Sunday,
September 17, 2006
Bologna is Italian's
Italy, Not Tourist Italy
People
have lived in and around Bologna since
pre-history, and Bologna has played an important
role in Italy's complex and torturous history. The beautifully
preserved medieval city
center has all the trappings of a modern university city,
but these are thoughtfully integrated into its historic fabric instead of being
ugly add-ons as we tend to have in the UK.
If asked to name
the oldest and most venerable university
in Europe, most people would probably suggest Oxford,
Cambridge or
the Sorbonne. In fact it's Bologna, which was
established in 1088. Alumni have included classical scholars such as Dante and Boccacio as well as modern novelist Umberto Eco.
Its 100,000
students give the city a real buzz and the university quarter is like a city
within a city. But Bologna
is not just rooted in the past; it is also home to Italian high-tech engineering icons
Maserati, Lamborghini and Ducati.
The stonework
throughout the city isn't the
ostentatious marble seen elsewhere. It's
mainly a glorious, down-to-earth palette of reds, oranges and yellows.
One incredible
architectural feature is its 40
kms of arched porticos sheltering
almost every street throughout the city. They provide pedestrians with uniquely
elegant and very welcome shelter from summer sun and winter rain.
BOLOGNA FULL OF ITALIANS, NOT TOURISTS, AT PEAK OF TRAVEL SEASON
Peter
Lynch
September
17, 2006
Italy
is a stunning and romantic country that really lives up to its hype. But there
is tourist Italy and the
Italian's Italy. The majority
of visitors follow the well-worn route between the wonderful cities of Venice, Florence and Rome and bypass tourist free places such as Bologna. In the peak
tourist season a relatively tourist-free city is a treasure in itself.
From a foreign tourist
perspective Bologna the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region and a major transport hub for rail
travel throughout the country is one of the most underrated cities in Italy. It's twinned with Portland,
Ore. and St.
Louis, Mo.
People have lived in and
around Bologna since pre-history, and it has
played an important role in Italy's complex and torturous history. The beautifully
preserved medieval city center has all the trappings of a modern university city, but these are thoughtfully integrated
into its historic fabric instead of being ugly add-ons as we tend to have in
the UK.
If asked to name the oldest
and most venerable university in Europe, most people would probably suggest Oxford, Cambridge
or the Sorbonne. In fact it's Bologna, which was
established in 1088. Alumni have included classical scholars such as Dante and Boccacio as well as modern novelist Umberto Eco.
Its 100,000 students give
the city a real buzz and the university quarter is like a city within a city.
But Bologna is
not just rooted in the past; it is also home to Italian high-tech engineering
icons Maserati, Lamborghini and Ducati,
although you're more likely to see
Fiats and scooters on the streets.
The stonework throughout
the city isn't the ostentatious
marble seen elsewhere. It's mainly a
glorious, down-to-earth palette of reds, oranges and yellows.
One incredible
architectural feature is its 40 kms of arched
porticos sheltering almost every street throughout the city. They provide
pedestrians with uniquely elegant and very welcome shelter from summer sun and
winter rain.
Even more amazing is the
four km San Luca portico, which climbs from the edge of the city to the hilltop
Sanctuary of San Luca the longest portico in the world, with 666 arches and
countless steps. It was built to commemorate a miracle in 1433:
Townsfolk carried an icon of the Madonna from San Luca to the center of town
when it was threatened by floods. Their prays were
answered, the rain stopped and the town was saved.
One thing I always look
forward to in Italy
is staying at one of the elegant Baglioni hotels (www.baglionihotels.com).
Roberto Polito founded this small group of luxury
hotels, always in prime locations, with all the Italian style of an Armani
suit.
The Grand Hotel Bologna is
easily the best hotel in town just a minutes walk from the Piazza Maggiore, the
very heart of Bologna.
Instead of the predictable slick luxury of most 5-star hotel chains, the Grand
concentrates on aristocratic elegance and timeless style.
Some readers may remember
the terrorist massacre at Bologna
railway station in 1980 when 85 people were killed and 200 injured by a bomb
planted by political fanatics. Sadly not much seems to have changed in the
insane world of inhuman fanatics just their labels.
Piazza Maggiore has a
moving photo memorial to those killed during the
terrorist massacre in 1980 at the railway station as well as resistance
fighters from WWII. The piazza is also full of life. It's
like a park where people come to sit and stroll but also a chic part of town
with smart cafes. It has a basilica to St. Petronius, a grand library, palazzi, town hall, museum fountains and shops everything
you could possibly want.
Strangely the one thing you
won't find on any restaurant menu in
Bologna is
spaghetti bolognaise. While this is the home of the rich bolognaise sauce, they
simply call it ragu.
Bologna doesn't
have the famous artwork of other great Italian cities nor does it have shops
full of tourist tat or rip-off tourist restaurants. It may not be a significant
tourist venue but it is a living, breathing Italian experience, which is
sometimes hard to find in the classic city destinations during high summer.
A note about booking a late
flight to Italy:
A couple of weeks ago I found my usual cheap, no frills airlines were
seriously overpriced. To get one of the cheap Ryanair
tickets you need to book at least four to six weeks in advance. Otherwise you're better off shopping around. Being flexible on
dates I was able to book a regular British Airways flight for half their price.
Peter
Lynch, a professional travel writer, lives in Reading, England.
His column appears every other Sunday. Contact him through travel@readingeagle.com.
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