Travels Through Bologna, Ravenna and Verona: History, Culture and Cuisine

What better way to celebrate an anniversary than an early winter trip to Italy. Our base was in Bologna, a city of “pleasant gloom” as Charles Dickens described it in an 1844 visit in his book Pictures from Italy.

Gloom from often grey skies but pleasant from the medieval and Renaissance architecture and from the porticoes of different eras and styles that run throughout the city and make it truly unique. Ornate stone or wooden arches, some were built as early as the 13th century and are included as UNESCO Heritage Sites.

From the airport we took the high speed Marconi Express (similar to the electric JFK Air Train), a 7 minute ride to the Central Train Station, which is a short walk to Via Independenza, one of the main streets leading to Piazza Maggiore.

Piazza Maggiore and Piazza Nettuno

Piazza Maggiore, the heart of the city, dates back to 1200 AD, actually the first Italian piazza to be built after the fall of the Roman empire. Over the years Italy certainly developed the concept of the huge public square as a meeting place.

Let’s begin with the impressive Basilica of San Petronio, dedicated to the patron saint of the city, Petronius, 5th century bishop. In 1390 the foundation was laid, but construction dragged on for centuries. The plan was originally for the church to be even larger than St. Peter’s in Rome, but the Pope, angry that the city had not made a formal request to him (!) as was the custom, blocked construction and the church was left unfinished, as you can see in the upper part of the facade. Even so, it’s the sixth largest church in Europe.

The bottom part is in pink Verona marble and the figures on the central portal were done by the well known of the time Siennese sculptor Jacopo della Quercia.

Inside it’s immense but very simple. What’s famous about it is a huge 17th century sundial, inlaid in the paving. At 67 meters (219 feet) it’s one of the largest astronomical instruments in the world and it led to the creation of the leap year.

This sundial or “meridian line” was so famous at the time that it was one of the stops on the so-called Grand Tour, the 18th century trip to Europe that mostly wealthy young gentlemen took, primarily in Italy.

Also on the square is the 13th c Palazzo di Podesta, once used for city government.

Moving up the grand staircases you see artwork from centuries before you reach the civic art gallery on the top floor and the entrance for the clock tower that you can go up in.

Moving into the adjacent Piazza del Nettuno, there’s a 16th century statue of Neptune, god of the seas (Greek Poseidon). The church was none too pleased with this statue, and fig leaves were placed on the women, but not on Neptune…

To the left, the Palazzo d’Accurso or Communale houses the Salaborsa library. The name comes from the role the building played as the central stock exchange site. But it wasn’t used only for the borsa. After World War II, it became a sports building which hosted basketball matches. In 1999 it was transformed into the Salaborsa Library.

Part of the left wall that’s made up of small faces, is the Monument to Fallen Partisans — during the summer of 1944, fascists carried out numerous shootings, leaving exposed corpses next to the entrance as a “warning.” After the war, Bologna citizens brought photos and flowers here to honor the fallen ones and later the monument was made to partisans. Bologna was in fact a major center for the Italian resistance after 1943, fighting both Nazi occupiers and Italian fascists.

Inside in the main courtyard was an exhibit of movie posters, highlighting women actors. Notice in the middle, Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

This central area was dedicated in 2016 to Umberto Eco, well known writer and professor at the University of Bologna.

Nearby on the main floor you can walk over a glass floor with ancient remains below (like at the Acropolis Museum) but don’t miss going down the stairs to see the archaeological finds, such as walls and cisterns from the Roman era in the first few centuries AD.

A timeline in the basement gives important historical events from Roman times when the city was known as Bonomia.

Nearby on the piazza down a flight of steps is the cinema of the library, that hosts a daily series of films.

Due Torri

In front of the square, you can’t miss another landmark of the city, the Due Torri, two medieval stone towers of Asinelli and Garisonda. In medieval times, there were around 100 towers in the city, named after the families who financed them. The early 12th c Asinelli tower at 97 meters high showed the family was much more affluent than the Garisenda next to it, at only 47 meters. The Garisenda obviously didn’t invest in a solid foundation as it’s sinking and leaning toward the Asinelli. (Dickens described the towers “as if they were bowing stiffly to each other.”)

