Sept 08 - Rimini to Bologna

 Sept 08 - Rimini to Bologna 

Travel Day. 

Farewell to Rimini and off to Bologna today, a place we’ve been promising to visit for years now.  

Judging by the industry on the way in we start to get the feel that Bologna could be a little bit ‘big city..ish!’, and on arrival at the train station we find that with lots of traffic, people, and noise, we were right.

After checking in we head off to one of the major sights in the ‘Historic Centre’, the ‘Piazza Maggiore’.  This major square, surrounded by a number of impressive looking medieval buildings, seems to be the crossroads of the old town and hence it’s pretty busy.  To make things worse the local council have let taxis and tour buses drive through the square which, unfortunately, does nothing to improve the atmosphere of the place which is a pity.  

Curiosities of Piazza Maggiore

Curiosities of Piazza Maggiore

Top R:  Stonework from the 14th century recording the standards in Bologna for lengths

Bottom R:  An eagle attributed to a young Michelangelo 

Top L:  ‘The Fountain of Neptune’ a symbol of the city since 1565

Bottom L:  In 1604 these iron braces were installed to facilitate the hanging of condemned criminals.

Wandering through the rest of the historic centre one of the first things that stands out is the porticos, these covered walkways are just about everywhere.  Apparently no other city in the world has as many as Bologna, and they add up to more than 38 kms in length in the historic centre alone.  Such is their cultural, artistic, and historical, importance, they’ve been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.