Bologna, Italy: Street Scenes in this City once called “The Tower City” in the Middle Ages
If there was one thing that I have wanted to do in Bologna that I wasn’t able to, then it would have been climbing the Asinelli Tower, one of the famous Two Towers of Bologna.
I basically did not have a lot of time, which helaas, is always the pain with enjoying this travelling lifestyle and hobby when you are working full-time. If I had to go up the almost 100-metre height tower, for sure it will take me some time, and there were other things in my agenda that I would like to do, such as chilling out at Piazza Maggiore for example, well among other things. I was also not in the mood. Well scratch that. I was lazy. Pure lazy haha! It can happen, and it did during my time in Bologna.
If it makes salvaging my reputation any better, I did climb up the tower in Modena. So let us just say that my laziness was an isolated on-the-spot case =)
But I did some reading about the towers in the city and I found out that Bologna was actually your state-of-the-art skyscraper kind of city back in the medieval times. This is what Bologna looked like before:
Quite impressive and amazing huh? For a city back in the Middle Ages to look like this?! WOW. I was quite speechless when I saw this drawing. Never expected Bologna to look like this in a million years.
The story goes that as the city prospers, every wealthy family felt the need to show off their fortune and confirm their good standing in the social order of the community. So they built towers. The higher the tower, the better. You are then richer. You have more power. You are therefore more respected and have a well distinguished place in the society. It’s a symbol, the pinnacle image of success.
It really is not so far away from the – ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ thing that we have today, right?
Fast forward, and because of safety reasons, as well as I guess, a decline in the economy of the city, many towers were demolished in the following years and centuries. There are only a few left in Bologna now, two of which have become the landmark of this Italian capital city of gastronomy (Read here: 3 Indoor Markets of Bologna). The famous Two Towers – the Asinelli Tower and Garisenda Tower, standing side by side on Piazza di Porta Ravegnana which is the tail end of Via Rizzoli.
It would have been cool to see all those skyscraper medieval stone towers today but I have to settle with what Bologna has to offer now, so I walked around, one portico and cobbled stone street to another, enjoying and appreciating the beautiful Bolognese architecture in the old core city centre around me. Without a doubt, I love walking and architecture sightseeing, and it keeps you fit too!
Well of course managed to take a lot of pictures. So please do enjoy them below. They were taken on separate days.
Travel Period: May 2016
Destination: Bologna (Emilia-Romagna), Italy
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
All pictures were taken by a point and shoot pocket camera or iPhone.
Palazzo della Mercanzia, the seat of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Crafts in Bologna. A beautiful government office building don't you think?
I basically did not have a lot of time, which helaas, is always the pain with enjoying this travelling lifestyle and hobby when you are working full-time. If I had to go up the almost 100-metre height tower, for sure it will take me some time, and there were other things in my agenda that I would like to do, such as chilling out at Piazza Maggiore for example, well among other things. I was also not in the mood. Well scratch that. I was lazy. Pure lazy haha! It can happen, and it did during my time in Bologna.
If it makes salvaging my reputation any better, I did climb up the tower in Modena. So let us just say that my laziness was an isolated on-the-spot case =)
But I did some reading about the towers in the city and I found out that Bologna was actually your state-of-the-art skyscraper kind of city back in the medieval times. This is what Bologna looked like before:
Photo from Wikipedia: Medieval Bologna, etching, aquatint, soft-ground etching, mm. 500x668, Engraved and designed by Toni Pecoraro 2012.
Quite impressive and amazing huh? For a city back in the Middle Ages to look like this?! WOW. I was quite speechless when I saw this drawing. Never expected Bologna to look like this in a million years.
The story goes that as the city prospers, every wealthy family felt the need to show off their fortune and confirm their good standing in the social order of the community. So they built towers. The higher the tower, the better. You are then richer. You have more power. You are therefore more respected and have a well distinguished place in the society. It’s a symbol, the pinnacle image of success.
It really is not so far away from the – ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ thing that we have today, right?
Fast forward, and because of safety reasons, as well as I guess, a decline in the economy of the city, many towers were demolished in the following years and centuries. There are only a few left in Bologna now, two of which have become the landmark of this Italian capital city of gastronomy (Read here: 3 Indoor Markets of Bologna). The famous Two Towers – the Asinelli Tower and Garisenda Tower, standing side by side on Piazza di Porta Ravegnana which is the tail end of Via Rizzoli.
It would have been cool to see all those skyscraper medieval stone towers today but I have to settle with what Bologna has to offer now, so I walked around, one portico and cobbled stone street to another, enjoying and appreciating the beautiful Bolognese architecture in the old core city centre around me. Without a doubt, I love walking and architecture sightseeing, and it keeps you fit too!
Well of course managed to take a lot of pictures. So please do enjoy them below. They were taken on separate days.
The Two Towers: Garisenda (smaller) and Asinelli (taller) towers.
Piazza della Mercanzia.
Piazza di Porta Ravengnana.
The interior of Palazzo della Mercanzia, which is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Crafts in Bologna. Those are I guess the city/town emblems. Below is the beautiful ceiling in the entrance hall.
Piazza Luigi Galvani with his statue in the middle.
Arch hallways that are part of the building are quite common in Bologna.
Peek to Piazza Maggiore... you can see the famous Fountain of Neptune on Piazza del Nettuno.
Banco di Roma bronze clock.
Arch vaulted and pillared pedestrian porticoes are so typical Bologna. You can find more of this in my earlier blog post about Via dell' Indipendenza.
Having coffee here at Vini & Sapori on Via Augusto Righi.
English speaking for expats newspaper in Bologna. I guess a lifeline for the English speaking/non-Italian community
Arcade-style outdoor cafes and restaurants in Bologna, a familiar sight everywhere in the city.
Travel Period: May 2016
Destination: Bologna (Emilia-Romagna), Italy
Keep in touch and follow me on Facebook: Travel & Lifestyle Diaries by Dutched Pinay Travels
Happy Travels! Enjoy Life =)
All pictures were taken by a point and shoot pocket camera or iPhone.
Nice
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