The first European university opened in 1088 exactly in Bologna
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BOLOGNA: CITY OF STUDENTS
Bologna regularly hosts various exhibitions and concerts, and every autumn a jazz music festival is held. The best jazz performers from all over the world flock to the city for this event, which lasts several days. Ticket prices depend on how many days of the festival you want to attend. The maximum ticket price this year was 42 euros, the minimum was 12 euros.
One cannot fail to mention the Teatro Comunale opera house, which has been operating continuously since 1763. Today it is one of the leading opera houses in Europe. Bologna's main museum is the National Pinacoteca (pinacoteca is Italian for "picture gallery"). Among other masterpieces, works by the great Raphael are presented here.
Almost all the churches in the city are Catholic. I will tell about the two most notable ones.
The first, the Basilica of San Petronio, is the main cathedral of Bologna and the fifth largest in the world by area. The basilica is located in the very center of the city, next to the Neptune Fountain (the only fountain in the city) and the city administration building. The basilica was named after the city's patron saint, Saint Petronius, and was built over about 300 years, starting in 1390. The building's appearance is unusual for its glaring incompleteness. This is because many architects, including Michelangelo Buonarroti, proposed their own versions for the façade design. The emotional Italians, whose usual state is far from balanced, were unable to choose a final version.
The Church of Madonna di San Luca is a place reached by a long path under the vaults of arcades typical of Bologna, from where an incredible view of the entire city opens. The church is a pilgrimage site dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the child painted by Saint Luke. It stands on top of Guard Hill.
According to legend, while climbing to the church, it is strictly forbidden to quarrel, swear, or even think about bad things. But you can make three most cherished wishes, and they will come true.
Notably, the long road leading to San Luca is the longest portico in the world, consisting of 666 arches and 15 chapels with a total length of 3.796 kilometers.
WHERE DID THE BOLOGNA TOWERS COME FROM, and in such numbers (once there were about two hundred)? It is not known for sure. They say that noble families boasted to each other about their wealth in this way. According to another version, the towers were used as refuges. Be that as it may, the towers are a distinctive feature of Bologna.
Seventeen towers have survived. The two main ones, located right in the city center, are the Asinelli and the Garisenda. The Asinelli, built in 1109-1119, is the tallest tower in Bologna. It was once used as a prison for prisoners, and later became an observation deck offering a view of the city from a height of 97 meters. The only ones who do not go up are students. In Bologna, there is a superstition that a student who goes up the tower will not graduate from university.
The second tower, the Garisenda, is notable for being mentioned by the great Dante Alighieri in his "Divine Comedy", and also for leaning significantly from the vertical (as much as 3.22 meters). Currently, the Asinelli, unlike the Garisenda, is closed to visitors.
THE MOUNTAINS SURROUNDING the city prevent cold winds from penetrating, and the proximity of seas softens the winter. The only thing that happens often is rain. But even that is not a problem, because Bolognese people rarely walk in the open air, mostly under arcades.
The fact is that in the Middle Ages, when most of Bologna's buildings were constructed, taxes were levied only on the area of the first floor, not on the entire area of the building; thus, rooms overhanging the street were not taxed. By building arcades, the cunning and thrifty Italians simply saved their wallets from extra expenses. One of the main conditions when building arcades was that a rider on a horse could pass under them, so they are quite high.
The most popular urban transport is buses. In Bologna, you cannot ride without a ticket! You risk being caught by the valiant inspectors of the company Tper – the main transport company of the Emilia-Romagna region. A bus ticket, valid for 70 minutes from the time of purchase, can be bought from a machine inside the bus for 1.7 euros. However, this is the least advantageous option: firstly, it's inconvenient (you need to have a lot of small change), secondly, it's expensive.
There is a better option – to buy a ticket at a purely Italian place that can be described as a café-kiosk-shop Tabaccheria. Italians drop by Tabaccheria several times a day for various purposes: to buy a single ticket for city transport, which costs 1.5 euros (20 cents cheaper than at the bus machine), to have a cup of espresso and a croissant, to pay a phone bill, and so on and so forth. If you are in Bologna for a long time, it is much more profitable to buy a travel pass, which is sold at the same "tabacchi" (as Italians abbreviate Tabaccheria).
