Bologna

The weary road warriors have returned. We arrived home late yesterday evening from a 5-night, six-city tour around what is typically described as "Northern Italy", although all of it is south of our long weekend vacation in Soprabolzano. It was a working trip; we chaperoned 59 teenaged students from our school. As such, much of our time was spent shuffling around, herding students from point to point within the cities we visited. Even though the cities are all relatively close to each other, it also meant spending quite a bit of time on a double decker bus. We saw such a whirlwind of mosaics, churches, museums and buildings that, even looking back at the pictures I took, the experience has blurred and melded. I will do my best to sort things out as I post over the next week or so about each of the cities we visited.

Our first stop, Monday, November 14 for those who are keeping track, was the city of Bologna. Amy and I visited Bologna together seven years ago during one of our summertime trips. We stayed for three nights that time, so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect and, once we completed our recent visit, it gave us a better idea of the kind of experience we would have on this trip. What to say about Bologna. It is famous for a number of things, not the least of which is its culinary arts. One product which has made its way across the pond is mortadella which Americans will more readily recognize as baloney. One major difference is, in Bologna it is GOOD!  Other specialties include Bolognese sauce, tortellini and various types of risotto.

The spot which is now Bologna has been inhabited for close to 3000 years. Archeological evidence suggests pre-Etruscan beginnings for the city. Architecturally, Bologna is also known for its miles of arcades (covered walkways) and towers. The longest continuous arcade is over 12 miles in length. An arcade can be seen to the left of the picture below, which also happens to have a pair of towers visible through the buildings in the distance.

Towers were both symbols of wealth and power as well as practical defensive structures. At one time there were approximately 180 towers in the city. Many of them have been taken down over the centuries, including some in the early 20th century, to make room for other structures. The most famous of the 20 or so remaining are the "Two Towers". The taller of the two is the Asinelli tower at 97 meters. It is the tallest remaing tower and perhaps the tallest of all that were originally built. It stands next to the Garisenda Tower which is a paltry 48 meters. We climbed the taller tower during our last visit, but there wasn't enough time (or the interest) to do it again this time. The Asinelli Tower is undergoing restoration to its lower portion and is seen to the right in the picture below. The entire Garisenda Tower is shown.

One thing we saw on this trip which we didn't see on the last was the University of Bologna. Founded in 1088, it is the oldest university in Europe. Of course it has undergone many changes since its beginnings, but there are still some really cool bits left. We visited the old anatomy theater where students viewed disections in order to understand human anatomy. The lectures took place in a large wooden room which surrounded a marble table. Unfortunately, what we were viewing (shown below) was actually a recreation of the room in the original space since the actual room was bombed to smithereens by the US forces during WWII. Judging by her intense focus, Amy would have made a good doctor!