The Basilica of St Petronio, honoring the patron saint (eighth bishop of Bologna from 431 to 450), is the most imposing (a length of 132m, a width of 66m, a height of 47m) and the most important church in Bologna. In the recent years the Basilica, considered the local power symbol in contrast with the Vatican power featured by St Peter's Cathedral, have always been administrated as a town setting up. Building started in 1390 under the supervision of the architect Antonio di Vincenzo and the church's original design was created to celebrate the reconquest of the town. In 1514, Arduino degli Arriguzzi proposes a new model with a Latin-cross aimed to overtop St Peter's Church in Rome. According to the legend, Pio VI stopped the costruction of this megalomaniac dream and requested to build up the Archiginnasio. Even the facade was left incomplete; the central nave covering and the apses shooting, designed by Girolamo Rainaldi and directed by Francesco Martini, were completed only in 1663; the lower naves were closed by rectilinear walls.
Built in 1470 by Lorenzo da Prato and symbolized by the most prestigious and older functional organ in the world, the bolognese musical Chapel was once very famous. Another organ, more recent (1596), belongs to Baldassarre Malamini and despite its 400 years it is still functional as well.
Facade - In 1538, Giacomo Ranuzzi started the marble facing, designed by Domenico da Varignana, but left it incomplete. The finished part has been decorated by works of the sculptors Jacopo della Quercia, Amico Aspertini and Alfonso Lombardi.
Main doorway - Dating back from 1425, the central portal is a masterpiece of Jacopo della Quercia. Old Testament's scenes are represented on the pillars and 18 prophets on the arcivolt. New Testament's scenes are represented on the architrave, then a beautiful Madonna and Child and Sant'Ambrogio and San Petronio on the tympan. The central tympan's arch is a Amico Aspertini's work;
Side doors - Noteworthy are both The "Resurrection" of Alfonso Lombardi on the left door and the "Deposition" on the right one;
Sides and Bell tower - The sides are made from cuspidate chapel red bricks. The first two windows ornaments (1393) were designed in both sides by Antonio di Vincenzo with the collaboration of Francesco di Simone, Domenico da Milano, Pagno di Lapo Portigiani and Antonio di Simone. And the bell tower was planned by Giovanni da Brensa. (1481-1487);
Interior - Even though the interior of the temple was built up in another period, it has marvellous classical features, far from the ultramontane Gothic. It is divided in 3 naves sopported by ten pillars with polygon rib soaring arches and vaults: the main nave's spans have a square shape. In the lower nave there are twenty-two chapels;
St Abbondio's Chapel (I) - formerly Dieci di Balia - In 1865, Albino Riccardi restored it in false Gothic. The only old thing is the ornamental decoration with the patron's coat of arms (1397) as well as two big frescoes touched up by Giovanni da Modena (around 1420): on the right side "The Catholic Church triumph on heresy" and on the left side "The Redemption of the original sin". In 1530, Charles V was crowned imperor by Pope Clement VII;
St Petronio's Chapel (II) - formerly Cospi and Aldrovandi - Designed by Alfonso Torreggiani and it had been destined to contain the relic of St Petronio's patron. The vault had been decorated by Stefano Orlandi and Vittorio Bigari;
St Ivo Chapel (III) - formerly Brigida dei Foscherari - In this chapel, there are statues of Angelo Piò, an ancona with "Madonna of St Luca, St Emidio and St Ivo" by Gaetano Gandolfi and on its walls there are illusionistic trompe d'oeil of Prospero Pesci, "St Charles Borromeo" by Francesco Bizzi and "The Virgin apparition to St Francesca Romana" by Alessandro Tiarin (1615).
Two of the first clocks made with the pendulum correction in Italy, designed by Domenico Maria and Cristino Fornasini (1758), cover part of the next pillar;
Kings Magi's Chapel (IV) - formerly Bolognini and Salina Amorini - This is the only chapel that preserves the original ornament in an almost intact way. The marble Gothic railing had been designed by Antonio di Vincenzo (1400). The "Polittico ligneo" and the polychromatic windows have been painted by Jacopo di Paolo. Giovanni da Modena did a magnificient fresco of the walls with a series of representing: "The Heaven" and "The Hell" on the left side, "The Kings Magi's stories" on the right wall, on the rear wall "The St Petronio Consecration" and scenes about his life;
St Sebastian's Chapel (V) - formerly Vaselli - In this chapel, you can admire the large temperra painting "St Sebastian's Martyrdom", "Our Lady of the Annunciation" and the twelve "Apostles" designed on canvas by Lorenzo Costa; "The Annunciation Angel" painted by Francesco Francia;
St Vincenzo Ferrer's Chapel (VI) - formerly Griffoni, Cospi and Ranuzzi - You can admire the large painting with the Saint by Vittorio Bigari (on the right) and the bronze monument of the Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro created by Giacomo Manzù (1954);
St Giacomo's Chapel (VII) - formerly Rossi and Baciocchi - You can admire the Lorenzo Costa's splendid masterpiece "Madonna in Trono" (1492) on the altar and his polychromatic large windows designs. Designed by Antonio Serra (1845), the tomb on the right contains the Prince Felice and his wife Elisa Bonaparte bodies;
St Rocco’s Chapel (VIII) - formerly Ranuzzi - On the altar you can find the Parmigianino "St Rocco" (1527). The big marble statue of "St Petronio" by Gabriele Brunelli (1683). The large windows were designed by Achille Casanova (1926);
St Michael’s Chapel (IX)- formerly Barbazzi and Manzoli - On the altar, you can find the "Michael Arcangel that crushes the devil" by Donato Creti (1582) and, on the left, the terracotta bust of Andrea Barbazza by Vincenzo Onofri (1479);
St Rosalia’s Chapel (X) - formerly Sedici del Senato, now del Municipio- There is an altar piece with "St Barbara’s Glory and the punishment of the murderer father" by Alessandro Tiarini. The Gothic walls and the vault’s frescoes are by Gioacchini Pizzoli (1723).
St Bernardino’s Chapel (XI) - In 1984, two fifteenth-century wind-chest sides of Lorenzo da Prato have been found during the restoration and placed inside the chapel. Then, in 1531, they were painted by Amico Aspertini with "Four stories of St Petronio";
Main Chapel - The four Veronese marble columns belong to the large tabernacle designed by Vignola. On the altar, you can find the big wood "Crucifix" with cherubs heads created by an anonymous person in the XVth century. On the apse’s back you can find an imponent fresco of the "Madonna with St Petronio" by Marcantonio Franceschini and Luigi Quaini on Cignani’s cartoons (1672);
The relics’ Chapel (XII) - formerly Zambeccari - The bell tower is on it. The canvas on the altar hide some reliquaries;
St Peter Martyr’s Chapel (XIII) - formerly Beccari’s Society - the marble sceen with cherubs heads (end XVth century) is by Francesco di Simone; the altar piece by Passerotti;
St Antonio di Padova’s Chapel (XIV - formerly Saraceni’s and Cospi’s - The bronze heraldic busts are made by Domenico Mirandola. The Saint statue was created by Jacopo Sansovino or by Girolamo da Treviso, who painted in oils eight "Saint’s miracles" in 1526;
Santissimo’s Chapel (XV) - formerly Malvezzi Campeggi - The current appearance dates back from 1814 (Angelo Venturoli). On the altar, in a niche designed by Vignola, there is the "Trono del Santissimo" by Alessandro Algardi, who brought the marbles from the Ancient Rome ruins;
Immacolata’s Chapel (XVI) -formerly Fantuzzi - Fully decorated by Achille Casanova and by Renato Pasqui;
St Girolamo’s Chapel (XVII) - formerly Castelli - The Saint on the altar is by Lorenzo Costa;
St Lorenzo’s Chapel (XVIII) - formerly Garganelli, Ratta and Pallotti - You can find the "Pity" by Amico Aspertini;
Cross Chapel (XIX - formerly the Notai’s - You can find Francesco Lola, Giovanni da Modena and Pietro Lianori’s frescoes. The magnificient large window was created by the blessed brother Giacomo da Ulma according to a Michele di Matteo’s design.
St Ambrogio’s Chapel - formerly Marsili - On the altar you can find a polyptych in fresco found suring the restoration about St Ambrogio, two warriors saints, Pity and Annunciation; The style is Vivarini’s (middle fifteenth-century);
St Brigida’s Chapel - formerly Pepoli - On the altar you can find a polyptych by Tommaso Garelli (1477). The Saint’s polychromatic bust is created by Giovanni Romagnoli;
Madonna della pace’s Chapel - The stone "Madonna" from Istria was created by Giovanni Ferabech (1394);
The inside facade - From the left: The minor door ornament is created by Francesco da Milano and designed by Alfonso Lombardi; On the golden door, Lombardi painted in relief the "Gioacchino’s encounter"; sepulchral brick-work monument created by Zaccaria Zacchi (1526); The ornament of the other minor door is by Alfonso Lombardi;
The St Petronio’s Meridian - In 1656, after Egnazio Danti’s meridian descruction, during the lengthening of the church, Gian Domenico Cassini, who was a teacher in Bologna, invented and created a new meridian. In order to calculate it, Cassini used some instruments now on show at the Museum. The St Petronio’s Meridian is the longest in the world (length: 67,72m, light hole: 27m from the ground, distance between the solstices : 56m); its length corresponds to the 600000th part of the earth meridian. In 1775, it was restored by the astronomer Eustachio Manfredi, who substituted the iron line with the brass one.

