Day Trip: Milan to Bologna, Italy

Welcome to Bologna: Origin of the Bolognese Sauce

What can I say about the Italian city of Bologna? Well, let me start off by mentioning it is a MUST SEE location and totally reachable from Milan making it the perfect day trip. I hope you are ready for your virtual journey to Bologna, Italy, because here we go!

As I mentioned previously, Bologna is extremely easy to reach from Milan; it only takes a train ride. Depending on your comfort level for traveling (and your budget), you can reach the medieval Italian city between one to three hours from Milan Central Station. In our case we wanted to travel cheaply, so for 16 euros one-way we rode the regional train which took us nearly three hours to reach Bologna. If we spent about 25 more euros, the fast train would have gotten us there in about one hour. A word of advice: choose a train that gets you there before 10 am because there are a lot of places to see and things to do in Bologna. We ended up leaving at 8 pm and still didn't see everything we wanted to.

With origins dating back to about 1,000 BC, Bologna is now the 7th largest city in Italy based off population. From the Iron Age with the Villanovan culture to Celtics to Romans to Lombards, the city has been through many changes and served various purposes. This is the reason why Bologna is home to a wealthy assortment of structures portraying Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque styles.  The below image is part of the Roman wall which surrounded the entire city at the time, and below the wall image is a small sample, about 0.0001%, of all the arches in the city. LOL!

Section of the Roman wall that surrounded the city

Only four of Bologna's mannnny arches

Arena del Sole Theater...and more arches

The next image was taken from inside of the University of Bologna, the world's oldest continuously operating university which held its first class in 1088 AD. The University also houses a very interesting free museum that we visited which was all about the university's students and campus life. Some of most notable alumni for the University of Bologna include three popes. Today, about 85,000 students are enrolled throughout the University's 23 schools.

Palazzo Poggi University Museum

The National Art Gallery of Bologna is another free attraction we visited. This gallery contains a vast collection of 13th-18th century paintings made by artists who have ties to the city of Bologna.

National Picture Gallery

One of Bologna's secrets happens to be its hidden system of canals. Before my trip, I had no clue bologna had canals until I crossed over one. This hydraulic system was created during the middle ages to bring not only water into the city for use but as a source for hydraulic energy. It was a nice surprise....I can't wait to see what Venice will be like.

Bologna Canal

Located near the town's main plaza, Piazza Maggiore, the 1567 Fountain of Neptune,complete with patinaed bronze, was a remarkable sight to see. (Also, a great photo op.)

Fountain of Neptune

As the heading of the post states, Bologna is the origin of everybody's favorite meat based sauce....Bolognese! So for lunch I had to try tortellini with bolognese sauce....I don't know if it was just psychological, but it was perhaps the best I ever had! Bologna is also known for their cured pork meats and cheeses. Unfortunately, I didn't try mortadella....Italy's version of American Bologna.

Tortellili Ragu alla Bolognese

Traditional Bologna Food

Some of Bologna's most famous landmarks are it's towers. It is said between the 12th and 13th centuries, Bologna had around 180 towers! Pictured below are the famous "Two Towers;" the smaller leaning one is called "Garisenda" and the tallest one is "Asinelli". At a cost of 3 euros, you can climb the old wooden staircase for a remarkable panoramic view from the 90 m high Asinelli tower. (This is my #1 recommendation of things to do when visiting Bologna)

The Two Towers (yes, one leans)

I made it to the top!

View from Asinelli Tower

View from Asinelli (notice the large Basilica...explained later))

The Churches and Basilicas of Bologna 

Bologna is home to many important churches and basilicas, and all come complete with outstanding architectural structure and intricate details. (Well, almost all do.) Sadly, many of the churches prohibited photos, but a few of them allowed them didn't. The basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore houses many artistic pieces from the Renaissance era, but they are located inside where photos were, in this case, prohibited. (At least the outside looks nice...right? LOL!)

Basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore

Basilica and Sanctuary of Santo Stefano is widely known as the "Seven Churches." This might be primarily due to the fact the complex contains multiple basilicas. The basilica is even said to be built over a temple for the Egyptian goddess, Isis. Cool, right?!

Basilica and Sanctuary of Santo Stefano

Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Oldest part)

Located on the Piazza Maggiore, the Basilica of San Petronio is unmissable. It is known to be the worlds 15th largest church with the vault of the ceiling reaching 148 ft into the air. One of the basilica's prominent features, is the uncompleted facade. On the inside, there is even a sundial embedded into the floor.

Basilica of San Petronio

The main alter in San Petronio's Basilica

The last photos are of a few more churches we had time to visit. If churches are your guilty pleasure, then by all means you best look for real estate in Bologna because you would be in heaven. LOL no pun intended.

Basilica and Sanctuary of San Domenico

Cathedral of San Pietro's main alter

Cathedral of San Pietro

San Francesco Basilica at night

After a full day of sightseeing and walking, it was nice to take a load off our feet on the three hour train ride back to Milan. It was an unbelievable day full of sights not common to me as a rural Iowan...let alone an American. I leave you with a pic of the "boy band" travelers:

David, Lance (me) and Jitin