News → Bologna, Italy
Throughout the year
La Dotta, la Rossa, la Grassa – the educated, the red and the fatty – these are the words used to describe this picturesque medieval town by those who at least once walked through its arcades, climbed on its canonical towers acting as the city’s visiting card, those who tasted its tagliatelle and tortellini generously dressed with city-special Bolognese sauce. Traditions and modernity, Italian cuisine at its best incarnation, scenic and extremely photogenic red roofs, and music, music... This is all about the queen of Northern Italy – Bologna, which is waiting for you with its entire cultural and culinary splendor.Let's start with culture. Italy has always been known as a country with the richest cultural heritage in the world. As for Bologna, it is considered to be the cultural capital of Italy. Squared culture – should we say more? Even so, we will still say, because common phrases (even the most flattering) in the case of incredible Bologna are just inexcusable. Since 2000 the city has been officially declared European capital of culture, it was also appointed a UNESCO City of Music – the first city in Italy, the second one in Europe after Spanish Seville. Bologna also hosts the oldest university in the Western world – the University of Bologna founded in 1088 that still unites young people not only from Italy, but also from Europe and other parts of the world. However, highly educated Bologna is neither a prim highbrow nor a cracking bore swellhead. Quite the contrary – the student fraternity brings here an unbridled joy, giddiness, and that special spark of life that can be hardly found in the majestic monumental Rome, beautiful but touristy Florence, and refined and aristocratic Milan. So if you eager to feel the pulse of life and the atmosphere of eternal youth, to breathe the spring (all year round) – reckless (in the finest sense of this word) Bologna is the right place for you!
Architectural hallmarks of Bologna are definitely towers built in the distant XII-XIII centuries. There used to be 180 of them then – in the Middle Ages Bologna reminded a whole forest of towers. In addition to its protecting and residential functions, Bologna towers were also a status symbol – the city’s richest families erected them to flaunt their wealth – as a sign of their prosperity. Today only 17 towers remain, and the most famous of them are “falling” towers – Asinelli and Garisenda. The second one – The Garisenda Tower is quoted in the masterpiece The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, while the first one – Asinelli – is associated with a charming legend – related to love, of course. A poor young bricklayer once saw a beautiful maiden – daughter of a rich and noble man. The boy fell in love and asked her father for her hand. The father decided to joke it away promising that he would let his daughter marry the bricklayer when he would have built the tallest tower in Bologna. However, the providence was on the love’s side – the young boy unexpectedly found treasure in the river and in 9 years he finally built the highest tower in Bologna – now we know it as Asinelli tower. Today the 498 steps of this tower are definitely worth making a heroic climb to the top of it. Just look at the bright sea of red-tiled roofs – and the word “red” used to describe Bologna will no longer trigger questions. People also say that on a clear day you can even see the Adriatic Sea to the east, and the Dolomite Alps to the north from Asinelli tower.
In addition to the towers Bologna is known for its medieval arcades – they are equally responsible for the unique look of the city. Arched galleries surround the historic center with no less than 40-kilometers of connecting passages – you can get anywhere in Bologna, just moving from one gallery to another. Neither sun in summer nor rains in autumn or snow in winter will stop you!
As for the third name – fatty, it is all about Bologna cuisine – that rich, nourishing, incredibly tasty, and – yes – not always the diet one. But who will think of diets when going to Italy? Let’s just remember the heroine of Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love, bow to necessity and be inspired! Now we are ready for gastronomic discoveries and – dare we say it – excesses. Bologna’s punditry, by the way, is due in no small part to its food passion. Numerous students and teachers from different countries have brought their cooking traditions here and literally blended them into one pot, thus getting the cult food and wonderful diversity of culinary trends. But meat – in all possible forms – definitely runs the show here: from the “great and terrible” – giant sausage mortadella and famous tortellini (a type of filled pasta made in the shape of Venus' navel according to the legend) served in broth to the real meat lasagna and local egg-based pasta tagliatelle with well-known Bolognese sauce. Another must-tries are polenta (cornmeal porridge) with tomato and onion sauce Friggione, Certosino cake made of honey, candied fruits, almonds, pine nuts, dark chocolate, raisins, anise and cinnamon, and – of course – thick red wine from the Emilia Romagna region. By the way, here in Bologna you can both enjoy various delicacies and learn to cook them – there are many culinary schools, including the country’s most famous one – the Italian Academy of Cuisine. You can either fully immerse into the culinary traditions of Italy during a full-fledged culinary program or have just one-day themed workshop. As for cooking of authentic Italian pasta, you can master this skill within just a couple of hours – offers from private culinary schools are numerous.
So, it is not just Bolognese dogs, the Bologna process and Bolognese sauce that make Bologna the world-famous place. Come and try all its pleasures – at least Eat, Learn, Love. And there are no limits for discoveries when we talk about Bologna.