One of the richest churches in Bologna for the historical art, it is the Preaching Order’s first creation and guardian of its founder S. Domenico’s mortal remains.
Started after the saint’s death (1221), it features a sober Romanesque facade, next to it there is the Ghisilardi Chapel of the Renaissance period, built by Baldassarre Peruzzi in san Domenico square, one of the most beautiful of the city. The inside area, restored in 1727-32 by Carlo Francesco Dotti, who combined the two ancient medieval nucleus in one only building with bright and straight lines, hosts art works of inestimable value as paintings by Guercino (San Tommaso), by Luca Cambiaso (Natività), by Filippino Lippi (Sposalizio mistico di S. Caterina, 1501), by Lodovico Carracci (S.Raimondo), by Giunta Pisano (Crocifisso). San Domenico chapel is extraordinary, it has a beautiful marble ark that keeps the mortal remains, one of the purest creation of the plastic Italian art. The chapel is made even more precious thanks to the sculptures by Nicolò Pisano in the urn (1267), by Alfonso Lombardi in the altar step (1532) and by G.B. Boudard in the frontal (1768), it is overtopped by a magnificent marble top moulding modelled in 1469-73 by Nicolò dell’Arca ( statues of S. Petronio, of S.procolo and of the right angel are by Michelangelo). Dazzling also the painting decorations of the chapel (Glorificazione di S. Domenico nel catino by Guido Reni).
Masterpiece of the Renaissance inlay is the wooden choir by fra’ Damiano da Bergamo (1528-51), defined by his contemporaries the eighth wonder of the world and also admired by the Emperor Carlo V. Of great charm the cloisters of the convent and San Domenico’s cell.

