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86-676: The Archiginnasio of Bologna is one of the most important buildings in the city of Bologna ; once the main building of the University of Bologna , it currently houses the Archiginnasio Municipal Library and the Anatomical Theatre . In the heart of the palace is the university Chapel of Santa Maria dei Bulgari , a reflection of history. The construction of the Archiginnasio dates back to

172-461: A new exhibition centre and business district . At the end of 1978 the construction of a tower block and several diverse buildings and structures started. In 1985 the headquarters of the regional government of Emilia-Romagna moved in the new district. In 1977, Bologna was the scene of rioting linked to the Movement of 1977 , a spontaneous political movement of the time. The police shooting of

258-487: A Bolognese, tried to reverse the decline of the city with a series of reforms intended to stimulate the economy and promote the arts. However, these reforms achieved only mixed results. The pope's efforts to stimulate the decaying textile industry had little success, while he was more successful in reforming the tax system, liberalising trade and relaxing the oppressive system of censorship. The economic and demographic decline of Bologna became even more noticeable starting in

344-626: A Metropolitan Council formed by 18 mayors of municipalities within the Metro municipality. The Metropolitan City of Bologna is headed by the metropolitan mayor ( sindaco metropolitano ) and by the Metropolitan Council ( Consiglio metropolitano ). Since 21 June 2016 Virginio Merola , as mayor of the capital city, has been the mayor of the Metropolitan City. Until the late 19th century, when a large-scale urban renewal project

430-576: A bigger market for the massive agricultural production of the Emilian plains. Indeed, Bologna gave Italy one of its first prime ministers, Marco Minghetti . After World War I , Bologna was heavily involved in the Biennio Rosso socialist uprisings. As a consequence, the traditionally moderate elites of the city turned their back on the progressive faction and gave their support to the rising Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini . Dino Grandi ,

516-416: A bull deposing and excommunicating Bentivoglio and placing the city under interdict . When the papal troops, along with a contingent sent by Louis XII of France , marched against Bologna, Bentivoglio and his family fled. Julius II entered the city triumphantly on 10 November. The period of Papal rule over Bologna (1506–1796) has been generally evaluated by historians as one of severe decline. However, this

602-582: A careful restoration and conservation policy which began at the end of the 1970s. In 2000, it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, a UNESCO "City of Music" and became part of the Creative Cities Network . In 2021, UNESCO recognized the lengthy porticoes of the city as a World Heritage Site . Bologna is an important agricultural, industrial, financial and transport hub, where many large mechanical, electronic and food companies have their headquarters as well as one of

688-436: A centre for the study of medieval Roman law under major glossators , including Irnerius. It numbered Dante , Boccaccio and Petrarch among its students. The medical school was especially renowned. By 1200, Bologna was a thriving commercial and artisanal centre of about 10,000 people. During a campaign to support the imperial cities of Modena and Cremona against Bologna, Frederick II 's son, King Enzo of Sardinia ,

774-412: A coat of arms on the walls was reserved for those students who were elected by other students as heads of the nationes (student organizations) , and called councillors . The coats of arms indicate the home country or city of the student, along with the student's name. On the walls of the lower portico are located a number of busts of the 17th century portraying lecturers from the university. Moreover, on

860-515: A far-left activist, Francesco Lorusso , sparked two days of street clashes. On 2 August 1980, at the height of the " years of lead ", a terrorist bomb was set off in the central railway station of Bologna killing 85 people and wounding 200, an event which is known in Italy as the Bologna massacre . In 1995, members of the neo-fascist group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari were convicted for carrying out

946-454: A four-line tramway network is planned. The large commuter rail service centred on Bologna is branded as the Bologna metropolitan railway service . The average length of time people spend commuting with public transit in Bologna, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 53 min. 9% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average length of time people wait at

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1032-490: A high-ranking Fascist party official and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, remembered for being an Anglophile, was from Bologna. During the interwar years , Bologna developed into an important manufacturing centre for food processing, agricultural machinery and metalworking. The Fascist regime poured in massive investments, for example with the setting up of a giant tobacco manufacturing plant in 1937. Bologna suffered extensive damage during World War II . The strategic importance of

