- the shutter in the wall
- the Canale delle Moline
- the Torresotto di Porta Govese
01What it is
On via Piella, north of the center, a small window is set into a wall. Open the shutter and you look down on the Canale delle Moline, running between the backs of houses — a view people call Bologna's little Venice.
02The city of canals
Bologna is not on a navigable river, so from the Middle Ages it made its own water: canals drawn from the Reno and the Savena ran through the city and turned the wheels of mills.
The most valuable of them drove silk mills. Water-powered silk throwing made Bologna one of the great silk producers of Europe for centuries.
As the mills closed, most of the canals were covered over and built on, and the city forgot it had them. The Finestrella is one of the few places they are still visible.
03Around the corner
Also on via Piella is the Torresotto di Porta Govese, one of the small gate towers of the city's second ring of walls — see towers and gates.
Note The window is small and it is on a residential street. Take your turn, and keep your voice down.