This church is the first example of French Gothic style in Italy. It was built between 1236 and 1254 on the initiative of the Franciscan community that stayed in the city already since 1218 with Bernardo di Quintavalle - one of the first disciples of San Francesco who came in Bologna after few years.
Remarkable are the high facade in the Gothic-Romanesque style and the apsidal part with the splendid soaring lines of the two bell towers and the rampant arches of the radial chapels. Both bell towers have a Gothic architecture -the biggest one of the beginning of '400 and the other of 1260- and at the foot of the chapels stand the thirteenth-century mausoleums made by the famous glossators Accursio, Odofredo and Rolandino de' Romanzi.
Inside the church, surrounded by an austere and imposing structure, distinguishes itself the magnificent marble piece above the high altar which was sculpted between 1388 and 1393 by the Venetian Jacobello and Pier Paolo delle Masegne. Noteworthy are the several sepulchral monuments on the wall such as the tomb of Pope Alexander V, work of Sperandio (1482), the Romanesque chapel Muzzarelli and the airy cloister (14th and 15th century) of the adjacent convent.

St. Pietro is the city cathedral and was made by Pope Gregorio XIII in 1582 seat of the Archbishop (Metropolitana). The building saw its origins in the early Christian era even if the first evidences date back to the 10th century; in the past centuries a baptistery was located in front of the façade.
Next to the church was a cylindrical bell tower similar to the ones in Ravenna, today hidden being contained in the powerful Romanesque church tower which was built during the 12th and 13th centuries. The cathedral was rebuilt after a violent fire broke out in 1141 and then consecrated by Pope Lucio III. A rich marble side prothyrum (the lion door) and a rose window on the front façade were added in the 13th century and in 1396 a portico was also added, then reconstructed in the second half of the 15th century.
Between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century the church was radically restored by various architects and for this reason it lost every trace of the primitive Romanesque-Gothic structure.
The foundation stone was laid on the 26th of March, 1605.
On the initiative of Pope Benedetto XIV from Bologna the church was enhanced with a new façade planned by Alfonso Torreggiani.
Inside the cathedral some paintings and frescoes are noteworthy: the Annuciation by Lodovico Carracci in the lunette of the high altar (1619), the frescoes in the presbytery vault and in the apse (1579), a Crucifixion made with polychromatic cedarwood of the 12th century (already present in the Romanesque cathedral) and the group of terracotta statues representing the Mourning around the Dead Christ by Alfonso Lombardi (1522-26).

It’s the most particular church complex in Bologna, the real city sanctuary and the cradle of the Fathers’ faith. Rose around a first fifth-century settlement, wanted by bishop Petronio, that after would have been joint by a reproduction of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Santo Stefano stands next to the chapel with protomartyrs of Bologna Vitale and Agricola’s mortal remains, exhumated by Saint Ambrogio in 392, and it comprises buildings made between the X and the XIII century by the Benedectines. The complex represents a symbolic rebuilding of the Passion of Christ’s places, as the ancient denomination of the complex testifies: "Sacra Hierusalem".
The facades of Crocifisso (right), Calvario (center) and Ss. Vitale and Agricola (left) churches stand in the beautiful square. The first church hosts a crypt from 1019 and precious art works; the second church, has a round shape, is overlooked by the reproduction of Christ’s tomb (XII-XIV centuries) in which there is the urn with Saint Petronio’s remains, patron saint of Bologna. The third church, really well-known for its bare basilic structure, hosts the ancient graves of Saints Vitale and Agricola (interesting the capitals of various styles, coming from previous Roman and Byzantine buildings, and the remains of VI century mosaic floors). Pilato’s courtyard is remarkable, with a marble basin offered by Liutprando and Ilprando, king of the Lombards, that considered Saint Stefano as their main religious centre. Then the Trinità church, restored between XII and XII century, where you can admire a precious crib made of painted and gold wood by Simone dei Crocifissi (XIV century).
Of great appeal is the Benedectine cloister with a double open gallery (X-XIII century), one of the most splendid art works from Emilia’s Romanesque style. At last it is worth visiting the Museum that hosts paintings, sculptures and other art works from different periods.

Santa Maria dei Servi shuns for its superb Gothic structure particularly remarkable in the apsidal part which is brightened up with warm brick decorations. It is preceded by an airy four-sided portico- supported by lissom marble columns- began in 1393 on the church's side and finished on the parvis in the 16th and 19th century.
The church was built by the community of the "Servi di Maria" between 1386 and 1437 on the plan of Father Andrea from Faenza - superior of the Order- who perhaps recoursed to the work of Antonio di Vincenzo, architecte of S. Petronio. The interior is imposing and harmonious with Gothic shapes and three aisles. There are a lot of art works worth mentioning, first of all the Madonna in trono by Cimabue (XIII century), the Pala marmorea of the high altar by Michelangelo Montorsoli (1558-61), the frescoes which dates back to the fourteenth century by Vitale from Bologna, a particular earthenware polyptych by Lippo of Dalmasio and precious paintings by G.M. Crespi, by Albani, by Calvaert and by other masters of the bolognese school of the XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries.

Placed in one of the most attractive squares of Bologna, it was built between 1267 and 1315 by the hermit Augustine Fathers and it was restored at the end of the fifteenth century. The inside part, which is composed of a wide and bright nave, hosts famous art treasures, among them the Bentivoglio Chapel, one of the most remarkable creations of the first period of the Bolognese Renaissance, which is embellished with wonderful paintings.
Of great interest also the Poggi Chapel, planned in 1561 by Pellegrino Tibaldi, who made also the paintings, and the tomb of Anton Galeazzo Bentivoglio by Jacopo della Quercia (1453).
Noteworthy also the painting with S. Rocco by Lodovico Carracci, two wooden crucifixes by Jacopo di Paolo (XV century), various Gothic polyptichs and precious paintings in the chapels of the XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries.
Of rare elegance is the Renaissance portico (1477-81) which is next to the church, supported by svelte columns fluted in sandwort and crowned by a precious sculpted frieze ( from the portico depart different sepulchral arks of the Gothic period with paintings remains, from the portico you can enter in the S. Cecilia church, covered with wonderful frescoes of the saint's life and of San Valeriano, made in 1504-06 by the best masters of the Bolognese school.