1118-593: A result of Allied bombings on January 29, 1944, the room suffered extensive damage, but was subsequently reconstructed with exemplary philological rigour, using all the surviving elements retrieved from the rubble. 44°29′32″N 11°20′37″E  /  44.49222°N 11.34361°E  / 44.49222; 11.34361 Bologna Bologna ( / b ə ˈ l oʊ n j ə / bə- LOHN -yə , UK also / b ə ˈ l ɒ n j ə / bə- LON -yə , Italian: [boˈloɲɲa] ; Emilian : Bulåggna [buˈlʌɲɲɐ] ; Latin : Bononia )

1204-430: A stop or station for public transit is 12 min, while 16% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 5.4 km (3.4 mi), while 7% travel for over 12 km (7.5 mi) in a single direction. At the end of 2016, the city proper had a population of 388,254 (while 1 million live in the greater Bologna area), located in

1290-417: A third and final set of ramparts built in the 13th century, of which numerous sections survive. No more than twenty medieval defensive towers remain out of up to 180 that were built in the 12th and 13th centuries before the arrival of unified civic government. The most famous of the towers of Bologna are the central Due Torri ( Asinelli and Garisenda ), whose iconic leaning forms provide a popular symbol of

1376-792: A third of its GDP and occupies 265,000 people in the Emilia-Romagna region. Bologna is home to the Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport , the seventh busiest Italian airport for passenger traffic (8 million passengers served in 2017). Bologna Centrale railway station is one of Italy's most important train hubs thanks to the city's strategic location as a crossroad between north–south and east–west routes. It serves 58 million passengers annually. The city hosts several minor railway stations (see List of railway stations in Bologna ). Bologna San Donato classification yard , with 33 railway tracks, used to be

1462-618: A total population of 70,000) who lived in poverty. In the revolutions of 1848 the Austrian garrisons which controlled the city on behalf of the pope were temporarily expelled, but eventually came back and crushed the revolutionaries. Papal rule finally ended in the aftermath of Second War of Italian Independence , when the French and Piedmontese troops expelled the Austrians from Italian lands, on 11 and 12 March 1860, Bologna voted to join

1548-400: Is Fiera District , a tower complex designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange in 1985. According to the last governmental dispositions concerning administrative reorganisation, the urban area of Bologna is one of the 15 metropolitan municipalities ( città metropolitane ), new administrative bodies fully operative since 1 January 2015. The new Metro municipalities, giving large urban areas

1634-443: Is also increasing its investment in sustainability as part of a 2022-2024 program that integrates gender perspectives into urban planning, with an emphasis on sustainable mobility, public infrastructure, and green spaces. Traces of human habitation in the area of Bologna go back to the 3rd millennium BCE, with significant settlements from about the 9th century BCE ( Villanovan culture ). The influence of Etruscan civilization reached

1720-417: Is considered the centre of the so-called "packaging valley", an area well known for its high concentration of firms specialised in the manufacturing of automatic packaging machines ( Coesia  [ it ] , IMA ). Furthermore, Bologna is well known for its dense network of cooperatives , a feature that dates back to the social struggles of farmers and workers in the 1800s and that today produces up to

1806-595: Is cut in soft tufa-like stone reproduces a ceiling with beams and cross-beams lying on them, with flat panels filling the lacunae . For centuries, it was thought that wooden coffers were first made by crossing the wooden beams of a ceiling in the Loire Valley châteaux of the early Renaissance . In 2012, however, archaeologists working under the Packard Humanities Institute at the House of

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1892-520: Is in this period that legendary Bishop Petronius , according to ancient chronicles, rebuilt the ruined town and founded the basilica of Saint Stephen . Petronius is still revered as the patron saint of Bologna. In 727–28, the city was sacked and captured by the Lombards under King Liutprand , becoming part of that kingdom. These Germanic conquerors built an important new quarter, called addizione longobarda (Italian meaning 'Longobard addition') near

1978-417: Is nominated and presided over by a directly elected mayor . The current mayor of Bologna is Matteo Lepore ( PD ), elected on 4 October 2021 with 61.9% of the votes. The municipality of Bologna is subdivided into six administrative boroughs ( quartieri ), down from the former nine before the 2015 administrative reform. Each borough is governed by a Council ( Consiglio ) and a president, elected contextually to

