MONUMENTS

 

The Two Towers

 

The Asinelli Tower

Piazza di Porta Ravegnana

Hours: 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. (winter); 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (summer)

Symbol of “turreted” Bologna, the tower was erected by the Asinelli family in the 7th century.  At a height of 97.2 meters (318.9 feet), it offers a spectacular view of the city and hills extending to the Adriatic Sea.

The Garisenda Tower

Interior closed to the public
 

Peculiar because of its marked lean, the tower originally measured 60 meters (197 feet) tall; in 1351 it was lowered to its current 48 meters (157.5 feet) due to fears that its slope, already pronounced at the time, would cause it to topple.

The Archiginnasio Library

Piazza Galvani, 10

Hours: mon-fri: 8.30 a.m-01.45 p.m.; sat: 8.30 a.m.-12.45 a.m.

The Archiginnasio, erected in the 16th century to be the seat of the University, has been home to the Civic Library since 1838.  Along the walls and ceilings, there are more than six thousand frescoes and engravings of coats-of-arms belonging to rectors, students, popes, and cardinals.

The Spanish Boarding-School

Via Collegio di Spagna, 4

Phone: 051 330408

Founded by the Archbishop of Toledo in 1365, the structure was intended to host Spanish students in Bologna.  Inside one finds the Gothic church of Saint Clement and a cloister with a two-story loggia

 

Ex Sala Borsa

Piazza Nettuno

Hours: mon 02.30 p.m.-09.30 p.m.; tue-fri 9 a.m.-09.30 p.m.; sat 9 a.m.-07 p.m.

This building is the seat of a vast multimedia library located inside the Palazzo d’Accursio.  Through the glass floor one can admire the remains of a Villanovian (protohistorical) settlements from the seventh century BC, Etrustcan Felsina and ancient Bononia.

 

The Municipal Palace

Piazza Maggiore, 6

phone: 051 203111 / 203040

The nucleus of Bologna in the 1200’s, identified by the Accursio tower, was extended to become a fortress.  Today, it has become a cultural center open to citizens and houses the Morandi Museum and the Municipal Collections of Art.

 

The Palace of the Notaries

Via Pignattari, 1

Hours: mon, wed, fri 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; tue, thu 3 p.m.- 6 p.m.

The headquarters of old of the Society of Notaries, it is composed of two buildings: the older part facing Saint Petronius dates from 1287, while the part on the right was constructed in 1442.

 

Palazzo Pepoli Vecchio e Pepoli Campogrande.

Via Castiglione, 7

Hours: fri 3 p.m.-7 p.m.; sat-sun 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Erected one in front of the other, the first is a testimony to the Gothic and military-like architecture in use during the first half of the 14th century; the second illustrates the decorative elegance of the 17th century, thanks to its ample and richly frescoed salons.

 

Palazzo Poggi (Università).

Via Zamboni, 33

Hours: mon-sat 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Erected in 1549, this building has been the headquarters of the University of Bologna since 1802.  The frescoed halls are remarkable examples of private 18th century architecture, while the Carducci Lecture Hall commemorates the hall in which the poet Giosuè Carducci held his lectures for 43 years.

 

Tombs of the Glossators

Piazza Malpighi, 9
Symbols of the degree of importance that Bologna has always placed on culture, the marble arches covered in Majolica terracotta are dedicated to the first teachers of Bologna’s athenaeum and date back to the end of the 1200’s.

 

Fountain of Neptune

Piazza Maggiore

 

CHURCHES

 

Sanctuary of St. Luke

Via San Luca, 36

Hours: 7-12.30; 14.30-17 (nov-feb), 14.30-18 (mar,oct), 14.30-19 (apr-sep);
weekends and holidays: continued schedule

This sanctuary on Monte della Guardia is a time-honored place of worship in which one may view a painting of the Madonna which is thought to have been created by Luke the Evangelist.  Furthertmore, walk beneath the porticos which takes you from Via Saragozza to the sanctuary is breathtakingly beautiful.

 

Church of St. Petronius

Piazza Maggiore

Hours: winter: 7.30-13.00, 14.30-18.00 - summer: 7.30-13.30, 14.30-18.30

It is the fifth largest church in the world, but because it’s a symbol of municipal power, St. Petronius isn’t the “Duomo” (primary cathedral) of the city.  The main door displays bas reliefs by Jacopo della Quercia, inside one finds the solar clock devised by Cassini in 1665.

 

Churches of St. Stephen

Piazza S. Stefano

Phone: 051 223256

Hours: 9-13; 15.30-17.30

Known also as “The Seven Churches,” it is the sancta sanctorum (holy of holies) of Bologna and unites separate buildings dedicated to the Passion of Christ.  The nucleus of the church was originally built in the 8th century on top of a pagan temple dedicated to Isis.  It is here that the relics of St. Petronius are kept.

 

Cathedral of St. Peter

Via Dell'Indipendenza, 7

Phone:051 222112

Hours: 7.00-12.30, 15.30-19.30

Seat of the archbishop and spiritual center of Bologna, the church was erected around 1000 AD, but the current façade dates to a 1605 renovation.  The bell tower (campanile) dates to 1184.

 

Church of St. Domenic

Piazza S. Domenico, 13

Phone: 051 237017

Hours: mon-fri: 7.30-13, 15.30-20; sat:7.30-13 15.30-19.30; weekends and holidays:8-13,15.30-19.30

Dating back to 1221, the church dedicated to Saint Domenic, along with its attached convent, constitutes one of the most important complexes of the city.  The arch of San Domenico, in which are conserved the relics of the saint, was designed by Nicola Pisano.

 

Church of St. Francis

Piazza San Francesco

Phone: 051 221762; 051 263495

Hours: 6.30-12, 15-19

Constructed in the 13th century, it is the first example of French Gothic architecture in Italy, with spectacular rampant arches in the areas around the apses and bell towers from the 13th and 15th centuries.  It houses a splendid marble pala dating to the 15th century.

 

Church of St. James the Elder

Piazza Rossini

Phone: 051 225970

Hours: 6.30-12, 15-18

Erected in 1267 due to the influence of the Augustinian brethren, the church contains the Bentivoglio chapel in which are preserved the tombs of the noble Bentivoglio family of Bologna and which boasts an exquisitely elegant Renaissance portico.

 

Church of St. Mary of Life

Via Clavature, 10

Phone: 051 236245, 051 224002

Hours: winter: mon-sat:7.30-18; weekend and holidays: 16-18; summer: 8-12.30, 16.30-18.30; weekend and holidays: 16.30-18

This is the church of Bologna’s first hospital, founded in 1260.  It hosts a group of di terracotta delle Marie Piangenti, created in 1463 by Niccolò dell’Arca.

 

Church of St. Vitalis and St. Agricola

Via S. Vitale, 48

Phone: 051 220570

Hours: mon-fri: 8.30-13.45; sat: 8.30-12.45

Dedicated to the early martyrs Vitalis and Agricola, the church dates back to the 1000’s and has kept its original aspect almost entirely intact.  The Chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Saint Mary of Angels) was added in 1400.

 

Church of Saint Mary of the Servites

Strada Maggiore, 43

Phone: 051 226807

Constructed between the 14th and 16th centuries, this Gothic church contains a splendid quadriportico in which there numerous important works of art, including the Madonna with Child by the artist Cimabue.