Bologna and Ferrara - porticoes, palaces, university life and Emilia-Romagna food

Basilica di San Petronio

Construction began in 1390 and the vast basilica remains unfinished more than six centuries later. Designs for the facade were submitted by Michelangelo, Giulio Romano and Andrea Palladio, but none was adopted. Inside, the fourth chapel on the left contains Giovanni da Modena's important frescoes from 1410-15.

Fontana del Nettuno

Giambologna's elaborate Baroque fountain was made between 1563 and 1566. The monumental Neptune and exuberant mermaids gave it the nickname Il Gigante, and the fountain has served as a civic meeting point beside Piazza Maggiore for centuries.

Le Due Torri

Only 24 of Bologna's nearly 100 medieval family towers remain. Torre Garisenda, from the late 11th century, tilts about four degrees and was shortened in the 14th century. Torre degli Asinelli dates from 1119, rises about 318 feet and leans roughly 7.5 feet. The towers and surrounding piazza have been closed during monitoring of Garisenda, so treat the official notice as decisive rather than relying on old opening information.

Palazzo Comunale and Sala Borsa

Palazzo d'Accursio has served as Bologna's seat of government since the 13th to 15th centuries and now combines civic rooms, medieval and Renaissance paintings, the clock tower terraces and the grand Sala Farnese. Across the complex, Sala Borsa occupies a light-filled former iron-roofed hall from 1884 and operates as a civic multimedia library.

Palazzo del Podestà and Voltone del Podestà

The Renaissance palace facing San Petronio was built between 1484 and 1494 and carries the Torre dell'Arengo. Under its vaulted arches, whisper into the right-angled brick walls below the saintly statue and a companion at the opposite corner can hear the message, a small acoustic surprise in the centre of the city.

Palazzo Re Enzo

Built in 1244, the palace became the prison of King Enzo of Sardinia after his capture in 1249. Its colonnaded courtyard is worth a look, while the two large salons host concerts and other events.

MAMbo and Museo Morandi

Bologna's modern-art museum occupies the former Forno del Pane, a minimalist building that began as a large bakery in 1915. The permanent collection includes modern art and a strong Arte e Ideologia section, while the Museo Morandi presents Giorgio Morandi's quiet still lifes and landscapes. The bookshop and MAMbo Café complete the complex.

Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica

The music museum fills the frescoed Palazzo Aldini-Sanguinetti with manuscripts from the 1500s, a 1606 harpsichord and collections that explain Bologna's long musical culture.

Pinacoteca Nazionale

Bologna's principal picture gallery contains works by the major Italian painters, with Raphael's Ecstasy of St. Cecilia as the signature work. Giotto's polyptych and Parmigianino's Madonna with Child and Saints Margaret, Jerome and Petronius are other essential stops.

San Domenico

The church holds the Arca di San Domenico, the tomb of the saint who died in Bologna in 1221. Niccolò dell'Arca shaped much of the 15th-century monument, while the young Michelangelo carved the angel on the right and the figure of San Petronio. A small attached museum contains religious relics.

Santo Stefano

This unusual basilica is a linked group of churches, variously counted as four to seven. A 4th-century temple dedicated to Isis once stood here, while much of the surviving complex dates from the 10th to 12th centuries. The Cortile di Pilato, with its old basin, is the atmospheric centre of the visit.

Santuario Madonna di San Luca

The Baroque sanctuary sits on wooded Colle della Guardia about 5 km southwest of Piazza Maggiore. The pilgrimage route from Porta Saragozza follows the world's longest portico, 3.9 km under 666 arches and past 15 chapels. The cupola adds 110 steps and a 180-degree view over Bologna.

Tip: Walk the portico for the full Bolognese experience, or use bus 20 followed by the 58 minibus from Villa Spada. The San Luca Express tourist train is the simplest city-centre alternative.

Torre dell'Orologio

Opened to visitors in 2021, the clock tower rises from Palazzo d'Accursio above Piazza Maggiore. Its mechanism includes a 1773 clock movement, gears and pendulum, while two terraces frame views over the piazza and the Bolognese hills.

Università di Bologna and Museo di Palazzo Poggi

The university quarter combines buildings from the 15th through 18th centuries with bookshops, coffee bars and inexpensive restaurants. Among the university museums, Palazzo Poggi is the most rewarding for visitors, with scientific instruments, paleontological material and botanical collections.

Teatro Comunale di Bologna

The 18th-century theatre stages concerts by Italian and international orchestras, but its acclaimed opera programme is the main attraction. Reserve well ahead for the most popular performances.

Castello Estense

The former seat of Este power dominates the centre with a fortress exterior and lavish ducal interiors. The castle began as a fortress in 1385, while the rooms continued to develop into the 16th century. Visit the dungeons and their 15th-century graffiti, the Sala dei Giochi, the Sala dell'Aurora, terraces and hanging garden.

Tip: Walk across the drawbridge and through the arcades even when you do not have time for every room. The terraces give the clearest sense of Ferrara's scale and surrounding plain.

Cattedrale di San Giorgio

The Gothic cathedral stands a few steps from the castle, with a three-tier facade of slender arches and sculpture. Work began in 1135 and lasted more than a century; the interior was remodelled in the 17th century. The Duomo reopened on Palm Sunday 2024 after major restoration following the 2012 earthquake, which revealed carved capitals hidden behind plaster for more than three centuries.

Casa Romei

The banker Giovanni Romei's Renaissance palace has a graceful courtyard, mid-15th-century frescoes, detached frescoes from local churches and Renaissance sculpture. The Sala delle Sibille contains a large fireplace and coffered wood ceiling.

Museo della Cattedrale

Across from the Duomo, the museum holds original cathedral decoration, objects from the former church and the San Romano cloister. Highlights include 22 codices commissioned between 1477 and 1535, early-13th-century sculpture, Cosmè Tura's large 1469 canvas and Jacopo della Quercia's Madonna della Melagrana.

Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah

Known as MEIS, this museum uses religious objects and multimedia installations to tell the long history of Jewish life in Italy. Ferrara's community experienced both an invitation from Ercole I in 1492 and forced confinement in the ghetto from 1627 until unification in 1860. The museum is about a 15-minute walk from the former ghetto area.

Palazzo dei Diamanti

The palace takes its name from about 8,500 small pink-and-white marble pyramids covering its facade. Designed to be read diagonally from across the street, it was begun in the 1490s and completed around 1504. The interior houses the Pinacoteca Nazionale's 13th- to 17th-century Ferrarese paintings and temporary exhibitions.

Palazzo Schifanoia

South of the Duomo, this Este pleasure palace began in the late 14th century and was remodelled between 1464 and 1469. Museo Schifanoia's Salone dei Mesi is the highlight, with a lavish cycle showing the months and their mythological attributes.

Via delle Volte

One of Europe's best-preserved medieval streets, Via delle Volte runs through a narrow line of arches that once connected merchants' houses to warehouses. It followed the Po's former riverbank and preserves the atmosphere of Ferrara's medieval port.