The compound was founded by Cardinal Egidio Albornoz in 1365 to house the Spanish students attending the town's renowned University. The project is attributed to Matteo Giovannelli da Gubbio, called Gattapone, already the author of Spoleto stronghold; its main feature is the overlapping presence of elements pertaining to a convent-like structure and a fortified layout. Protected by high walls, the evocative building can be placed - from a stylistic perspective - in the transition phase between Gothic and the Renaissance.
In the early 20th century A. Rubbiani proceeded with a restoration mainly touching the corner and the front opening onto via Belfiore with 15th-century decorations. Precisely in the corner wall named Cervantes' House, the coats-of-arms of the Spanish crown and the founder may be seen beneath a painting by G. B. Cremonini. The sandstone gateway sculpted by Formigine (1525) leads to a charming 16th-century cloister with double open gallery: on the ground floor frescoes attributed to Annibale Carracci have been found, while in the upper open gallery with Gothic vaults there are painted decorations, notably a Virgin scattering flowers by Biagio Pupini after Raphael's style.
The cloister is dominated by the façade of S. Clemente church, crowned by a dome belfry. A polyptyc with the Madonna and Child and Saints by Marco Zoppo is placed over the altar; also the 14th-century frescoes by the school of Vitale da Bologna and Andrea di Bartolo are noteworthy.
To visit call 051 330408

The San Paolo Maggiore church was erased between 1606 and 1611 according to the will of the Regular Clergies of S. Paolo, Barnabites. It was built on the design of the brother architect Ambrogio Mazenta and in 1634-1636 the church was enriched with a graceful facade made by Ercole Fichi. Remarkable is the view of the interior brightened up with a splendid pictorial decoration of Antonio e Giuseppe Rolli who reproduced, towards the end of the 17th century, the deeds of S. Paolo in the Areopagus of Athen. On the altars shine precious paintings made by masters of the Bolognese school such as Guercino, Giuseppe Maria Crespi -called "the Spanish"- and Lodovico Carracci who painted the famous "Paradiso" ("Paradise").
Extraordinary beautiful is the sumptuous high altar (1643-1650) where you can admire the vigorous sculptor group of the "Decollazione di S. Paolo" ("Decollation of St Paul") created by Alessandro Algardi who made also the medallion of the frontal and the tabernacle.

Generally known as the "Church of the Saint" for the presence of Saint Caterina de' Vigri's incorrupted body, founder in 1456 of the first convent of Clarisse nuns in Bologna, is one of the most important sanctuary of the city for the people's devotion. Built between 1477 and 1480 by the tuscan Nicolò Marchionne from Florence and Francesco Fucci from Doccia, the building has a beautiful Renaissance facade, unrefined in some parts, which is brightened up by elegant terracotta reliefs attributed to Sperandio of Mantova. The inside part, restored by the architect G. Giacomo Monti in 1684-95, is decorated with wonderful paintings by M. Antonio Franceschini, it has ornaments by Enrico Haffner and stucco reliefs by Giuseppe Mazza: unluckily the bombings of the last war destroied in great parts this precious artistic complex. Noteworthy also some paintings by Franceschini, among them the famous Transito of San Giuseppe (1692), and paintings by Lodovico Carracci, as well as the tombs of physicist Luigi Galvani and of Laura Bassi, a renown woman-scientist of the XVIII century. Worth to visit is adjacent little chapel where you can see the incorrupted body of Saint Caterina from Bologna.

The SS. Salvatore church has ancient origins and since the 12th century it lodged the Canons Regulars of S. Maria di Reno. In the 15th century they gave to the building a more decorous structure, which was completly replaced in 1606-23 by a new monumental temple designed by the barnabite chaplain Ambrogio Mazenta and the architect Tommaso Martelli. The side and the facade presents noble features and the facade is crowned with three big copper statues ofOrazio Provaglia. The stately interior is inspired to the baroque churches of Rome and it is rich in art treasures. Here we find several remarkble paintings of bolognese school of the 16th, 17th and 18th century, the political painting by Vitale da Bologna which represents the coronation of the Virgin, as well as the painting by Girolamo da Treviso which portrays the Blessed Virgin at the temple with S. Tommaso of Canterbury, (who was student in Bologna), and that was originally painted on the altar of the english pupils. Worthy of attention are also the S.Giovanni Battista by Giuseppe Maria Crespi and the fourtheenth-century painting of the Madonna della Vittoria by Lippo di Dalmasio.

Since the XIII century San Martino has been the cradle of the Bolognese community of the Carmelites Order, the church was built in the first half of the fourteenth century. The church was provided with brick vaults in 1457 and with a new facade at the end of the XV century ( then it was reshaped in Gothic style in 1879). The inside part is elegant and spacious, brightened up by beautiful noble chapels of the Renaissance where some precious paintings are kept, among them paintings by Francesco Francia, Amico Aspertini, Paolo Uccello, Lodovico Carracci, Lorenzo Costa, Girolamo da Carpi, Alessandro Tiarini and Girolamo da Sermoneta who sculpted the pala of the major altar with the Madonna in trono e Santi (1548). Of exceptional quality, for the ornaments and the sonority, is the sixteenth century organ on the right side of the presbytery. Interesting the cloisters and the rooms of the adjacent former Carmelites convent. On the parvis stands the column of the Beata Vergine del Carmelo by Andrea Ferreri (1705).