Ordinarily you can climb the 498 steep wooden steps of Asinelli for a panoramic view of the city, but it’s currently closed for repairs.

Right up the street from the towers is the gorgeous gothic style Piazza della Mercanzia, built in 1391, a popular place to sit today and sometimes listen to street bands play. This is a medieval crossroads of manufacturing, agriculture and handicrafts activities. The porticoes range from the oldest ones with wooden beams, more recent with brickwork.

University of Bologna

Bologna has always had a reputation of being a liberal independent thinking city, so it’s quite fitting that it’s the home of the oldest university in continuous operation not only in Europe but the world. Built in 1088, It began as a study center for law and the next couple of centuries it attracted scholars and students from around Europe, including such alumnae as Dante, Petrarch and Erasmus.

It’s easy to get to the campus; just take Via Zamboni off of Piazza Maggiore and you’ll soon reach the center around Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, where there’s a concert hall.

Near the end of Via Zamboni is the Pinacoteca Nazionale, national picture gallery of Bologna in a lovely porticoed building.

The main administrative building is the former Palazzo Poggi, which today hosts a museum devoted to scientific discoveries.

Palazzo Archiginasio

The first few hundred years or so, as the university had no fixed place, lectures were held around the city. In the mid 16th c though, the Palazzo Archiginasio, in back of the Piazza Maggiore, became the campus until 1803, when classes moved to their present place out Via Zamboni.

How inspiring to have had classes at the Palazzo Archigianasio in this gorgeous building. Two grand staircases lead to the upper floor to the anatomical theater (Teatro) 17 c. designed for anatomy lessons. Inside this little barred window is where the teatro was.

Inside the palazzo are decorations of inscriptions and monuments commemorating masters of the studio and thousands of coats of arms and names of students.

Palazzos and churches are of course characteristic of many Italian cities. The 13th century San Domenico church where the founder of the Dominican order is buried, you reach by walking over a long pebbled courtyard. Inside it has sumptuous paintings and sculptures. (Much of it currently is under renovation.)

Moving on to Piazza Santo Stefano, this is the most interesting church of all because it’s actually a complex of several religious buildings from different eras and is known as “Seven Churches.” (Though you see four of them). The basilica is said to have been built by Petronius (5th c bishop of Bologna) on the ruins of a pagan temple, perhaps dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis.

Near the back of the main church you walk through winding passages that take you to several earlier churches. In the middle of your walk, you come out to the beautiful cortile di Pilato, the courtyard of Pilate with its marble basin. After your visit underground back through the centuries to early churches, it’s almost jarring to come out to the fresh air.

Former Jewish Ghetto

Bologna’s past, as with many Italian cities, includes a Jewish ghetto. The first trace of a Jewish population in Bologna is recorded in the late middle ages. About 200 years later in 1556 the church-state forced the Jewish population into a walled area until 1569, which was the “first” expulsion. After returning in 1586, again they were expelled in 1593. The French revolution brought them back 200 years later specifically when Napoleon requested that the Jews return to the city.

Off of Piazza Maggiore, it’s an area of narrow somber alleyways, arches and passageways, and with a small Jewish museum.

At Inferno 16 is the 16th century synagogue, damaged in WWII and restored in 1955. Besides mentioning the final expulsion in 1593, it refers to a new ghetto created in 1938 with the creation of the Italian racial laws under Mussolini.

You can find more information on the Jewish community of Bologna here.

Stumbling stones

We tend to walk around a city looking up at the architecture, but sometimes you’re rewarded if you look down. What are these small brass plated cubes on Strada Maggiore that you might just walk over and not notice… They’re what’s known as “stumbling stones” or stolpersteine. German artist Gunter Demnig since 1992 has put down 70,000 of them all over Europe and Russia. Each plate records the name of the person who lived at this house, when born and when deported to a concentration camp. These are all members of the Calo family. The idea is to make passersby “stumble with their head and heart” to remember those lost.

