Latest · 28 October 2026Why Bologna built arcades, and why the law kept them openHow Bologna's medieval laws turned private overhangs into public arcades, and why that history still shapes your walk today.- 2The Porticoes · 28 October 2026Which porticoes are worth a detour, and which you will walk anywayA visitor's guide to Bologna's porticoes — which stretches are pure daily commute and which earn a special walk.
- 3Towers and Gates · 12 October 2026Walking the ring of gates where the old walls used to standFollow the boulevard that traces Bologna's vanished third walls, passing the surviving gates one by one.
- 4Towers and Gates · 9 October 2026How to spot the medieval towers hidden inside Bologna's housesBologna once bristled with up to a hundred medieval towers — most survive, swallowed into later houses. Here's how to find them.
- 5The Two Towers · 7 October 2026Why the Garisenda leans, and what the engineers are doing about itThe Torre Garisenda has leaned for centuries, but new monitoring and scaffolding mean the view of it has changed. Here's why.
- 6San Luca and its Portico · 5 October 2026What happens when the Madonna di San Luca comes down into the cityHow the icon's annual journey down from San Luca transforms the portico, the hills, and the historic center for days.
- 7San Luca and its Portico · 2 October 2026How to walk up to San Luca without wearing yourself outA practical pacing guide to the portico walk up to San Luca, with rest points, shade, and bus alternatives.
- 8The Two Towers · 12 September 2026Where to see Bologna from above when you cannot climb the towerThe Asinelli climb may not be running when you visit. Here is what the tower view gives you, and the hills and corridors that give it back another way.
- 9Getting Here · 12 September 2026What to do with your luggage between the train and the hotelYou arrive in Bologna hours before you can check in, or leave hours after checking out. What to do with the bag, and how to move it around the center.
- 10The Porticoes · 12 September 2026Spend your first evening in Bologna under the arcadesYou have arrived, dropped your bag and have a few hours of light left. Here is a first walk through Bologna that needs no ticket and teaches you the city.
- 11The Quadrilatero · 12 September 2026How the Quadrilatero works when you want to eat standing upBologna's medieval market lanes still feed the city. What is sold where, when to go, and how to eat there without a booking or a menu.
- 12Day Trips · 12 September 2026Choosing between Bologna and Florence as a base changes what your days look likeFlorence is under forty minutes from Bologna by high-speed train. Which city you sleep in decides your day trips, your evenings and how often you wait.
- 13The Porticoes · 12 September 2026A rainy day in Bologna hardly changes the planBologna was built to be walked in bad weather. How to spend a wet day under the porticoes, and which rooms are at their best when it rains.
Coming along the portico
Questions this journal is working through next. Each will get a piece of its own.
- What the whispering corner under the Podestà actually does
- Summer evenings when Piazza Maggiore becomes an open-air cinema
- How to catch the sunlight on San Petronio's meridian line
- Why San Petronio's facade is half marble and half brick
- What to look for on the Neptune fountain beyond Neptune himself
- Reading the coats of arms on the Archiginnasio's walls
- Why the Compianto in Santa Maria della Vita stops people in their tracks
- How to walk through the Sette Chiese in the right order
- The canals Bologna covered over, and where you can still see water
- Seeing the Carracci, Reni and Guercino in the city that made them