Basilica of San Petronio, and in 1542, Bologna hosted several sessions of the Trento Council. Various important institutions were transformed as a result of the papal domination, e.g. the University came to be housed inside the Archiginnasio, in order for its autonomy not to be limited.

During this period, many great architectural works were built including the Palazzo dei Banchi in 1565, Piazza Galvani in 1563 and the Ospedale della Morte (today housing the Museo Civico Archeologico) which was also built in 1565.

In this way, Bologna reacquired some of its faded glory and prestige. While the corruption-riddled nobility were involved in the worldly, secular life of the city, the papacy struggled to maintain law and order.

At the beginning of the 17th Century, the city's population was decimated by the Plague, but it was still constantly under development. Magnificent palaces were built and there was an increasing amount of activity in the world of the arts.

In the 18th Century, Bologna began to enjoy a better standard of living as a result of successes in both the agricultural and textile industries. The University regained some of its antique splendor with the addition of the Institute of Sciences which was housed in the Palazzo Poggi, donated by Luigi Ferdinando Marsili.

Bologna was the papal state's second city (after Rome), and in the nineteenth century, it became involved in a series of historical events which changed the face of Europe. In the Napoleonic period, it was at first the capital of the Cispadana Republic and then, it left the papal state to became part of the Cisalpina Republic. During the Restoration, Bologna was restored to the papacy. However, Bologna soon became actively involved in the Risorgimento which culminated in the driving out of the Austrians and the definitive severing of Bologna's centuries-old ties with the papacy. In 1859, Piedmont was annexed and became part of a unified Italy.

Today, Bologna is often seen as Europe's cultural capital. It take pride of place in Italy's road network and its prestigious University is world-famous. It is an ancient city with a widely-respected artistic heritage (the Caracca and Reni Schools originated here) which has promoted various cultural initiatives on an international scale. It is a city which is known for its strong identity, its inter-cultural exchange programs, its towers, its gateways, its magnificent palaces and for the joie de vivre of its population.

There is no denying that Bologna is noted for its academic culture; the presence of one of the world's oldest universities here is testament to this fact, but there are also many other cultural aspects of which Bologna can be proud. Its cuisine, for example, never fails to delight visitors to the city: it has a culinary tradition which successfully manages to combine the traditional and the modern while never sacrificing creativity. For this reason, Bologna is known as "La Grassa", or the Fat One.

Puff pastry dishes are extremely characteristic of Bolognese cuisine. Other typical dishes include the famous, aromatic mortadella, tiny tortellini in stock and pale yellow tagliatelle in ragù (meat sauce) - which is a very popular home-cooked dish.

These tempting, fragrant dishes are always accompanied by excellent regional wines including Barbera, Bianco, Cabarnet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pignoletto, Pinot bianco, Riesling italico, Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Albana and Trebbiano Doc.

On April 16, 1972, an unusual tale about tagliatelle was recorded. Apparently, a strand of the pasta was made, measured by experts and found to be 8mm when cooked. This was worked out to be a decimal fraction (12,270) of the height of the Torre dei Asinelli (dei Asinelli Tower). A model of the strand of pasta was kept in the archives of the Chamber of Commerce. Many other bizarre stories such as this one have been recorded about the legendary Bolognese sauce.

According to popular legend, tortellini was invented by a cook who was so enchanted after having seen Venus's navel, that he decided to attempt to reproduce it with his own hands. This legend is echoed in a poem by Giuseppe Ceri entitled Venus Navel in which the last verse tells of a cross-eyed man from Bologna who was inspired to make tortellini after having seen Venus's navel!

Porta Piera The historic city center is full of pubs, pastry shops, ice cream parlors and small restaurants which serve up traditional dishes in a friendly, rustic environment. These include Belle Arti and Al Caminetto d'Oro are located a stone's throw from Piazza XVIII Agosto. The city center is also home to numerous expensive restaurants which are known throughout the country, particularly I Carracci where you can dine on haute cuisine surrounded by beautiful frescoes by the Caracci brothers themselves. If you take a walk down Via Indipendenza, one of the most well-known streets in the city, you will eventually reach the Ristorante Diana. Not far from here, down a side street off Via Indipendenza, you will find Franco Rossi. For great ethnic cuisine, and close to the train station if you're near just for a stopover, try Ru Yi for Chinese or the Piedra del Sol for Mexican.

Porta Stiera One of the most popular ethnic restaurants in the city is India, which also has another restaurant in Fiesole, near Florence.

Porta Ravegnana Not far from the tourist sights, Pappagallo - which is famous throughout Italy - is situated near the historic towers. There are plenty of pizzerias in Bologna, but it is safe to say that pizzas are not a big specialty here. As pizza is part of the southern culinary tradition, it tends to be more popular down south. Pizzerias in the city include Il Doge and Piedigrotta, both near Piazza Maggiore.