Old River, Canals

Bologna has other secrets too. One is that a river used to run through the city. Actually listed among the city sights is a finestrella or little window on Via Piella that gives you a glimpse of the river or canals. Fed by the Reno River, they were used to provide water and energy, but most were covered up by the 1950’s. Also don’t miss the view of the canal from Via Oberdan.

Bologna La Grassa

It’s been said that tortellini alone is a reason to visit Bologna and the Emilia Romagna region!

One of Bologna’s nicknames is La Grassa, (the fat one) referring to its being a culinary capital. (Another nickname is La Rossa, which refers to both the red tiled roofs and its political leanings and still another is La Dotta — The Learned — from the university.) Bologna la dotta, la grassa e la rossa people say.

About the shape of tortellini and other stuffed pastas characteristic of the region, there’s a legend that says the young cook of a wealthy medieval family modelled his pasta after the navel of his master’s wife. A nice legend isn’t it, that combines pasta with seduction.

Pasta for sure is taken seriously. There are 25 pasta cooking schools, a number of food tours, and an annual pasta making competition where the winner gets the Matterello d’Oro, the Golden Rolling Pin. In some trattorias or osterias you can even see sfogline or pasta ladies who roll out and cut sheets of dough.

At Osteria Quadrilateral outside in a little alley with a toasty heater above us, we began with the famous tomato ragu or sauce bolognese with taglietelle and lasagne, which was open faced. All homemade pasta, no connection to store bought! Our helpful young waitress also brought a delicious homemade whole wheat bread. The small mixed salad we ate first. If you want to eat your salad before the pasta, you need to especially request this, since in the menu it’s listed under contorno or “side dish.” Which is fine too.

And tira misu. It had the coffee taste and was light, creamy and delicious, though the way it was served in a cup is not at all traditional (where are the savoiardi biscuits or ladyfingers?)

The food was heavenly but a bit overpriced as we saw later… perhaps the Quadrilateral area with the markets, is too touristy.

That was it with hearty red sauce. Now we wanted to taste some of the stuffed pasta. The trattoria Sfoglia Rina on Via Castiglione gets long lines at times — at least 30 to 40 people were waiting outside on Sunday, whereas Monday evening we went right in soon before they closed (8 pm, a little early…)

The placemat tells you about some different kinds of pasta that they’ve been making by hand since 1963. Checking out the menu for the day on the blackboard, you write down your order on a pad of paper given at your table.

We ordered one dish of radicchio and chestnut ravioli with cabbage pesto, pear and walnuts. These were totally different flavors that blended beautifully in your mouth, and the other dish was tortelloni with butter and sage. (Tortelloni are larger tortellini and traditionally vegetarian filled). Besides having delicious and creative pasta, Rina is one of the few places that doesn’t give you a cover charge, brings you free water, panino (a small bread roll) and a small vegetable contorno with a sauce.

Another ristorante we enjoyed was Ca’ Pelleti on via Altabella whose specialty is the pasta shape known as cappelleti, slightly different from tortellini, in being more ring shaped like a cappello (hat). We ordered it in a sauce with Porcini mushrooms and a gorgeous salad, an insalatone (a large salad) with chicken filet, olives, potatoes, tomatoes and basil. And of course wine.

This tira misu looked a little more traditional, but you can’t really see anything in the photo except the cocoa powder (a bit too much). But delicious too.

Perhaps the best meal of all was at Osteria Dell’Orsa on via Metana, another place where we saw a huge line on Sunday and tried it another day for a delightful late lunch.

As it was starting to get very cold out, this time we wanted to try another specialty of Bologna and Emilia Romagna, which is tortellini nel brodo (in a broth.) Sooo tasty. The other pasta dish I’ll give it in Italian because I love the sound of it: torcio con fuduta de taleggio e radicche rosso. Torcio, a slightly different shape as you can see. The salad is half eaten in the photo) and this was the only place that they offered a half kilo of house wine in a carafe. (Usually it’s a sealed bottle or served in a glass (calice). Reason enough for wine lovers to go there!