2064-653: Is not a complete archive for the Borgo Panigale area): The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council ( Consiglio Comunale ), which is composed by 48 councillors elected every five years with a corrected proportional system (granting the majority to the list or alliance of lists which receives more votes), contextually to the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee ( Giunta Comunale ), composed by 12 assessors , that

2150-418: Is not uncommon between late November and early March; one of the snowiest months of the past decade was February 2012. Here are climate normals for the weather station of Bologna Borgo Panigale (at the airport), unaffected by the heat dome of the city, for both 1961–1990 and 1991–2020 periods, in order to highlight changes between the two periods ( snow averages are referred to the city of Bologna, since there

2236-406: Is shaped like an amphitheater and made from fir wood with a coffer ceiling, decorated with statues. It is overlooked by the ornate seat of the professor, topped by a baldaquin and supported by the statues of two naked and skinless men, known as "gli spellati" (the skinned ones), made by Ercole Lelli . The numerous sculptures that decorated the walls represent doctors from ancient and modern times:

2322-561: Is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy . It is the seventh most populous city in Italy , with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its metropolitan area is home to more than 1,000,000 people. Bologna is most famous for being the home to the oldest university in continuous operation , the University of Bologna , established in AD ;1088. Originally Etruscan ,

2408-409: Is the capital of the eponymous metropolitan city and of Emilia-Romagna , one of the twenty regions of Italy. While the province of Bologna has a population of 1,007,644, making it the twelfth most populated province of Italy, Emilia-Romagna ranks as the sixth most populated region of Italy, with about 4.5 million inhabitants, more than 7% of the national total. The seat of the regional government

2494-435: Is the largest library in Emilia-Romagna . It was first established to keep the books collected from the closure of the religious orders made by Napoleon . At present it boasts 850,000 volumes and pamphlets, including 2,000 incunabula , about 15,000 16th century editions, 8,500 manuscripts, letters, collections of autographs, prints and drawings, and 250 archives. All of this material, handwritten and printed collections, are of

2580-427: Is the tenth-largest church in the world by volume, 132 metres long and 66 metres wide, while the vault reaches 45 metres inside and 51 metres in the facade. With its volume of 258,000 m , it is the largest (Gothic or otherwise) church built of bricks of the world. The Basilica of Saint Stephen and its sanctuary are among the oldest structures in Bologna, having been built starting from the 8th century, according to

2666-616: The Papal States . Papal rule was contested in the uprisings of 1831 . The insurrected provinces planned to unite as the Province Italiane Unite with Bologna as the capital. Pope Gregory XVI asked for Austrian help against the rebels. Metternich warned French king Louis Philippe I against intervention in Italian affairs, and in the spring of 1831, Austrian forces marched across the Italian peninsula, defeating

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2752-457: The Peace of Constance in 1183. Subsequently, the town began to expand rapidly and became one of the main commercial trade centres of northern Italy thanks to a system of canals that allowed barges and ships to come and go. Believed to have been established in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered the world's oldest university in continuous operation . The university originated as

2838-583: The Western Schism prevented the papacy from restoring its domination over Bologna, so it remained relatively independent for some decades as an oligarchic republic. In 1401, Giovanni I Bentivoglio took power in a coup with the support of Milan, but, having turned his back on them and allied with Florence, the Milanese marched on Bologna and had Giovanni killed the following year. In 1442, Hannibal I Bentivoglio , Giovanni's nephew, recovered Bologna from

2924-551: The 16th century, when Piazza Maggiore was drastically remodeled under papal orders; the Fountain of Neptune was built during this same period. The construction of the Archiginnasio was commissioned by Pope Pius IV through the papal legate Charles Borromeo and the vice-legate Pier Donato Cesi during the years of the Council of Trent , who then entrusted the project to Antonio Morandi (known as il Terribilia ). The building

3010-660: The 7th Brigade of the Gruppi d'Azione Patriottica against Fascist and Nazi occupation forces, did not succeed in triggering a general uprising, despite being one of the largest resistance-led urban conflicts in the European theatre. Resistance forces entered Bologna on the morning of 21 April 1945. By this time, the Germans had already largely left the city in the face of the Allied advance, spearheaded by Polish forces advancing from

