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Le Due Torri (The Two Towers)
The Two Towers are among the city's most recognisable landmarks. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the noble families of Bologna raised over 100 towers across the city in successive attempts to outdo each other. Of the 20 medieval skyscrapers that survive today, the Asinelli and the Garisenda towers are Bologna's most famous. Standing at the end of Via Rizzoli, they lean precariously like a couple of proud old dowagers. The taller of the two, the 98m (320ft) Torre degli Asinelli (built between 1109 and 1119), can be climbed and offers spectacular views of the city. Her stumpy companion, the 48m (157ft) Torre Garisenda, was cut down to size in the 14th century, at the request of Giovanni Visconti da Oleggio, when her stoop threatened to topple her.
Piazza di Porta Ravegnana
Admission charge.
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna (National Gallery of Bologna)
The National Gallery, tucked away under the arcades in Via Belli Arti, celebrates the city's artistic and spiritual past from the 14th to the 16th century. There are some fine examples of works by fathers of baroque Guido Reni and the Carracci brothers. Deeply influenced by the Counter Reformation that was sweeping the country, the paintings are highly emotionally charged and deeply religious. Among the Italian old masters, Raphael's Ecstasy of St Cecilia and El Greco's Last Supper should not be missed.
Via Belli Arti 56
Tel: 05142 09411.
Website: www.pinacotecabologna.it
Admission charge.
Basilica di San Petronio (Basilica of St Petronius)
Named after the city's patron saint, the Basilica of St Petronius is Bologna's largest and greatest church, the fifth-largest basilica in the world. Its imposing pockmarked facade dominates Piazza Maggiore. With construction beginning in 1392, the basilica was originally intended to be larger than St Peter's in Rome. Plans came to a halt, however, when the pope refused permission for such a grandiose scheme. The unfinished facade stares across the piazza like a jilted bride, her rosy complexion topped by a heavy frown of bare brick. Carvings in the central door, depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments, are by Sienese artist Jacopo della Quercia. Inside, a brass meridian in the floor of the north aisle forms an ingenious solar clock - a small hole in the roof allows the sun to shine on the correct spot. Designed in 1656, this sundial was used to uncover discrepancies in the Julian calendar and led to the leap year being created. Tradition has it that when the sun's rays fall in the shape of a heart, it is time to seek a husband. Models of the completed church can be seen in the Basilica Museum.
Piazza Maggiore
Tel: 0512 25442.
Free admission.
Fontana del Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune)
This 16th-century fountain is the work of Flemish sculptor Jean Boulogne de Douai (known to posterity as Giambologna) and based on a design by Palermitan painter Tommaso Laureti. When it is lit up at night, the shadow of the mighty bronze Neptune looms across the piazza, his trident clasped firmly in his left hand and a fish squirming beneath his foot. At his heel, four angels representing the four winds playfully blow water through their pipes. Below, the four voluptuous sirens symbolise the four continents (as speculated at the time).
Piazza Maggiore
Basilica di Santo Stefano (Basilica of St Stephen)
Standing in the piazza of the same name, the Basilica di St Stefano is a jumbled complex of interconnecting churches, cloisters, courtyards and crypts. Once there were seven churches here, now there are a mere four. The bulk of the building, including the city's oldest church, San Vitale e Agricola, dates from the fifth century. To the right is the Romanesque Chiesa di Crocifisso, which houses the bones of St Petronius, and the Chiesa del San Sepolcro, whose octagonal shape suggests it began life as a baptistry. The Chiesa della Santa Trinità leads into a colonnaded cloister, with a beautiful portico and loggia. The adjoining museum houses a small collection of painting and frescoes.
Via Santo Stefano 24
Tel: 0512 23256.
Free admission.
Biblioteca communale dell'Archiginnasio (The Archiginnasio public library)
Behind San Petronio, in Piazza Galvani, is the Archiginnasio, a gracious old building that was formerly the university and is now one of the largest municipal libraries in Europe, with around 700,000 volumes. Its painted halls are stacked high with rare leather-bound volumes too delicate to touch and entry is strictly limited, to avoid overloading the sagging floors. Fans of Rossini should take a look at the Stabat Mater Room (open in the morning only), named in honour of the famous composition by Rossini that was performed here for the first time on 18 March 1842. The main reason to make the trip, however, is to see the wood-panelled medical faculty dissection theatre, the 17th-century Teatro Anatomico (also open mornings only). It was destroyed by WWII bombing and has been completely restored, using as much of the original wood as possible. Photos on display show the extent of the war damage. The town's gentry used to have to pay to attend the world's first public dissections (overseen by an Inquisition priest, to check if proceedings were spiritually acceptable) but today entry is free of charge and, mercifully, gore free.