As it was full upstairs however they put us down in the basement, which they tried to have a high tech look with pipes of silver and large cushions in different colors.

So, now I hope I’ve made you a little hungry!

Take out sandwiches, known as tigelle or panini, or foccacio, depending on the size, are delicious as well. In Mercato delle Mezze, you can get all kinds of these little delicacies, with the most popular filling, mortadella or prosciutto. There you sit at a long wooden table with others, eating your sandwich and drinking your wine or aperol spritz.

But the best sandwiches are at Mo Mortadella on Via de’ Monari. Here’s mortadella with sun dried tomato and mozzarella. Perfetto!

One place we didn’t want to miss was the Osteria del Sole, the oldest bar in the city, dating back to the 15th century. It’s not exactly an osteria as they serve no food and you can bring your own (!) to accompany the drinks.

Inside you gaze around at dozens of framed pictures. On one wall there might be a signed photo of Muhammed Ali and near that a young boy dressed in a young Fascist outfit. A sign saying “No photos” is near the front but we managed to sneak a few, including the famous photo of an “American girl in Italy” that was behind us.

The place where we were staying, Casa Salbego, with helpful hosts Rossella and Luca, was a very comfortable B & B, situated on via Augusto Righi, just a 10 minute walk from Piazza Maggiore and 15 minutes from the train station. For breakfast, they give vouchers to eat at a pasticceria not far away. Eating the colazione out is a popular custom. It’s certainly not a breakfast to fill you up, just a cappuccino with a croissant. We sat outside on the sidewalk people watching, under the usual heaters as in the mornings, the cold and dampness just goes right through you. More on an incident at the breakfast later…

RAVENNA

We wanted to feed our souls, not just our stomachs, so a visit to Ravenna was a must. For so many years I’ve heard about the incomparable Byzantine and Roman mosaics there, the finest in Europe. In southeast Emilio Romagna, it’s a 1 hour 15 minute train ride from Bologna.

Early Christian art transformed Roman mosaics into powerful spiritual tools, as we saw on our visit, using tesserae, small cut pieces of colored glass or stone, and especially gold, to create a kind of otherworldly atmosphere and to present biblical stories.

An easy walk from the Ravenna station takes you into town where you can buy a combination ticket at various ticket offices to five of the most important mosaic sites. Highly recommended.

The mosaics embody Ravenna’s glorious golden age at the tail end of the Roman empire, when the imperial capital was moved to this city in 402 AD. Despite the decline and fall that the Roman world was suffering in this period, the glories of Ravenna continued for a good three centuries. The art, mosaics done mostly by Greek artists from Constantinople, and the architecture from this time give us a glimpse into this chaotic phase between the Roman empire and the rise of medieval Europe.

You can begin anywhere but since we were right next to the Arcivescovile Museum, the Bishop’s palace, we started there, inside a lovely palazzo and up a flight of stairs, and inside it, the Chapel of Sant’Andrea.

There are some amazing treasures, like this 6th c ivory bishops’ seat, pulpit of Maximian, considered one of the finest pieces of ivory carving in Europe.

This Virgin Mary praying with her hands upraised is from the 11th or 12th century, also known as the “Greek Madonna” because according to legend it had miraculously arrived in Ravenna from Constantinople. A similar “Madonna” is in the church of Santa Maria in Porto in the town.

The 5th c chapel of Sant’ Andrea with its colorful mosaics of religious scenes is incorporated into the museum.

After the visit, a walk through a pleasant garden leads to the most ancient monument in Ravenna, the Battistero Neoniano, built on a site of a Roman bath the end of the 4th c AD and finished 50 years later under Bishop Neon, when the mosaics were added. This octagonal design used in virtually all Early Christian baptisteries, symbolizes the seven days of the week plus the Day of the Resurrection and Eternal Life.

Inside you enter the third floor of the baptistery; two were originally underground.

At first you want to sit and just take in the scenes on the ceiling and walls.

Your glance focuses on the dome, St. John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River, surrounded by the 12 Apostles.

