Bologna is famous for its cuisine (la cucina Bolognese). It is also viewed as a progressive and well administered city. It is considered second only to Venice in beauty by many Italians and certainly has one of the largest and best preserved historic centres among Italian cities. It is much loved for its architecture, especially its palette of terracotta reds, burnt oranges, and warm yellows, hence the name of Bologna la rossa (Bologna the red). The extensive town center, characterized by miles upon miles of attractive covered walkways known as "porticos", is one of the best-preserved in Europe.
Bologna is a lived-in, stress free, and prosperous North Italian city, noted by locals for the fact that it has not been ruined by mass international tourism though Italian tourists flock here during the main holidays. In recent years, though, the city has grown more popular with overseas travelers. It is an excellent destination for a few days' stopover between Milan or Venice and Florence, especially if you like good food!
Bologna is the seat of the oldest university in continental Europe, which dates from the 11th century, and a significant portion of its population consists of away-from-home university students. In common with other Italian university towns, it is in parts marred by excessive graffiti on its beautiful historic Palazzi though the new mayor (elected June 2009) has an ambitious plan for cleaning up. The Bolognese are very courteous and welcoming, and justly proud of their city, but communication in English is not always easy and a few phrases in Italian will come in handy.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Bologna
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Bologna - updated May 2024
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Bologna Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
