2019_08 Bologna – Lynn's Travel Adventures

My Favorite City in the World

June 19

Before we get to our two days in Florence, let’s finish with Bologna. Before we left town, we drove to the Sanctuary of San Luca which sits high above the city. A church as existed on this site for a thousand years but the present church was constructed fairly recently in the early 18th century. Of course we managed to get there just in time for Mass but since we’d driven for 30 minutes up a very windy road, we decided to stay until Mass was over so we could get a better look at the beautiful church. We could have walked up the 100 stairs to the top of the dome (and paid 5 euro each for the privilege) but as you might guess we took a pass.

Beautiful carving at one of the side chapels.

It’s about a 15 minute walk to the tram and a 10-15 minute ride to the Central train station; not as cool as last time when we lived right in the city center but with a car it was the best we could do; parking is impossible in the historic center.

Then it was time to head back down the hill towards Florence. This is the 4th time I’ve been here and am excited that I can see different things this time as Peter has done all the “must see” attractions.

By the time we got settled into the flat (which is in the suburbs; the only way with a car) and we made our way to the tram and into the city center, it was after 1pm so the first thing we did was find something to eat. After lunch we headed towards the Casa Buonarroti, which is one of the homes of Michaelangelo (did you know his last name was Buonarroti??) here in Florence. It is now a very nice museum that includes some of the artist’s work.

After the museum it was a 2-block walk to the Basilica of Santa Croce which is the largest Franciscan church in the world. It was built in the late 13th century and legend has it that it was founded by St. Francis.

Think this is part of a cloak worn by St. Francis

I took a zillion pictures but here are just a few.

One of the 16 side alters; Crucifix was carved by Donatello

Oldest painting in the church; dates back to 13th century.

The Basilica is also known as the Temple of Italian Glories as there are many Italian greats buried here.

Composer Rossini (William Tell Overture)

Galileo; was only buried here 80 years after his death as he had been excommunicated.

Dante is not actually buried here as he was exhiled from Florence; this is a memorial to him.

For some reason there is also a memorial to Florence Nightingale.

The outside courtyard was just as beautiful as the inside.

By the time we finished touring the church, which took well over an hour, we were hot (90s again today), tired and in desperate need of gelato. Luckily, there was a cafeteria with gelato right on the corner.

Peter’s (on left) was chocolate chip; mine was my favorite combination…wild cherry and strawberry

On our way back to the train station to catch the tram home, we wandered through the Central Market. This is several blocks of stalls selling all the usual stuff….leather goods, tee-shirts, scarves, etc. We’ll go back tomorrow when we’re not quite as tired.

It’s almost 9pm and I’m too tired to proofread so hopefully there aren’t too many mistakes. Tomorrow we get to follow the flag as we’re signed up for a day trip to the Pitti Palace. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Beautiful Evening in the Park

It’s just after 8pm and it’s still 85 degrees. We went for a walk and found a nice park. There’s a cool breeze so we’re enjoying a nightcap. Night everyone.

Exploring a New City

June 17-18

Wasn’t quite this direct as there was an accident on E45 which shut down the road. Ended up detouring through the countryside for an additional 30 minutes of travel. It was a pretty drive, though.

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.

Looking at main altar from about 2/3 of the way down the church.

Everything was big, even the pulpit. How does the priest get up there?

Beautiful stain glass windows in one of the side chapels

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.

Main altar; crucifix dates back to the 8th century

18th century Compianto sul Cristo morto which translates to Lamentation over the Dead Christ. Sculpted by Angelo Gabriello Piò.

Crypt used to contain remains of St. Petronius, patron saint of Bologna but he was moved to the Basilica of San Petronio. This is located in the Church of the Holy Sceplchre, adjacent to the main church.

Interior courtyard connecting the different churches.

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.

Tower in foreground (Garisenda Tower; 48 m) is leaning back; the one in background (Asinelli Tower 97 m) is leaning forward.

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.

There were only 3 side chapels on each side of the nave. This one was the prettiest.

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.