Our mosaic odyssey continues with a 15 minute walk to the northern part of the city. There’s actually an easy “yellow brick road” that connects the mosaic sites.

The 6th c. basilica of San Vitale has the usual octagonal shape of the time.

When you enter, you can’t help but look around you in awe at the colors and magnificent decorations: expressive figures and stories from the Old and New Testament, as well as many animals and flower motifs.

This pastel green is the color that stands out most.

Look up at the dome. This is not a mosaic but frescoes painted in the late 18th century.

Find out here more information on the history of San Vitale and detail on the mosaics.

After you’ve surrounded yourself with these incredible mosaics, walk out to the back garden for another mosaic site, Mausoleum of Galla Placida. Galla Placida was the daughter of the emperor Theodosius and wanted to be interned here, but she died in Rome and was buried there.

From the outside, it’s a small plain brick building. Dating from the early 5th c, it’s one of the oldest buildings in Ravenna. You can’t imagine the treasure that lies within.

As you walk through the narrow entrance, I think the first thing you notice is that the upper part of the building is all mosaics, while the lower part is made of yellow marble. It’s almost magical what you feel from seeing this indigo blue sky, the color at dusk as it’s turning darker, with stars made of concentric gold cirlcles. (I wonder if Van Gogh had this in mind when he painted “Starry Night.”)

The main image is Christ as the good shepherd in heaven, surrounded by his flock.

You feel comfort, even joy with the images. It’s later that the crucifix became prevalent with more emphasis on sin, but here in the early years of Christianity, there seem to be more positive pleasant vibes, at least as shown in the Mausoleum.

We had no time limit to look around, but I read that if you visit in the summer or when it’s crowded, you’re allowed only 5 minutes inside.

Here you can read more about the Mausoleum of Galla Placida.

One more site. From the northwest part of the town, we headed southeast. On the way, we passed the covered market and the main square.

Ravenna has a reputation for being a quiet and laid back town. We could hear mellow music playing in cafes. Few people were walking on the street, perhaps because it was a very cold day.

In front of us suddenly was the 18th c Santa Maria in Porto, with it Greek Madonna, mentioned earlier. Quite an ornate facade, It’s next door to the Ravenna Art Museum, which unfortunately was closed on Monday when we went. They were having an exhibit on Chagall and mosaics.

Back to the road where we found the last stop, the 6th c Basilica of S. Apollianare Nuovo, with a bell tower dating from the 9th c. This basilica was originally commissioned by King Theododeric an “arian” king — another Christian sect of the time, then integrated by the byzantine.

I was struck by this unusual tree in the garden, like a banana tree.

Again the outside doesn’t prepare you for the treasures within, especially the gold.

On the left side looking to altar, a story is told of a boat entering Classe, the ancient port of Ravenna.

There’s a procession of 22 virgins led by the 3 magi or wise men.

From the world of Byzantine mosaics, Ravenna is also home to the medieval world of Dante Aligherri, where he lived for a time and is buried.

An exhibit upstairs from the Apollinaire Nuovo combined Dante with the Ravenna mosaics. There was a very good video giving the history of the town and also a welcome spot to rest…

Signs everywhere talk about walking Ravenna with the Divine Comedy.

There’s the Aligherri theater

as well as a Dante neighborhood, centered around the church of San Francesco, which inside gives a synopsis of each part of the Divine Comedy.

This is Dante’s original tomb out in the church yard. But his bones were moved to this leafy mound in 1944

At Dante’s tomb they read a daily canto from the Divine Comedy, and you can volunteer to participate.

The quiet of Ravenna was appealing, and there were very few tourists, but I imagine in the summer you get a totally different picture!

VERONA

The next morning we went to Impero, the bar or pasticceria in Bologna to have our colazione before taking the train to Verona.

My warning: beware of your surroundings! My bag was stolen. How did it happen? Sitting outside, I slung my bag over my chair. I should have known better. For a professional thief, this made an easy target. We were talking about our day ahead, focused on drinking our cappuccino and eating our croissant. When we discovered my bag was gone, we ran to the nearest carabinieri station to report it, and then ran some more to just catch the train — Gone, my phone and credit card. (Not to mention my notebook where I’d written Italian expressions and notes for my blog!)

