Bologna is the capital city of Emilia Romagna and the largest in the region.

It’s home to the oldest university. Established in 1088, the University of Bologna was founded by a group of students.

I came to Italy for our hosting travel agency’s yearly conference which was in Sorrento and decided to make a trip of it.

I started in Naples because why not!? I loved my previous visit but I didn’t get to visit Herculaneum (spoiler alert, it’s worth a visit) and I wanted to eat the best pizza.

After our conference in Sorrento, I spent a night in Florence (I couldn’t say no to visiting again and having another sandwich at All’Antico Vinaio) before heading to San Marino via Bologna.

More on San Marino in a bit.

I’d heard great things about Bologna and now knowing in advance where our conference was being held, I wasn’t missing the chance to visit.

San Michele in Bosco

San Michele in Bosco is an architectural complex that includes a church. It was built on pre existing buildings from the 4th century A.D.

The structure stands on a balcony offering views of Bologna and the surrounding hills.

In the 1300s the monastery was occupied by the Olivetan Monks and was rebuilt on the pre-existing medieval structure in the 1447.

During the 1400s, San Michele in Bosco became a site for military occupation, looting and fighting due to its position at the top of a hill. This led to the monks abandoning the monastery until they returned in 1514.

The complex is home to a library named after King Umberto I. It’s one of the rarest existing library collections in the orthopedic field.

San Michele in Bosco is surrounded by greenery. The park is the third historical park in Bologna.

It’s accessible by bus and a good place to watch the sunset (no sun in October sadly).

Piazza Maggiore

In the heart of Bologna is Piazza Maggiore, the main central square and a symbol of the city.

Piazza Maggiore dates back to the 1200s when the Municipality was acquiring houses and land to build a square to help boost trade, exchanges and services. It was from the 16th century that it began to be known as Piazza Maggiore.

It was officially known by its current name from 1945.

Amongst the beautiful architecture in Piazza Maggiore, the coolest thing in the area was in the nearby Palazzo del Podesta, which originally housed the city magistrates. It’s where you’ll find The Whispering Walls.

Yes, it’s literally a whispering wall. Thanks to a quirky architectural feature, you can actually have a conversation with someone standing in the opposite corner of the building without needing to raise your voice above whispering levels.

The Whispering Walls was discovered by accident in the 14th century. Legend has it that it was used by people to confess their sins without risking having contact with a priest. Today, it’s a favourite spot for lovers to exchange messages.

Basilica Di San Lucia

Basilica San Lucia is located outside the historic centre on the Colle della Guardia. It’s a symbol of Bologna and has been a place of religious worship for centuries.

San Lucia has views of the surrounding landscape and is another popular sunset spot. Panoramic terraces opened in 2017 at 42m above Colle della Guardia allowing people to enjoy a 180 degree view of Bologna.

You can walk to San Lucia from the historic centre through the 3.8km covered portico which starts from Porta Saragozza. It’s the longest portico in the world and has 666 arches.

When I was told it was a 45 minute walk, initially I thought “fuck that” especially in the rain but the portico makes a difference.

Full disclaimer, the last 2km of the walk is uphill with a mix of stairs (not the steep kind). Taking breaks is encouraged not only to have a respite but to admire the views on the way.

The walk takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Or alternatively, you can pay for one of those mini train shuttle things that will take you up the hill.

Day trip to San Marino

San Marino is a mountainous micro state surrounded by north central Italy and retains most of its historic architecture.

I travelled from Florence via Bologna and a bus from Rimini to get to San Marino. It gave me a chance to navigate Bologna’s huge train station for when I needed to get the train to Rome. The bus from Rimini to San Marino is around an hour.

The main attractions are the three towers, Guaita, Cesta and Montale, which were built between the 11th and 14th century to defend from invasions.

Guaita is the oldest of the towers and is believed to have provided refuge the first inhabitants of San Marino. Cesta is connected by the “witches pass” and was used to house the Guards Division and a few prison cells. Montale is connected to the other two by a long wall. it was built away from the city centre in the surrounding woods. In medieval times, it played a strategic role as a defensive lookout due to its ideal positioning.

On days of good visibility, you can see the Bebian Alps from Cesta, the largest mountain range in Croatia.

Despite its modest size, there’s enough to keep you busy. The Public Palace is where official ceremonies are held and seats the administrative bodies. There are several museums to keep you busy including a stamp and coin museum.

A full day in San Marino is enough. If you find yourself in the Emilia Romagna region, you may as well make use of a chance to tick off another country you’re unlikely to visit in normal circumstances.

Food

I can’t write this blog post without mentioning the food scene in Bologna.

It is pound for pound one of the best you’ll find in Italy. There are so many options and with a few days it’s impossible to cover everything, so here’s a snapshot of a few places I managed to get to.

Trattoria La Montanara is your typical bolognese tavern serving regional dishes. This where I got to finally try something traditional as a starter, the cotoletta, consisting of pork fried escallop with ham and cheese, before sampling bolognese in Bologna.

Pizzeria Napoletana Zii Margherita as you guessed is based on Neapolitan pizza but leave that as a main and try one of their pasta starters as I did with the lobster paccheri.

Trattoria Del Rosso is an unpretentious traditional trattoria which include a €10 menu. I went for something different with a gramigna, a macaroni with sausage and cream sauce. Trattoria Tony has a similar vibe and is a family run trattoria.

Cremeria Cavour is a popular spot for ice cream, but this isn’t why I include it. You can try an ice cream hot chocolate.

And yes it tastes as amazing as it sounds. There are so many things I’ve tried that I loved but it’s hard to beat something with a combination from two of the things I enjoy a lot.

I fell in love with Bologna, what a beautiful little gem.

It’s an open minded vibrant place, you don’t feel like you’re going to be judged. It reminded me of Brighton minus the sea.

I know we’ve mentioned the food scene, after all Bologna is home to bolognese, and is the birthplace of tortellini. For a small place, you are going to be spoilt for choice.

One of my favourite newest things I tried was the ice cream hot chocolate. I wouldn’t think twice about coming back to Bologna for this alone.

I’ve visited many places in Italy (and still more to go especially in the south). You’ll struggle to find many better than Bologna.