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Published: June 13th 2009
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So my family left from Venice today while I continued on to my last adventure of my journey, Bologna. Situated between Venezia and Roma I had to make a pit stop in this medieval city known for their great food. To name a few good foods making this region known for the best food in Italy and possibly the world: Bologna, Prosciutto, Parmesan Cheese, Tortellini, and Balsamic Vinegar. I’ll get into the food more a little later. First and foremost, Bologna is a very old town and is home to the first university ever and continues to be a town dominated by a youthful college atmosphere despite the buildings dating from the 12th century. Getting off the train it started to rain but lucky for me Bologna has arcaded sidewalks that not only set a neat atmosphere but double as municipal umbrellas. Walking down the long arcaded Via dell’Indipendenza, I passed many shops reminding me of the shopping district in Rome down Via dell Corso. Finally reaching the end of this straight road, I ran straight into Piazza del Nettuno the city center which houses Fontana del Nettuno which obviously is a fountain portraying the water god Neptune with his mermaids.
Piazza del Nettuno flows straight into Piazza Maggiore which is very similar in style but is much bigger. Both of these piazzas complement each other with their adjacent Palazzi (Palaces) that are old medieval castles. Also in Piazza Maggiore is the massive Basilica di San Petronio. This church is absolutely enormous and has been under construction for over 300 years and is still not completed!!! Although beautiful it is not fully decorated because it was supposed to be much bigger but after the university seat was built nearby the plans were altered. Regardless, walking through the nave of this church gave an open feeling as if there was no ceiling because the ceiling was suspended hundreds of feet above. I wasn’t able to take pictures inside but you can see the size of it from my pictures in Piazza Maggiore. Leaving the Basilica di San Petronio and carefully protected from the rain by the arcaded sidewalks, I made way down to another church, this time to San Domenico. Inside this church is the Arca di San Domenico. This tomb of St. Dominic along with the chapel it’s housed in was decorated by many artists including Niccolo di Bari and Michelangelo.
I snuck a picture of the tomb so look for it in the pictures. With a quick stroll through the cloister of the church I departed for my last church of the day (thinking about it now, my last church in Italy) Santo Stefano. Santo Stefano is the oldest church in Bologna and was a converted Pagan Temple to Isis. Scholars argue whether the church is between four and seven connected church. Walking through the different churches dating between the 4th and 12th century was neat. Inside there was the Tomb of San Petronio and in the Cortile di Pilato (Pontius Pilate’s Courtyard) is the basin of which Pontius Pilate supposedly washed his hands after condemning Christ. That’s enough about churches. Leaving the quiet church atmosphere in the past I made my way over to the university section to see how the college kids lived here. I stopped at the Le Due Torri which is two landmark towers that tower over Bologna and were even mentioned in Dante’s Inferno. They stand side by side in Piazza di Porta Ravegnana. Torre Garisenda from the 11th century was leaning too much and was shortened to 165 feet in the 1300s but the
Torre degli Asinelli built in the 11th century is still 320 feet tall and leaning 7 ½ feet but still open to visitors. You know me, I decided to climb the 500 narrow wooden steps after walking in the rain. Although I am not afraid of heights and am up for any sort of physical activity, I was a little scared climbing the tower. The wooden staircases noticeable lean and the wooden stairs are visually worn thin by the many visitors. As I climbed the tower the only thing I focused on was holding onto the hand rail on the wall side so that incase the stairs broke I would be able to hopefully hang from the railing and shimmy to safety. Now if you know me and the risks I take you can understand how shitty this staircase must have been. Although cloudy, the top of the tower gave a spectacular view of the city and I was able to pin point every church and landmark that I had visited that morning. Making my descent it was finally time to reach the university section. It was neat to see the bustle of college life similar to what I experience
at Penn State. The only difference is there classes are held in ancient buildings with statues lining the courtyards. I walked into one courtyard where students were hanging out on some chairs waiting for class with statues and colonnades surrounding them. It’s weird to think that this is normal to them when it’s picture worthy to me. After weaving through streets of the college section for what seemed like hours, it was time for a well deserved Bologna meal. Finding my way to hidden restaurant recommended in my guidebook, I sat down for meal alone at Drogheria della Rosa. It was my first time eating a meal out alone and it felt very awkward and lonely. Luckily the woman next to me spoke English and she would speak to me every so often. Now for the meal. It started off with a glass of prosecco and a plate of cured meats, specialty of Bologna. Then for my first meal I had tortellini stuffed with Zucchini flower and stracchino (fesh cow’s-milk cheeses) topped with their local Parmesan cheese. It was the best tortellini I have ever had but was nothing compared to my second dish. For my second, I had filetto
al balsamico. This fillet mignon drenched in their amazing balsamic vinegar was the best steak I ever had. There balsamic vinegar is the best and the world and incomparable to even those found in a specialty shop. It takes over 12 years to make and goes through a grueling process. A small 3 oz. bottle of this vinegar goes for 40 euros which is about 60 bucks for the “cheap” kind and can climb to even more ridiculous prices for the longer that it’s aged. Often, it is so sweet that it sometimes served as an after dinner drink that you sip on. After finishing my delicious fillet, I emptied my wallet and rolled my way to the train station to depart back to my second home, Roma. Regardless of the rain and the lack of company, I had an excellent time in Bologna.
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