3-day trip Bologna from Rome
Admire some of Bologna’s most popular places such as the Neptune Fountain, the Two Towers, and Piazza Maggiore.
Take the time to visit renowned monuments such as Palazzo d'Accursio, seat of Bologna’s city hall for centuries and now a marvelous art museum. Admire the Neptune Fountain, one of the most elegant Renaissance fountains in Italy, and make sure to take a look at San Petronio Basilica, one of the largest Christian churches on the planet.
Continue through the alleys leading to the medieval market, Via Clavature and Via Sampieri, until you reach Via Santo Stefano to admire the sensational Basilica di Santo Stefano.
Bologna really is an intriguing city. Located in the super-rich Po valley, opera-goers frequent chic theatres and gather at some of Italy's finest restaurants and trattorias. However Bologna has another side to it, a restless city that hosts the world's oldest university, famous for its graffiti-adorned squares crawling with nicely inebriated students.
No wonder Bologna has earned many sobriquets during its history: la Grassa (the fat one), as ragù or bolognese sauce was first prepared here; la Dotta (the educated one) as the city university was founded in 1088; la Rossa (the red one) refers to the ubiquitous presence of terracotta medieval buildings surrounded by miles of porticoes and also to the city's persistant propensity for left-wing political views.