Bologna

Bologna goes by many nicknames: "la grassa" (the fat, lots of pork and pasta here), "la dotta" (the learned one), and "la rossa" (refering to the red roof tops) and during our short day trip, we found them all to be true.

The "Due Torre" or two towers of Asinelli and Garsendaare at the center of the city and represent the power struggles of medieval Bologna. While you can usually climb the Torre Asinelli (335 ft tall) it was off-limits during our visit, meaning we couldn't see first-hand the tiled red rooftops that Bologna is so famous for. Instead, we started at the Piazza Maggiore, the main square that is surrounded by famous buildings including the Palazzo d'Accursio with a 13th centry bell-tower, elaborate porticos, and the basilica of San Petronio (above). Construction on the basilica began in the 14th century but the Bolognese never got around to finishing the facade, leaving the dark red bricks exposed. Inside, there's a mixture of unpainted walls and dramatic frescos.

The church of Santo Stefano was another amazing view of the day. It's not quite a church, more like seven churches built on a single complex. According to my visiting aunt, making a wish every time you enter a new church for the first time will bring you luck. I wish I'd known that when we first moved to Italy! The church(es) were amazing to see and the progression of architectural style is evident when you can literally move through different rooms and periods.

So, what about the learned reputation? The oldest university in the Western world (University of Bologna, founded in 1088) is located in the heart of the city and still plays host to tons of international students each year. We paid a visit to the Anatomical Theater where Bolognese medical students studied human anatomy on corpses laid out in the center of the room. The decorations are quite ornate - the maple walls have risers built out from them and there are bronze sculptures of mythological creatures surround the room. The bodies were laid out on a marble slab though very little of what's pictured above is actually original. The Archiginnasio complex (original center of the university, now home to a library and exhibit areas) was bombed by the Allies in 1944 and had to be nearly completely rebuilt. That means the frescoes lining the portico ceilings near the courtyards were also painstaking reconstructed (see below).

Bologna is deservedly well-known for its culinary reputation. Bolognese sauce (ragu alla bolognese) has gone international and the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region is the center of the production of cured pork products like salami, mortadella, and prosciutto. Mortadella, by the way, is the far back ancenstor to modern American baloney but bears little resemblence these days. Mortadella is a SPECTACULAR sausage seasoned with black pepper, pistachio, nutmeg, coriander, and myrtle berries and likely dates back to the early 1300s - it's no Oscar Meyer (thank goodness). So you can see where the "la grassa" reputation comes into play. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Da Cesari, sampling the mortadella, famous ragu, and homemade tortellini stuffed with pumpkins and ricotta (two separate dishes).

After lunch, we wandered around the narrow streets behind the Piazza Maggiore that still host butchers and fishmongers, though not quite in the numbers they used to. Nowadays, the streets are lined with small pastry and bread shops, selling homemade tortellini to take home and tons of Easter treats (well, at least in the weeks prior to Easter). I even found the Bologna outpost of Eataly, the slow-food centric shop that I first visited last year in Turin! While visiting Bologna meant that we could cross another city off our "list" before leaving, it was a bittersweet moment as we realized we should've come here long ago and returned many times in between.

Da Cesari, Via de'Carbonesi, 8 (at Via Massimo D'Azeglio), tel: 051 237 710