3096-543: The Milanese, only to be assassinated in a conspiracy plotted by Pope Eugene IV three years later. But the signoria of the Bentivoglio family was then firmly established, and the power passed to his cousin Sante Bentivoglio , who ruled until 1462, followed by Giovanni II . Giovanni II managed to resist the expansionist designs of Cesare Borgia for some time, but on 7 October 1506, Pope Julius II issued

3182-782: The Senate, which however had to swear fealty to the short-lived Cispadane Republic , created as a client state of the French First Republic at the congress of Reggio (27 December 1796 – 9 January 1797) but succeeded by the Cisalpine Republic on 9 July 1797, later by the Italian Republic and finally the Kingdom of Italy . After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 restored Bologna to

3268-675: The Telephus in Herculaneum discovered that wooden coffered ceilings were constructed in Roman times. Experimentation with the possible shapes in coffering, which solve problems of mathematical tiling, or tessellation , were a feature of Islamic as well as Renaissance architecture . The more complicated problems of diminishing the scale of the individual coffers were presented by the requirements of curved surfaces of vaults and domes. A prominent example of Roman coffering, employed to lighten

3354-469: The Via Emilia still runs straight through the city under the changing names of Strada Maggiore, Rizzoli, Ugo Bassi, and San Felice. Due to its Roman heritage, the central streets of Bologna, today largely pedestrianized, follow the grid pattern of the Roman settlement. The original Roman ramparts were supplanted by a high medieval system of fortifications, remains of which are still visible, and finally by

3440-572: The Visconti family, Bologna was recovered by the papacy in 1363 by Cardinal Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz after a long negotiation involving a huge indemnity paid to Bernabò Visconti , Giovanni's heir, who died in 1354. In 1376, Bologna again revolted against Papal rule and joined Florence in the unsuccessful War of the Eight Saints . However, extreme infighting inside the Holy See after

3526-440: The administrative powers of a province, are conceived for improving the performance of local administrations and to slash local spending by better co-ordinating the municipalities in providing basic services (including transport, school and social programs) and environment protection. In this policy framework, the mayor of Bologna is designated to exercise the functions of a metropolitan mayor ( sindaco metropolitano ), presiding over

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3612-652: The area in the 7th to 6th centuries, and the Etruscan city of Felsina was established at the site of Bologna by the end of the 6th century. By the 4th century BCE, the site was occupied by the Gaulish Boii , and it became a Roman colony and municipium with the name of Bonōnia in 196 BCE. During the waning years of the Western Roman Empire Bologna was repeatedly sacked by the Goths . It

3698-399: The attack, while Licio Gelli —Grand Master of the underground Freemason lodge Propaganda Due (P2)—was convicted for hampering the investigation, together with three agents of the secret military intelligence service SISMI (including Francesco Pazienza and Pietro Musumeci ). Commemorations take place in Bologna on 2 August each year, culminating in a concert in the main square. In 1999,

3784-439: The busts are of people considered of lesser importance, while the most revered are represented in full. The two main statues, from left to right, represent Hippocrates and Galen , the most prominent physicians of Greece and Rome, respectively. Another statue on the wall opposite the chair represents a medic holding a nose in his hand: it is a portrayal of Bologna native Gaspare Tagliacozzi , an early pioneer of rhinoplasty . As

3870-739: The church is commonly called, to the city centre. Its porticos provide shelter for the traditional procession which every year since 1433 has carried a Byzantine icon of the Madonna with Child attributed to Luke the Evangelist down to the Bologna Cathedral during the Feast of the Ascension . In 2021, the porticoes were named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . San Petronio Basilica , built between 1388 and 1479 (but still unfinished),

3956-423: The city as an industrial and railway hub connecting northern and central Italy made it a target for the Allied forces . On 24 July 1943, a massive aerial bombardment destroyed a significant part of the historic city centre and killed about 200 people. The main railway station and adjoining areas were severely hit, and 44% of the buildings in the centre were listed as having been destroyed or severely damaged. The city

4042-658: The city has been an important urban center for centuries, first under the Etruscans (who called it Felsina ), then under the Celts as Bona , later under the Romans ( Bonōnia ), then again in the Middle Ages , as a free municipality and later signoria , when it was among the largest European cities by population . Famous for its towers, churches and lengthy porticoes , Bologna has a well-preserved historical centre, thanks to