In shock, we kept saying how did this happen to us — we like to think of ourselves as seasoned travelers… So, BE VIGILANT. Women, hold your bag on your lap or at least keep it in full view!

Armed with paper (from the carabinieri) and pen from the train station, at least I had some “tools” with me… As my links and maps were all on my phone, we bought a good map at the station (they still have these) and did a self-guided tour. At least we had Elias’ phone to take photos.

It’s a 50 minute ride on the fast speed train. From the station, you walk north to get to the main square, piazza Bra, and the Roman Arena.

The Arena, built between 14 and 54 AD, and an important predecessor for the later Colisseum, hosted the usual entertainments of the time: combats between gladiators and staged “hunts” of exotic animals. It was outside the city walls, but within easy reach of major roads, to avoid potential disorder in the crowded city. The original marble interior had sculptures and many fountains decorated with statues. According to tradition, the Arena served as the inspiration for Dante’s “circles of inferno.”

Of course, what most people think of with Verona is Juliet’s house:

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…

The house lies a little further from the Arena on this street, the brick house to the left.

You can tour the house inside … but I’d say that most people just walk around the courtyard, look up at the famous balcony and touch the breast on the statue of Juliet for good luck.

Inside the house-museum, you can see paintings relating to the legend of these two famous doomed lovers, also passages from the play, film costumes and images of the legend in other media. You can also send a letter to Juliet…

A gorgeous Ginkgo biloba tree lit up in yellow caught my eye and we followed it to Garibaldi Park and then took the bridge over the river to San Pietro, the hill where Verona began in the 1st c BC.

Fun fact about gingko trees — they’re one of the oldest living tree species in the world, sole survivor of an ancient group of trees that date back to before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. We’re talking about at least 200 million years old!

We passed the beautiful but locked Giardino Giusti.

The Romans built a theater on the slopes of San Pietro in the 1st c BC. At the site is an archaeological museum in a 16th c convent.

We climbed up to get a great view of the ruins below and the city, but not all the way. Smart move. Elias is studying the map for our next move.

Some characteristic streets as we make our way to Ponte Pietra to cross to the Duomo.

The Gothic 13th c. Santa Anastasia is particularly beautiful in its pink and blue marble.

A couple of snacks along the way: a kind of spanakopita with verdura (vegetables) and mozzarella in fylo dough, and a tasty slice of potato and cheese pizza, with a thin crispy crust.

These pointed shutters seem to reflect a Moorish style.

At Piazza delle Erbe, one stand was already selling masks for Carnival in February.

The Lamberti tower is a 12th c family tower of the Palazzo della Ragione.

On our way to Castelvecchio, important fortress of the Scaliger dynasty that ruled the city in the Middle Ages.

Nearby is the Castelvecchio or Scaligero bridge, a 14th c red brick fortified bridge over the Aidge river. Besides its historical significance, it’s fun to walk over because it’s got niches and steps so you can climb up to get a better look.

I found it intriguing on the map that there was a park named for Sacco & Vanzetti, the two Italian anarchist immigrants who were unfairly blamed for a murder and executed during the “Red Scare” in the 1920’s in the U.S. We found the park but no sign, no name.

Time to see the main piazza again as the day was starting to wane.

Back to the train station. Verona was an exquisite city to walk around in. If you’re planning to go to several museums, it might be worth it to get the Verona Card, which gives you free or reduced admission to many of the sights.

And finally back to Bologna. It’s important not to let my theft, as well as an unpleasant experience with Ryan Air on the return (!) spoil what was a fascinating trip. I like the Greek expression, to pathima, mathima: from something that happens, you learn.

Season’s greetings and happy holidays to all!!

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Sherri Moshman Paganos is a writer and former educator, inspired by her life in Athens, where she and her husband are happily retired and enjoying their travels in Greece and abroad. You can check out her writing — fiction, non-fiction, poetry and articles here.