The standard of living in the city is one of the highest in Italy. Consequently, prices for housing, food, and transport are quite high. On average, the cost of rental housing in the city is 600-700 euros per month for a one-room apartment; renting a room will cost about 350 euros plus utilities separately.
At the same time, you need to be prepared for the fact that the apartment owners will watch whether you turn off the lights, how much water you use in the shower, and whether you wash a shirt in the washing machine unnecessarily. In Bologna, the phenomenon of "subletting" apartments is very common: many families and single people who rent an apartment in turn rent out one of the rooms (most often to students).
To my great surprise, I discovered that in Bologna there is not a single large shopping center where all chain stores are gathered. They are all located in the city center, on Via Independenza, which is always crowded with people. H&M, Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Pimkie, Calzedonia, Tezenis – these are the main brands represented here.
On weekends, a mobile market is set up on the main city square. The prices of numerous blouses, skirts, trousers, scarves, and all sorts of wardrobe items cannot but please: usually they range from 3 to 25 euros, but the quality of the goods is corresponding.
ALL TRADITIONAL Bolognese dishes consist of pork and various dressings. Take, for example, the most famous sauce for first courses, 'ragù alla bolognese', which is made from minced pork loin, veal, and beef, stewed in butter, with the addition of bacon, spices, broth, red wine, and tomato sauce.
Very popular is boiled mortadella sausage. It is also made from pork and has been known in Bologna since the 16th century. It is sliced very thinly and has a delicate taste. In honor of mortadella, special fairs are even held in Bologna.
In Italy, there is a real cult of espresso and cappuccino. Cappuccino is drunk only in the morning, and if you order it at any other time of the day, the Italians will immediately realize that you are a foreigner.
The way they consume, take, use... (I don't know what other synonyms to describe this process) espresso resembles a gulp of doping. A very small amount of the strongest coffee is drunk by Bolognese in numerous 'tabacchi' and eateries mostly during the day, usually right at the bar counter and without much savoring (since there is nothing to savor there).
You need to know this: the price of what you eat or drink depends on whether you do it standing at the bar counter or sit at a table. The second option is about 1 euro more expensive.
If in the evening, while walking around the city, you notice that restaurants hospitably put out various sandwiches, pasta, pizza, desserts, hot dishes, cold cuts on the tables – know that it's time for aperitifs. What does that mean?
Aperitif – a low-alcohol drink consumed before a meal. So, starting at 7 pm, when you come to a bar, café, or restaurant, it is enough to pay only for the aperitif (usually 7-8 euros) and you can enjoy the buffet – eat everything that is laid out on the tables in unlimited quantities.
But if at this time, that is, around 7 pm, you want to drink a cappuccino – you won't get it. In Italy, habits are taken seriously. Cappuccino – only in the morning!
SPEAKING OF THE INCONVENIENCES that residents of Bologna regularly face, it is worth mentioning the frequent strikes of Italians, as a result of which the city center is blocked right in the middle of the day and there is no opportunity to go anywhere – you just have to wait until the revolution-minded citizens have finished their strike and traffic resumes (usually this takes 2-3 hours), or walk, which is not always possible, since Bologna is still a fairly large city.
If you don't speak Italian – don't count on your English. The proud descendants of the Romans do not favor the English language very much. Of course, there are more progressive residents among the inhabitants of Bologna, but I would not rely on information provided by them regarding anything, as I have repeatedly encountered that I was simply given false information, although it seemed that the person perfectly understood the essence of the question. It is better to always have a pocket phrasebook, a navigator or a map with you, or learn a few of the most necessary phrases in Italian.
I won't say that the crime rate in the city is high, but I consider it my duty to warn that you should keep an eye on your wallet and phone.
Italians sacredly observe the biblical commandment: "Six days you shall work, on the seventh – rest", and on Sunday in Bologna everything is closed (shops, pharmacies, banks), except for entertainment venues (bars, cafes, restaurants) and churches. So it's better to stock up on groceries in advance.
On weekends, mass celebrations are held in the city. The city center is closed, transport runs less frequently than usual, and all residents of Bologna pour out onto the main street, strolling leisurely, enjoying the performances of numerous musicians, actors, mimes, shopping…
Maria MOGILYASTAYA,
Bologna, Italy.