Bologna walking tour: From Porta Galliera to the Two Towers and Le Tre Frecce

Bologna has many names. It’s been called “the red city” for its red roofs and left-leaning politics, and ”the fat city” for its cuisine which is far from light and healthy. It’s known as “the towered” for the forest of over 100 towers that once dotted its landscape. It’s also been referred to as “the cultured” for having the world’s oldest university. On this walking tour, I’ll introduce you to each facet of the city and some of its secrets too, including how the rebellious Bolognese stopped the city from becoming the Vatican.

In Piazza del Nettuno, I’ll tell you how the Fountain of Neptune’s sculptor got away with making Neptune seem particularly well-endowed despite the church prohibiting it. While you stand in the Whispering Gallery under the Torre dell Arengo (Tower of Arengo), I’ll tell you how lovers were able to murmur sweet nothings to each other without their legitimate partners realising. I’ll reveal the legends linked to Le Tre Frecce (the Three Arrows) including one involving nudity. You’ll also get a glimpse of how Bologna once resembled Venice with its criss-cross of canals and rivers while passing Canale delle Moline and, while walking down Via Indipendenza, what things were like in the post-Risorgimento period.

Other highlights on this tour include:

• Seeing San Petronio, the largest and most important church in the city
• Strolling down Via Rizzoli, named after a 19th century physician who donated money to the city for a hospital
• Hearing about the hero of two countries, Giuseppe Garibaldi
• Passing Il Pincio, the entrance to Parco della Montagnola – a French style garden commissioned by Napoleon
• Taking in Garisenda and Asinelli, Bologna’s Two Towers
• Standing beside Porta Galliera where a retreating Austrian army left the city following a rebellion by the Bolognese in 1848
• Learning about the city’s history from the Etruscans and the Lombards, including the chaotic factional fighting between the Guelphs and Ghibellines
• Discovering the Quadrilatero neighbourhood with its cafes and restaurants
• Finding out about the seven churches of Santo Stefano

We’ll explore the culinary wonders of the city too. It’s here that iconic dishes like lasagna, ragu and tagliatelle were born and it‘s here that their recipes are fiercely guarded in the chamber of commerce. We’ll explore the cafés, restaurants and shops where you can allow your tummy and taste buds to be tempted by these culinary marvels.

Join me on this walk through the pulsing heart of northern Italy, and discover the many faces of Bologna.