An important goal of this cycle tour was visiting my friends Christiane and Gianni who live in Bologna. They own the Paris apartment that I’ve rented on a semi-regular basis for the last five years and we had the good fortune to overlap visits to Paris in 2019. We became fast friends and I was very much looking forward to seeing them again - and to getting an insider’s look at their fair city.
Everything about my time in Bologna was wonderful – the city, the churches, the colors, the frescoes, and especially the good times and laughter shared with friends. I have to say that I fell in love with the city itself. It is vibrant, but not pretentious, with a comfortable feel of a city that is both exciting and livable. Christiane was a guide extraordinaire and we had great fun seeing her city through each others’ eyes. Despite the fact that we both love art and music, we spent most of our time visiting churches and wandering the streets.
I’ve struggled to condense everything into a somewhat reasonable post - hence the delay. Similar to my post on Venice, I’ve tried to organize things by topic, with perhaps a bit more explanation.
The Churches
The Basilica Santo Stefano is complex of churches, chapels and courtyards, some of which date back almost 2000 years. The buildings lack grandeur, but it is was their simplicity that gave me the sense of real people who had lived and worshipped here.
Some of the many buildings comprising the Basilica di Santo Stefano
I also enjoyed Basilica Santo Domingo, especially St. Dominic's Chapel, which contains three statues by a young Michelangelo. Santa Maria della Vita is home to the terra cotta sculpture Compianto sul Cristo mort, while Basilica di San Petroni is reported to be the 6th largest church in the world. The Bentivoglio Chapel in the Basilica of San Giacomo Maggiore had the most extraordinary frescoes - but pictures are forbidden
This fresco in Basilica di San Petroni, depicting a scene from Dante’s Inferno, shows Muhammad suffering in hell. It has been targeted by protestors and is currently roped off from public access
On Saturday, we drove out to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca, which sits high on a forested hill just outside the historical district. You can cycle up the Sanctuary – as many riders were doing that day. In fact, the top is the finish line for the Italian road race Giro dell’Emilia. I didn’t cycle up, but did climb a very narrow spiral staircase to the top where I got wonderful views of Bologna and the neighboring countryside, including the distant Apennines.
We made two trips to the Biblioteca Commune dell Archignnasio, or the Archignnasio Public Library. Much of it is not really open to tourist visits but Christiane wanted to show me some of the wonderful frescoes in the conference and reference rooms. There was an actual conference going on, so we acted a bit like conference goers and wandered into a couple of rooms for very quick look-see, but were barred from taking photos. We returned the next day with tickets to the Teatro Anatomico and were able to see a wealth of frescos in the halls and staircases.
The Teatro Anatomico is a wood-covered lecture room used for anatomy instruction. The dissection slab is in the center of the room and the walls are decorated with figures of famous physicians such as Hippocrates
The core of my Bologna experience was time spent in the company of Christiane, Gianni and their friend Betty (now my friend), who generously let me stay in her apartment. In the great Italian tradition, we shared wonderful meals around a big table, with wine, good cheer, and stories in three languages - Italian, French and English! Christiane and I romped through the city, laughing, joking and getting to know one another a bit better. It was and enriching experience and I am looking forward to a return visit.
Betty, Christiane and Gianni - I cannot thank them enough