The history of this building- which rises above a little height in a picturesque square- refers to the symbology of the holy places in Jerusalem reproduced in the nearby ecclesiastic complex of Santo Stefano.
The original round church of the 5th century became in 1118 seat of a community of Lateran Regular Canons; it was restored in '200 and reconstructed in gothic style towards the middle of the 15th century.
The polished facade is inspired to the themes of the art of Veneto and Ferrara (1474); it is dominated on the portal by a vigorous Eagle -emblem of the Evangelist John - moulded by Nicolò dell'Arca (c. 1481). Extremely charming is the interior with a nave and two aisles in despite of all the dissipations in the past.
Here were preserved paintings of Ercole de' Roberti, Domenichino, Cima da Conegliano, Perugino, as well as the famous S. Cecilia of Raffaello which is now preserved in the "Pinacoteca Nazionale" (national picture gallery) of Bologna (in the church there is now a copy).
Remarkable are the illustrated glass-windows (15th century), the precious altar-piece of the 14th - 18th century, the sixteenth-century inlayed choir and -in the middle of the church- the peculiar classic column with a reversed capital surmounted by a Romanesque cross which is the unique remainder of the old small chapel of Bologna (the wooden Christ dates back to the 16th century).

The two 'twin' towers the traditional symbol of Bologna, stand at the strategic point where the old Aemilian way entered the town. Today they stand right at the middle of the opening of Porta Ravegnana square, but this does not correspond to their original layout, which comprised wooden constructions all around their base and hanging passageways.
Made in masonry work, as very few other buildings at that time, they had very important military functions (signalling and defence), beside representing with their imposing heights the social prestige of noble families. In the late 12th century, at least one hundred towers dotted the town' s skyline, but today only twenty have survived the ravages of fire, warfare and lightning. Quite recently the statue of San Petronio made by Gabriele Brunelli in 1670 was again placed under the towers, after being removed in 1871 for "traffic reasons".
The Asinelli Tower was built in 1109 - 19 by the Asinelli family, but by the following century it had already passed under the control of the Commune. It is 97.20 m-high with a drop of 2.23 metres and an inner staircase of 498 steps completed in 1684. The plinth is surrounded by a small 'stronghold' built in 1488 to house the soldiers of the watch. Today, its arcade is occupied by a few craft shops and ateliers, as a memento of the merchants' trade of the Medieval 'mercato di mezzo'.
The Garisenda Tower, built around the same time , is much smaller (47 metres) with a steeper drop (3.22 m) due to an early and more marked subsidence of soil and foundation. Dante, who saw the tower before the process had started, compared it to a leaning Anteo in the 31st Canto of his Inferno. In mid 14th century the tower had to be lowered. The ashlar covering in selenite stone of the base dates back to the late 19th century.
Piazza di Porta Ravegnana - 40126 Bologna
Asinelli Tower: admission 3 Euro
opening time: 9.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m. summer / 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. winter
Garisenda Tower: not accessible

The fountain was built in 1566 by Tomaso Laureti of Palermo and later embellished by Giambologna. With a group of angels and fish, it features an enormous statue of Neptune standing at the top oft the fountain. This slightly outrageous and very splendid fountain provides a useful meeting point in the Piazza del Nettuno.

The cityscape is further enriched by elegant and extensive arcades (or porticos), for which the city is famous. In total, there are some 38 kilometres of arcades in the city's historical center (over 45 Km in the cityproper), which make it possible to walk for long distances sheltered from rain, snow, or hot summer sun.
The Portico of San Luca, the longest in the World (3,5 Km, 666 arcades) connects Porta Saragozza (one of the twelve Gates of the ancient Walls built in the Middle-Age which rounded the city on 7,5 Km) with San Luca Sanctuary, on Colle della Guardia, over the city (289 m/o.l.s.).

The palace, built for Bartolomeo Ghisilardi at the end of the century, is the exemplary model of a 15th-century's noble house from Bologna. The front develops over a graceful arcade with seven arches resting on capitals with Gothic-like pointed leaves, on top of which, two rows of windows stylistically attributed to Antonio Morandi, called il Terribilia, were opened in the 16th century. In the definition of proportions the Medieval technique of ‘triangulation’ was applied, as it was still in use at the time in local building sites, despite the fact that the principles of Renaissance were slowly taking hold. Around the mid-16th century, the palace was purchased by the Fava family, and it was already finished in 1584 when the Carracci, presented to Filippo Fava by his tailor Antonio, father of Agostino and Annibale, decorated the famous hall in the piano nobile of the nearby Fava palace with the frieze with Jason's myth. In the palace basement archaeological finds from the roman period were unearthed (including a road pavement in marble), and a portion of the selenite city walls from the Medieval town is still visible today. From the inner courtyard the 13th-century tower of Conoscenti can be seen. The palace houses the Museo Civico Medievale (Medieval Museum).

Seat of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Crafts, Palazzo della Mercanzia has governed trading and business activities of Bologna since the late 14th century. In 1384 the building of Carrobbio open gallery (today's Mercanzia) was initiated under the direction of Antonio di Vincenzo and Lorenzo Bagnomarino in order to group together three buildings used as customs and toll house. For the gallery and the preparation of the hewn stone four stonecutters were called from Florence. The building was completed in 1391, but the elegant palace needed an extension in 1439 and restoration in 1484 following the fall of the de' Bianchi tower. In 1888 - 90 it was reintroduced, also in its polychrome traits, under the direction of Rubbiani and Tartarini. It was rebuilt in 1949 after a live bomb blasted nearby had made half of the façade collapse. Built in brick and Istrian stone, the façade shows two deep Gothic arches, uplifting it, as further highlighted by the raising of the level under the porch with the respect to the surrounding square. Over the arches, a small marble balcony juts out between the two mullioned windows, from which the judges of the merchants' court would read their sentences. An elegant spire rises above the balcony covering one of the dovetail merlons of the battlements on top of the building. According to local tradition at the stroke of the bell called "Lucardina" bans and sentences of the merchant's court were read out-loud from this marble canopy. Instead the culprits of fraudulent bankruptcy were chained to a post placed before the central pillar of the gallery to be pilloried. The rooms and ambulatories of the building, despite the changes brought about with the passing of time, have kept the beauty of masterpieces untouched.

