Bologna

Bologna has around forty kilometres of porticoes in the historic centre, a UNESCO-listed system of covered arcades built from the twelfth century onward when the university drew more students than the city could house and upper floors were extended over the street. You can cross the city in rain without an umbrella. The university was founded in 1088 and is the oldest continuously operating one in the world; its anatomical theatre in the Archiginnasio is carved entirely in wood with two skinned figures holding up the canopy. Two medieval towers lean over the centre, survivors of dozens. The food is the other reason people come.

What you actually see

• The porticoes - forty kilometres of them, listed in their own right.
• The anatomical theatre - carved wood, with the skinned figures.
• The two towers - Asinelli and Garisenda, leaning over the centre.
• The Quadrilatero - the market lanes behind Piazza Maggiore.

When to go

April to June and September to October. August is hot and much of the city closes. The portico to San Luca, nearly four kilometres uphill with six hundred and sixty-six arches, is best walked early. Term time gives the city its student character.

Honest expectations

The Garisenda tower has been closed and fenced since 2023 over stability concerns, and the Asinelli has been closed alongside it, so climbing them is not currently possible; check the position. Bologna is hot and humid in summer. It is a working city rather than a museum and parts of the centre are scruffy.

Nearby

Modena and Parma are along the same line; Ravenna is an hour east.