Bologna; La Grossa, La Dotta, La Rossa

Back in Chioggia after our trip to Ravenna and Bologna.  They made a good pair for a short trip (6 days altogether) because they are so different from each other.  Ravenna is a small town with many great artistic sites in a small area.  Bologna, in contrast, is the fourth largest city in Italy with a student population of 80,000 and is a much more gritty, urban city.  Bologna has three nicknames:  La Grossa (the fat--because it is famous for its good food), La Dotta (the doctor or learned because it has what is claimed to be the oldest university in Europe) and La Rossa (because it has many red buildings and because it is a 'leftist' city which has voted in the Communist party for many, many years).  There was also a huge contrast in our accommodations--from the very large suite in Ravenna (which they gave us for the price of a double because the doubles were full) to a very small room and shared bathroom in Bologna--taken to save our tourist budget for the fantastic meals promised in Bologna.  We miss the Ravenna hotel, where they even wrapped up the towels like a present every morning!

Tom validating train ticket at Ravenna station

Piazza Magiore, the center of Bologna tourism

Tom enjoys a pre-dinner drink near our hotel (you can see the portici in the background)

Piatti tipica bolognese:  ravioli with pumpkin and balsamic vinegar sauce.  Ridiculously good. 

 Bologna is also famous for its 25 miles of porticos (portici in Italian) which make it possible to walk most places without getting wet.  They started building them when there was a severe room shortage (centuries ago) due to the many students.  They let people add on rooms to the front of their buildings, and the portici were the supports for the buildings.  Many of them have intricate carvings and beautiful painted ceilings as well as tiled or marble floors. People liked them so much they kept building them.

Tom poses in (on? under?) a portico

Piazza Netuno, next to Piazza Magiore.  The fountain is considered somewhat scandalous (see mermaid below)

We walked to Piazza Maggiore from the hotel the first day, also checked out Piazza Netuno, before heading.  back. We had dinner at a restaurant near the hotel which I later found recommended on a foodie blog.  The restaurant, named Trebbi, opened inj 1946 and was packed with locals enjoying the tavolo caldo (hot table) which had a wide assortment of antipasti--help yourself for 7 euros for a large plate.  But be warned, if you pile your plate too high, they charge more.  It is not the American style 'all you can eat' or all you can heap onto one plate.

The next morning I had cause to regret selecting a room with a shared bathroom as we were unable to get into the bathroom for two hours  Turns out that this was because a British family of four was hogging the bathroom and tag teaming it--there was no problem the rest of the stay as they left that morning.  Our room was tiny but clean and adequate for our needs which were primarily flopping down on the bed and resting our weary feet when we returned from the day's outing.

There is a lot to see in Bologna, but a big part of it is hanging out on the piazzas and in the cafes and eating great food.  In addition to that, we visited Sant' Stefano, the oldest Christian church I have ever visited.  It was actually 7 churches, only 4 of which are still open, and was very interesting.  Following are pictures of places we saw on the second two days in Bologna.

Fall is coming to Bologna--vines changing color

Lots of graffitti in the portici

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Tom next to Pilate's bowel--supposedly where Pontius Pilate washed his hands after denouncing Jesus, later proved to be from the 8th century.  Below, one of the 7 churches at San Stefano.

Pilate courtyard, San Stefano

Details from San Stefano

Deli counter at grocery store near San Stefano

Interesting lamppost

The doors along the portici are VERY tall

Teatro anatomico, Bologna--note the statues supporting the lectern are skinned to show muscles and arteries

Medieval museum.  Many of the museums in Bologna have these old fashioned wooden cases lining the rooms, very charming.

Room at museum

concrete furniture outside museo mediavale

Photographs of bolognese who were killed in the resistance --a memorial at Piazza Maggiore

Terra cotta figures at church

"Art installation" at medieval museum.  The cabinet is a 'museum' and each drawer is a different 'floor."  The current installation was from a performance piece where the artist chewed up and spit out pages from books to show ingestion of western literature.   Pieces of the books and the spit out pages are on display with pictures of the artist performing her piece.

Dominus vobiscum from the medieval museum.