The building of this magnificent palace opening on via D'Azeglio was commissioned between 1477 and 1482 by jurist Niccolò Sanuti and his spouse Nicolosia (lover of Sante Bentivoglio) to an architect and workers perhaps from Tuscany or Ferrara. Certainly, although this is one of the town's main monumental endeavours of its time, it does not recall the local architecture of the period, still hanging on Medieval and Gothic styles. Its many stylistic choices, such as the lack of arcades and the use of smooth-angled ashlar similar to the Diamonds' Palace by Biagio Rossetti in Ferrara are not typically Bolognese. The use of grey stone from Porretta is instead linked to the Sanuti's fief in Porretta. The entrance opens on to a charming courtyard with two overlapping open galleries with stone relief decorations by Tommaso Filippo da Varignana and brick decorations by Sperandio da Mantova. Relevant restoration work was carried out in the early 20th century by Alfonso Rubbiani and A. Casanova who also renovated the painted frieze on the upper gallery. In the façade the bas-reliefs are probably due to Francesco di Simone da Fiesole. The importance of this noble residence is further confirmed by the choice of Pope Paul III to move there some of the sessions of the Council of Trent in 1547.

This imposing four-sided stronghold facing Piazza Maggiore presents in its façade the signs of different styles characterising its development. The oldest core on the extreme left is composed of the so-called Palace della Biada o d'Accursio, named after the renowned annotator of Roman law, whose house was acquired by the Municipality in 1293 and initially used as a granary. Around the mid 15th century the Visconti started changing the palace in a stronghold with moat, drawbridge and escarp wall. Instead the building of the part of the façade in flamboyant Gothic style dates back to 1425 and precisely to the project of Fioravante Fioravanti (with characteristic marble and terracotta mullioned windows), on the right-hand side of the 16th-century portal surmounted by the bronze statue of Pope Gregory XIII by A. Menganti. Inside the compound the following gallery-rooms and chapels can be visited by climbing the ribbed 16th-century staircase traditionally attributed to Bramante and originally designed for the triumphal ascent on horseback of the representatives of the town's government.
Sala d'Ercole, named after the terracotta statue of Hercules, the mythological hero, found there and made by Alfonso Lombardi (1518). A fresco by F. Francia with Madonna of the Earthquake (1505) is worth mentioning
Sala del Senato ora Sala del Consiglio Comunale, frescoed by Angelo Michele Colonna with allegorical scenes and figures from the history of Bologna (1690)
Sala Regia poi Farnese decorated by artists from the Albani's school in the second half of the 17th century with important episodes of the town's history
Cappella del Legato o Farnese still showing remains of frescoes by Prospero Fontana with scenes of the Virgin's life (1562)
Additions from previous centuries are found in some palace rooms.
On the first storey the Sala Rossa, named after the red damask tapestry covering its walls and formerly used to celebrate wedding ceremonies, was decorated in its ceiling by L. Busi and L. Samoggia in the second half of the 19th century.
On the second storey, inside the winter apartment of the cardinal legates, today housing the Municipal art Collections, the Sala Urbana is open to visitors. Dedicated in 1630 to Pope Urban VIII presents on its walls a gallery of coats-of-arms of legates, deputy legates, and governors ruling Bologna between 1327 and 1744.
The access to Sala Borsa faces instead the Neptune fountain. It is located in the place where the botanical garden or herb garden created in 1568 by Ulisse Aldrovandi near the summer apartment of the cardinal legate previously stood. After several uses, in 1883 - 86 it became the commodity market with the building of a cast iron and glass pavilion, and subsequent addition of a second storey in the next century. Since December 2001 it has housed the Municipal Multimedia Library.
Today the upper storey of the palace houses two civic museums: the Municipal Art Collections and the Morandi Museum.

In 1200 the Commune expropriated several houses and churches in order to create today's Piazza Maggiore, thus laying the foundation for the first compound of palaces specifically built for public administrative functions: Palazzo del Podestà, di Re Enzo e del Capitano del Popolo.
Palazzo del Podesta': This was the first seat of the town government, represented by the Podestà and his judges and officers. The original layout did not differ much from today's: under the vaults of its arcades and all around it there were shops of artisans, drapers, green grocers all lined up, thronging with people, while underneath the stairs leading to the first storey notary publics drafted bills and contracts. The original project comprised a bell tower called dell'arengo, summoning citizens in case of out-of-the ordinary events (assemblies, wars..). Originally the tower was supposed to be built in wood, but it was replaced in 1259 by today's square-shaped brick tower built by Alberto di S. Pietro, the architect who had already built the tower of S. Pietro Cathedral. The four corner pillars supporting the tower form a groin vault, called 'Voltone del Podestà' were in 1525 the terracotta statues of the town's patron saints, made by Alfonso Lombardi, where placed: St. Petronius, St. Procolus, St. Dominic and St. Francis. A peculiar sound effect enables visitors to hear each other's whispers from the opposite corners of the large vault. Based on a model by Aristotile Fioravanti, who in 1453 placed today's bell, the Romanesque façade was renovated with Renaissance forms by the town ruler, Giovanni II Bentivoglio. The renovation started between 1484-94 with the participation of Marsilio Infrangipani for the decorative ashlar part, which remained unfinished. In the main floor, the "piano nobile", the large Hall of Podestà, previously used as a public theatre between the 16th and the 18th centuries, and then as a hall for handball games was frescoed in the first decade of the 20th century by Adolfo De Carolis and his students with famous episodes of the history of Bologna
Palazzo Re Enzo: Also called 'new palace' to differentiate it from the Podestà palace, King Enzo Palace was built between 1244-46 (at the same time than the palace of Podestà, or people's captain) as an extension of Municipal buildings. Just three years later it became the 'residence' of the King taken prisoner in the battle of Fossalta: King Enzo of Sardinia, son of Frederick II. In the upper of the three original stories the King was assigned a large room, where he spent his remaining twenty three years of life, until his death in1279. Several legends were born and reported in popular literature around the mythical figure of the prisoner King: as a ransom for his son, the father had seemingly offered the people of Bologna enough gold to encircle their town walls; also a story is told that the King had made an escape hidden inside a 'brenta' or cask, foiled by a woman who had cried out 'scappa, scappa!' - he 's running away - thus being rewarded by the town with the honour of using the surname of Scappi. On the ground floor the war equipment of the Commune were kept and stored, alongside the Carroccio. A covered staircase leads to the open gallery on the first storey, where the meetings of the people's councils were once held. The Sala del Trecento, made by Antonio di Vincenzo in 1386, was subsequently used as municipal archives, while the upper storey underwent a thorough renovation in 1771 with G. G. Dotti. The restoration carried out 1905 by Alfonso Rubbiani was also quite relevant in the case of Re Enzo Palace as his purpose consisted in highlighting the Gothic outlook of the building to the detriment of later additions, as for instances the ones made by Dotti. According to retrieved traces and contemporary sources, he renovated the façade, had the crenellation rebuilt, together with the ground-floor arches and the 15th-century staircase. The passageway to the Chapel of S. Maria dei Carcerati where the people sentenced to death were led to pray opens on the right-hand side of the palace.

