La Fontana Vecchia

The historic centre of Bologna, where we live, is beautiful. It takes about 50 minutes to wander from one side to the other, and it’s about 15 mins from our home to the heart of town (Piazza Maggoire).

Our first week was spent getting our bearings; this week we’re enjoying becoming more acquainted with our new city. Among the many guidebooks on the shelves in our little apartment we found details of a terrific walking tour of Bologna. But rather than carry a dozen or so A4 printed pages around, we recorded the information as a series of short audio files and downloaded them to each of our mobiles. So with phones and headphones at the ready, we set off on the Bologna tourist trail…at least that was the plan. In fact, though, we managed to visit only a couple of historic sites before another attraction – one not on our list – lured us away; it was a little trattoria serving a fantastic ‘piato di salumi’ and local sparkling red wine. Ah well, the rest of the tour will have to wait…

But here’s what we did learn before lunch. Bologna, capital of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, is home to Europe’s oldest university (1088); it’s also the oldest university in the world still operating hence the city’s depiction as Bologna la Dotta, or the Learned. Bologna’s other titles are la Rossa (the Red) and la Grossa (the Fat). La Grossa pays homage to Bologna’s place as a food capital of Italy – we can only concur – while the Red refers not only to the almost exclusively red terracotta roofs of the centre but also to the city’s long history of left leaning politics. With a population of about 400,000, Bologna is a modern city shrouded in a beautiful medieval cloak. (Having said that 400,000 seems a lot when we’re already noticing quite a few ‘regulars’ around town, like the lovely man who carries a not-so-little, wire-haired terrier in his bicycle basket. The dog’s constant, loud and delighted barking announces their approach from afar, and while the man makes half-hearted attempts to shush the dog, it’s to no avail. Obviously both man and dog really enjoy their daily – and noisy – ‘giri’ around town.

Our short tour began at the Fontana Vecchia, the Old Fountain (1563), located just behind the main Piazza Maggiore and outside what were the city’s original fortress walls. With our audio guide working well, we moved next to the Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio, the seat of the University of Bologna from the 1500s to 1803 (when it moved to its current location on Via Zamboni). It’s an amazing building; the walls and ceilings of the courtyard are decorated with inscriptions and monuments to the university’s teachers and with the coats of arms of thousands of students.

Laura Bassi, physicist and academic

Women taught at the University of Bologna from the 12th century. One of the best known was Laura Bassi who in 1732 became the Chair of Philosophy. In 1776 she was awarded the Chair of Experimental Physics teaching logic, metaphysics, philosophy, chemistry, hydraulics, mathematics, mechanics, algebra, geometry, and ancient and modern languages. What a woman!

The Palazzo also houses the remarkable Anatomical Theatre. In this room, constructed entirely of timber, generations of anatomy students watched as technicians dissected cadavers on the viewing table in the centre, while the professors stood at the lectern, above and behind, providing the learning (often with the assistance of two ‘skinless’ wooden models).

Just along the corridor from the Teatro Anatomico is the Library. Dating from 1838, this beautiful room displays part of a vast collection of antique manuscripts and books documenting the study of human sciences through the ages. Walking through these halls it doesn’t take a lot to imagine them filled with scholars – the best in Europe, the great minds of their time; young women and men who were ambitious, enlightened and impatient and many of whom, no doubt, went on the change the world.

Greg and I are really enjoying our tour and looking forward to resuming it but, then again, there is a wonderful little osteria we’ve been wanting to try…