Piazza Galvani
Tel: 0512 76811.
Website: www.comune.bologna.it/archiginnasio
Free admission.
San Domenico
The church of San Domenico, consecrated in 1251, was built to house the relics of St Domenic, the founder of the Domenican Order. Nicolo Pisano designed the 13th-century Arca di San Domenico that houses the saint's bones, with additions by many Bolognese artists. The reliefs illustrating the saint's life are by Pisano and his pupils. Pisano sculpted the statues on top, Nicola dell'Arca (1469-73) designed the canopy and a young Michaelangelo carved the angel on the right and the figures of St Proculus and St Petronius.
Piazza San Domenico 13
Tel: 05164 00411.
Free admission.
Museo Ebraico (Jewish Museum)
The Jewish Museum was opened in time for Bologna's year as a European City of Culture in 2000. Bologna was the second city of the Papal States to force Jewish people to live in a particular part of the city. This area - the ghetto - is where the museum is located. Despite this, Jewish historical and cultural contributions to the region were extensive. The museum explores both the greater Jewish identity and that within Emilia Romagna, and its materials link to the synagogue of Modena and the Jewish Museums of Soragna and Ferrara.
Via Valdonica 1/5
Tel: 05129 11280.
Website: www.museoebraicobo.it
Admission charge.
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Santa Maria della Vita
Tucked away down Via Clavature is the church of Santa Maria della Vita, which shelters one of Bologna's most dramatic works of art. Stepping into the gloomy interior of the church is like passing into another world after the bustle of the lively street. Nicolo dell'Arca's Pieta, known historically as the Mourning Marys around the Dead Christ, stands inside the church - a silent ‘scream in stone', as it was once memorably described by the Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Via Clavature 10
Tel: 0512 36245.
Free admission.
Santuario di Madonna di San Luca (Sanctuary of the Saint Luca Madonna)
This sanctuary in the hills 3.5km (2 miles) from the city centre, is mainly interesting for the route to it: a 3.5km (2 mile) arcade of 666 arches alternating with 15 chapels, built (1674-1793) to protect the icon as it was paraded up and down the hill. The current church was built in the 18th century. Its icon of the Virgin Mary is attributed to St Luke and every year, in May, it is brought down to the city for a week. The views from the sanctuary are dramatic and it's a cool, calm escape from the city. For those looking to work off some of the worst effects of ‘Bologna, La Grassa', walking at least one way is a must.
Via di San Luca, Colle della Guardia
Tel: 05161 42339.
Free admission.
Museo Civico Archeologico (Archaeological Museum)
This superb museum is located in the 15th-century Ospedale della Morte (the old mortuary). It contains one of Italy's most important collections of Egyptian artefacts, including a splendid cycle of bas-reliefs from the tomb of Horemhed. The Roman section is also first rate. Nevertheless, this museum is best known for having one of the finest Etruscan sections outside Lazio, featuring finds from the city of Felsing (from the ninth century BC to the Gallic invasion in the mid-fourth century BC). Most renowned is Askos Benacci, a sculpture of a man on a horse that is in turn riding upon another llama-like animal. The collections are also strong on aspects of daily life.
Via dell'Archiginnasio 2
Tel: 05127 57211.
Website: www.comune.bologna.it/cultura/luoghi.php?id=244
Free admission.
Sala Borsa (Stock Exchange)
It is tribute to both the strength of Bologna's cultural life and the forward thinking of the local authorities that the Sala Borsa has turned its back on the world of high finance to serve as a meeting point and source of reference for the citizens of the city. This grand old building is now Italy's largest multimedia library and reopened after its big makeover in 2001 and since has proved popular with Bologna's large student community, although tourists will be as impressed by the grand interior and the Roman remains below floor level as they will by the amenities.
Piazza del Nettuno
Tel: 05121 94426/400.
Website: www.bibliotecasalaborsa.it
Free admission.
Museo Morandi
This charming museum devoted to the 20th-century, Bologna-born painter Giorgio Morandi, occupies part of the town hall, in the Palazzo d'Accursio. As well as the largest collection of his paintings (quiet, luminescent still lifes) there is a reconstruction of his studio, and displays from his own art collection.
Piazza Maggiore 6
Tel: 0512 03332.
Website: www.museomorandi.it
Free admission.
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