Superb palace built in the old Strà (street) S. Donato, thus attesting the social rise of the Magnani family present in Bologna since the 13th century. The family name recalls the profession of ‘magnano’, namely blacksmith, soon discarded for much more profitable banking activities, which soon won the senatorial class and important political offices for the family.
Over a five-arch arcade supported by ashlar columns, a sequence of composite ashlar pilasters is displayed, framing windows with balcony in the piano nobile and the simple squared windows on the third floor. The late Renaissance front, recalling Ruini palace by Palladio, is attributed to architect Domenico Tibaldi, and it would be later reproduced in the Zani and Dall'Armi palaces from Floriano Ambrosini's drawing. The building site opened in 1577, and around 1590, for the nomination of Lorenzo Magnani to the senatorial seat, the Carracci painted the magnificent frieze with Stories of the foundation of Rome in the senatorial hall. After the decoration of Fava palace, this is the second and more mature collective endeavour of the Carracci painters in town, thus preceding the Roman masterpieces, such as the gallery of Farnese Palace. Ambrosini, who completed the palace after Tibaldi's death in 1583, is also attributed the monumental fireplace in the same hall surmounted by Annibale Carracci's fresco of Ludi Lupercali. At both sides, the figures of Mars and Minerva in stucco modelled by Gabriele Fiorini. Several rooms next to the open gallery house now the Collection of ancient and modern art of UniCredit Banca (former Rolo Banca 1473) with masterpieces from the 16th to the 20th centuries (works by D. Dossi, L. Carracci, Guercino, G. M. Crespi, G. Morandi).
The imposing coat-of-arms of the Malvezzi Campeggi, the family owning the palace in the 19th century, stands out in top of the façade.

Together with few other noble dwellings - such as for instance Casa Isolani and Casa Reggiani - the palace is one of the few surviving examples of Medieval urban configuration. The arcade is supported by wood beams in the typical 'crutch' shape, while the main gateway presents a pointed arch lintel, and the one-light windows show terracotta decorations.
In the 15th-century inner courtyard intaglio works by the woman sculptor Properzia de Rossi and a Madonna with Child, a 16th century terracotta, are worth mentioning.
In the patrician chapel, Giuseppe Mazza made stucco decorations, while ornamentation is by Ercole Graziani (1704). Today, the palace, restored between 1910 and 1913, is the seat of the Officers' Club.

The palace, seat of the Provincial administration, called "Palace of the dark arcade" derives its name from the typical dimness of its arcades. Its building is due to the Malvezzi, an illustrious family present in town since the 12th century, actively participating in the town's political life, with important posts supporting the Guelph party and later the Bentivoglio's. In 1488, however, the Malvezzi took part in the conspiracy against the Bentivoglio, hatched by the Marescotti and were thus banished from town, after being deprived of their property. Only in 1506, following the overthrowing of the Bentivoglio and the town's incorporation in the Papal States, were they able to return to Bologna and take back again the Senatorial title and all their properties. The reconstruction of the palace started in 1560 following the design by Bartolomeo Triachini. Of the most relevant renovation work, let us recall here the addition of the staircase promoted in 1725 by Marquis Giuseppe Malvezzi de'Medici and attributed in the past to architect Alfonso Torreggiani. In reality, the latter merely followed the construction work, while the drafting of the project should be assigned to Francesco Bibiena. Between 1852 and 1853 the Malvezzi promoted several decoration works on the main floor, by assigning them to stage designer Francesco Cocchi, figure painters Antonio Muzzi and Girolamo Dal Pane and ornamentalists Giuseppe Badiali, Andrea Pesci and Luigi Samoggia. In 1931 the palace was purchased by the Provincial administration of Bologna. The furnishings and the precious library, on sale for around 100,000 lire, were not included in the acquisition and disappeared, sold in the antique market. Just after the palace acquisition the technical office of the Province drafted a detailed renovation plan and the restoration work was carried out under the direction of architect Emilio Boselli. Large-scale changes mainly involved Bibiena's staircase. The decorated rooms on the main floor kept instead their original structure and are now used as official reception facilities.

