Bologna, Italy: The Night Life Scene at Via Zamboni in the University District

One of the nicknames of Bologna is LA DOTTA ( the Learned One). The city is home to the oldest university in the western world, founded circa 1088. I did a quick online Wikipedia check and the Univeristy of Bologna has a notable list of alumni which includes familiar names such as Copernicus, Ferrari, Marconi, a few Popes and Dante Alighieri.

Now the advantages with living in and visiting a university city is that you can always expect it to be thriving with (free) events, not just during the day, but also in the night.

The porticoes on Via Zamboni.

Unlike its bigger sister cities in the northern regions of Italy, such as Milan and Florence where you can find swanky, design and pricey night life establishments catered to the upscale group, working/business types and the older generation, as well as the money-spending sometimes high-roller tourists, here in Bologna though, they are catered mostly to the penny-pinching student community.

I have read about Via Zamboni as the place to go for a good night life action. It is THE bar street. If you want to go out in the evening and have some fun, this is the place to be. What I didn’t know is that Via Zamboni is located in the University District. In fact the address of the University of Bologna is Via Zamboni.

This is the location of Via Zamboni:

For reference, I have made a walking direction to Via Zamboni from Piazza Maggiore.

It was around 22:00 when I turned up on Via Zamboni. I just finished an early evening stroll in the city and a very nice Bolognese impromptu dinner at Salumeria Simoni on Via Pescherie Vecchie in the Quadrilatero area. I am staying in Pianoro, a village in the outskirts of the city which takes about 20 minutes drive and I didn’t want to go home late. I don’t like walking in parking garages late at night and luckily, the parking garage I chose on Piazza dell’8 Agosto is nothing near deserted and it does not resemble anything ghetto. It is well lighted, modern and with the ocassional human and car traffic. Safety is very important to me.

So I thought I will just check out Via Zamboni for half an hour to maximum an hour. Have a little walk around, inspect the nightlife scene and have coffee at one of the bars. A cocktail drink would have been nice but I am not in the mood for it. A double espresso would suffice.

As I entered Via Zamboni, I was confronted by a throng of boisterous young people, who were clearly having the fun time of their young adolescent lives. I stared introspectively at them and I am reminded of my heydays 25 years ago. It is very strange these days; I keep remembering scenes from way back before, even my childhood days. Further ahead I could see the porticoes filling up with people. Bars, after bars with tables and chairs lining the porticoes. I thought the porticoes were great, especially when it rains.

As I reached the end of the bar scene, I noticed the crowd becoming thicker on the street. The noise louder as well and I could hear music blasting from the little square which seemed like an unfinished alternative project with lots of graffiti and construction material around it. Piazza Giuseppe Verdi.

There was clearly some sort of young people event gathering. Everything was in Italian so I had no idea what the event was all about, but it clearly is for students since almost all the people there were more than half my age. A number of food stalls were selling themed cuisine. The prices were reasonable which is suitable for the budget conscious audience. You can eat anything here under 6-8 euros. On the square I see a podium with lights and rows of tables and benches. It seems fun.

But then I got bored. I realised that I am too old to be in a gathering like this, as well as I didn’t know anybody here, so I went back to the street, on Via Zamboni. I need to find a bar where I can sit and have coffee.

Then I found Caffe 1088, a chic piece of an establishment. I noticed that they still have leftovers from their aperitivo hours. In the northern part of Italy, almost all cafes and casual eating places offer the famed aperitivo. You buy a glass of alcohol or cocktail drink and you get small bites to eat with it. Some offer it as self-service buffet whilst others give you a plate of selected bites.

It was getting late and I did not want to get home past midnight so I went straight to the bar and had my espresso whilst watching the bartender in action as he enjoyably and proudly concocts his cocktail creations. Hmm, they must have wondered what a girl is doing drinking espresso at almost midnight? Haha.

I later learned that Caffe 1088 was named after the founding year of the University of Bologna.

A small church (Parrucchieri Estro Di Zironi Paola) with a little square filled with cafe terraces.

Via Zamboni. The centrum of Bologna is filled with old buildings with arch-vaulted porticoes.

The event gathering is at the Piazza Giuseppe Verdi.

I was quite tempted to buy these but its not really nice eating fresh/raw seafood late in the evening.

The Teatro Communale di Bologna building.

I surely bumped into a very lively late night street event.

So I settled at this cafe and contemplated if I wanted a cocktail or not.

Caffe 1088 is probably the chicest on Via Zamboni. I had coffee here.

Travel Period: May 2016
Destination: Bologna (Emilia-Romagna), Italy

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