June 17-18
Bologna is the 7th most populous city in Italy. It is a beautiful city that is one of the most prosperous in Italy. By the time we arrived on Monday, checked into the apartment, and washed a load of clothes, it was mid-afternoon before we finally got to the city center. Our flat is only about 750 meters away so it was a pretty easy 20 minute walk.
Our first stop was to the main square in town Piazza Maggiore. Dominating the piazza is the Basilica of San Petronio. St. Petronius is the patron saint of Bologna and is buried here. This church is rather odd in that while construction began in the late 14th century but the façade was never finished. It was only consecrated in 1954. It was gigantic inside with towering gothic style ceilings. Here are some pictures.
Adjacent to Piazza Maggiore is the Piazza del Netunno with the famous fountain that was completed in the mid-16th century.
After lunch (my tortellini soup was amazing) we took a ride on the tourist train to see what else is in the city that we want to visit. The first thing on the list was the Basilica of San Stephano. This church is actually a complex of buildings also known as Seven Churches. According to legend, St. Petronius, a bishop of the city during the 5th century, built the basilica over a temple of the goddess Isis. He was originally buried here but moved to the Basilica of St. Petronio.
As we headed back to the flat we discovered that Pisa isn’t the only town with a leaning tower. There were up to 180 towers built in the 12th and 13th centuries but only about 20 remain.
Then it was a leisurely walk home where we spent a quiet evening.
Today (Tuesday 6/18) is the 21st anniversary of my retirement from the Navy. I can’t believe it’s been that long! I’ve actually been out of the Navy longer than I stayed in….that’s weird.
Anyway, the day started by walking back towards Piazza Maggiore, stopping at the Basilica of San Francesco which was completed in 1263. Of course, it is dedicated to the founder of the Franciscan order…St. Francis. They were in the middle of Mass so I don’t have any pictures of the inside but here’s the outside.
Then on our way to tourist info in Piazza Maggiore, we ran into this church…Chiesa di San Salvatore. It was small but very pretty. Construction started in the early 1600s meaning it was built in the Baroque style which was popular at that time.
The highlight of the day was our 2 1/2 hour food tour with our local guide Benedetta. We were the only people registered so it was a private tour and was absolutely wonderful. We visited two markets, stopping at 5 different places to eat. At each stop we tried Benedetta’s recommended dishes, sticking with local specialties. Bologna is most famous for “inventing” tortellini, mortadella and lasagna. My personal favorite dish was the tortellini stuffed with ricotta cheese and figs with a light butter and cream sauce. I know you’re making faces and thinking it sounds horrible but it was delicious. I’m not sure we’re going to be eating dinner tonight but we brought home a doggie bag of meat that was left over from our 4th stop. We could have finished but we had to save room for gelato, which of course, was the last stop. Bologna actually has a Gelato University that offers over 500 different courses lasting from a few days to 5 weeks in length. How fun would that be. Anyway, the gelato was delicious; the best we’ve had since Licata in Sicily.
After gelato, we strolled back to the house where we will spend the evening relaxing. There is a movie festival here and we thought about walking back to Piazza Maggiore tonight to watch the movie “Rocky”, but decided we didn’t want to walk back at midnight when the movie ended. Also, Benedetta said the seats fill up quickly and we didn’t want to sit there for hours before the movie starts at 9:45pm. So, we’ll take a pass and have another quiet evening at home.
Tomorrow we’re off to the cradle of the Renaissance…Florence. Can’t wait.