The building of the Palace was commissioned by Cardinal Borromeo between 1562 and 1563 following the project by architect Antonio Morandi called Terribilia; it was to house the lecture halls for the University Study (Law and Arts). Up to 1803 it was the seat of the University and since 1838 it has housed the Civic Library. The palace was heavily damaged by a 1944 bombing and subsequently rebuilt. The main front presents an arcade with 30 arches, with two stories around a central courtyard. Two grand staircases lead to the upper storey with classrooms(closed at present) and two great halls one for Artists (today Reading rooms) and one for Jurists (called Stabat Mater Hall). The room walls, the vaults of staircases and open galleries are decorated with commemorative inscriptions and monuments dedicated to the teachers of the Studio and thousand coats-of-arms and names of students. In front of the entrance there is the chapel of S. Maria dei Bulgari. The Anatomical Theatre in carved wood, was built by Antonio Levante in 1637 for anatomy lessons. Inside, the famous statues of the Spellati - Skinless - by Ercole Lelli.
Palace and Anatomical Theatre:
Mon. to Fri.: 9.00 a.m. - 6.30 p.m.
Sat.: 9.00 a.m. - 1.30 p.m.
Sun: closed.
Stabat Mater Hall:
Mon. to Sat. 9.00 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. ask to the guardian.

The Carducci House building dates back to the 16th century and witnesses an over two century-old history as a cult place. It is placed in the glacis of the ancient city walls between Porta Maggiore and Porta Santo Stefano. The conservative restoration carried out in the years 1987-1988 by the Historical-Monumental Building Service of the Municipality of Bologna, in fact, highlighted its former setup as a church, dwelling and Oratory of the Brotherhood of St. Mary of Pity, also called "of Piombo" (Lead) to honour an image of Pity carved on a lead plate found here on June 12th, 1502. The portico, with coupled columns, was built in 1611 and walled in 1871. The Church and the adjoining Oratory, altered more than once and enlarged over the years, were used up to 1798, when following the dissolution of the Brotherhood the buildings were sold by the Republican government to citizens which turned them into private dwellings. Giosuè Carducci, who had come to live in Bologna because he had been appointed by the Ministry for Education to the Chair of Italian Eloquence at the University of Bologna, lived here from 1890 to 1907 (the year of his death).In 1906 the Queen Margherita of Savoia bought from the owner not only the apartment where Carducci used to live (on the second floor of the building), but the whole detached house nicknamed "of Piombo" (Lead) , including a garden. In 1902 she also bought the writer 's library and the archives to avoid any danger of waste and division of the library belonging to the big Poet and of the precious collections of his autographs and letters.On February 22nd, 1907, the house-library was given to the Municipality of Bologna that engaged itself to maintain it forever while at the same time guaranteeing its public use. At present, the building hosts the Carducci House Library and Museum mentre and on the ground floor, since 1990 the exhibition area of the Museum of Risorgimento. Adjoining the building, there is the G. Carducci Memorial Garden with the grand "Carducci Monument" in Carrara marble made by Leonardo Bistolfi in 1928.
On the first floor there are the souvenirs and the poet's flat, practically intact. Several details and curios recreate the atmosphere of a middle class dwelling at the end of the 19th century: the painted floral ceilings, Venetian floors, hand-painted wallpaper, door frames, stores, the network of hand-pulled bells, ceramic and terra-cotta fireplaces substituted by one of the first central heating systems in 1906. In Carducci's bedroom can be found a small granite washbasin which was only functioning after 1901; in the dining-room, on the elegant round table surrounded by Vienna chairs woven with Indian cane, there is the lamp that, before the discovery of electricity, used oil first, then gas. Moreover, there are the portraits of those who were dear to the writer and of the protagonists of the cultural and political events of the 19th century with which he was on friendly terms or he wrote to. There are remarkable examples of Carducci iconography (busts and portraits, photographs). The visitor's attention is struck by some heirlooms such as, in the dining room, the clock that stopped at the time of the poet's death or, in the study, the framed fragment of Petrarch's tunic and, behind the Empire writing desk, the famous armchair where Garibaldi used to sit convalescing after the wound at Aspromonte. The library contains about 40,000 volumes and includes books, leaflets, extracts, issues of periodicals, cutouts, documents and miscellaneous press, which Carducci himself meticulously reviewed, catalogued and ordered in dainty shelves of pine and walnut wood taking up six rooms in the flat; Carducci's rich collection of letters; 16,000 volumes of Carducci's literature, autographs and photographs can also be found here.

Casino ..per li secreti e solitari piaceri’ of Annibale, the son of Giovanni II Bentivoglio. The pleasure pavilion was thus described by court poet G. Sabadino degli Arienti. The building made in the late 15th century shows a quadrangular layout and three fronts enlivened by a harmonious double open gallery. In 1540 Cardinal Bonifacio Ferrerio acquired the villa to install there the college with the same name housing students from Piedmont, which later was closed down in Napoleon's period. The frescoes in the open galleries date back to the 1540's; they were painted by a follower of Raphael's style, Innocenzo da Imola, with mythological scenes (Diana and Actaeon, Endymion and Selene, Apollo and Marsyas, Venus and Eros). At the ground floor a lacunar ceiling decorated with heads and other subjects is attributed to the late activity of Amico Aspertini. The large hall on the first floor is painted with the stories of Pope Sylvester and Emperor Constantine frescoed by Prospero Fontana in the 1550's. The freeze with putti is instead attributed to Nosadella. After the suppression of the College in 1797, the building was acquired by the Government of the Italian Republic in 1803 and assigned, together with the adjoining field, to the Faculty of Agriculture and the Botanical Garden. In early 20th century the local Cassa di Risparmio promoted restoration of the premises, followed by the 1946-47 reconstruction of the North-Eastern corner of the building hit by an air-raid bombing.

Camillo Bargellini's noble abode stands out catching passers-by's attention for the lack of arcade and outstanding portal - unique in town - flanked by two hard sandstone telamones - by G. Brunelli and F. Angelini - supporting the above balcony. Designed by Bartolomeo Provaglia in 1638 the palace was built in about twenty years, while the magnificent staircase with stucco decoration by G. Borrelli, is the combination of several projects (Torreggiani, Dotti and Conti) which were started in 1730. In 1839 the palace changed owners, passing to the Davia families; since 1924 it has housed the Davia Bargellini Museum