4128-487: The city mayor. The urban organization is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114). The boroughs have the power to advise the mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics (environment, construction, public health, local markets) and exercise the functions delegated to them by the City Council; in addition, they are supplied with an autonomous founding to finance local activities. Bologna

4214-497: The city was administered under Anna Maria Cancellieri (as a state-appointed prefect ), Virginio Merola was elected as mayor, leading a left-wing coalition comprising the Democratic Party , Left Ecology Freedom and Italy of Values . In 2016 , Merola was confirmed mayor, defeating the conservative candidate, Lucia Borgonzoni . In 2021, after ten years of Merola's mayorship, one of his closest allies, Matteo Lepore ,

4300-529: The complex of St. Stephen. In the last quarter of the 8th century, Charlemagne , at the request of Pope Adrian I , invaded the Lombard Kingdom, causing its eventual demise. Occupied by Frankish troops in 774 on behalf of the papacy, Bologna remained under imperial authority and prospered as a frontier mark of the Carolingian empire . Bologna was the center of a revived study of law, including

4386-580: The east during the Battle of Bologna which had been fought since 9 April. First to arrive in the centre was the 87th Infantry Regiment of the Friuli Combat Group under general Arturo Scattini , who entered the centre from Porta Maggiore to the south. Since the soldiers were dressed in British outfits, they were initially thought to be part of the allied forces; when the local inhabitants heard

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4472-468: The execution of his nephew Conradin in 1268, he was the last of the Hohenstaufen heirs. During the late 1200s, Bologna was affected by political instability when the most prominent families incessantly fought for the control of the town. The free commune was severely weakened by decades of infighting, allowing the pope to impose the rule of his envoy Cardinal Bertrand du Pouget in 1327. Du Pouget

4558-436: The first of whom was Giuseppe Dozza . At the end of the 1960s the city authorities, worried by massive gentrification and suburbanisation, asked Japanese starchitect Kenzo Tange to sketch a master plan for a new town north of Bologna; however, the project that came out in 1970 was evaluated as too ambitious and expensive. Eventually the city council, in spite of vetoing Tange's master plan, decided to keep his project for

4644-406: The former church of Santa Maria dei Bulgari . Two stairways lead to the upper floor where are located the study rooms of the legisti (students who studied civil and canon law), and the artisti (students of other subjects such as philosophy, literature and medicine). Each of the legisti and the artisti had five classrooms in their respective wings, however only the legisti, who were considered

4730-533: The global centres of trade shifted towards the Atlantic. The traditional silk industry was in a critical state. The university was losing students, who once came from all over Europe, because of the illiberal attitudes of the Church towards culture (especially after the trial of Galileo ). Bologna continued to suffer a progressive deindustrialisation also in the 18th century. In the mid-1700s, Pope Benedict XIV ,

4816-552: The highest point in the province is the peak of Corno alle Scale (in Lizzano in Belvedere ) at 1,945 metres (6,381 ft) above sea level. Bologna has a mid-latitude , four-season temperate climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfa ). Here are other classifications for the climate of this city: Annual precipitation is around 650–750 mm (25.5–29.5 in), with the majority generally falling in spring and autumn. Snow

4902-468: The largest freight hub in Italy by size and traffic. Since 2018, it has been repurposed as the Bologna San Donato railway test circuit . The city is also served by a large network of public bus lines, including trolleybus lines , operated since 2012 by Trasporto Passeggeri Emilia-Romagna (TPER). As of May 2023, the first line of the new Bologna tramway is under construction. Overall,

4988-642: The largest permanent trade fairs in Europe. According to recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index (E-REGI) of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city and the 47th European city in terms of its economic growth rate; in 2022, Il Sole 24 Ore named Bologna the best city in Italy for overall quality of life. Bologna intends to become carbon neutral by 2040 and raise female employment rates, focussing on sustainable and equitable urban development. The city

5074-422: The late 16th to early 17th century reduced the population of the city from some 72,000 in the mid-16th century to about 47,000 by 1630. During the 1629–1631 Italian plague alone, Bologna lost up to a third of its population. In the mid-17th century, the population stabilized at roughly 60,000, slowly increasing to some 70,000 by the mid-18th century. The economy of Bologna started to show signs of severe decline as

5160-617: The latter also featuring Renaissance artworks such as the Bentivoglio Altarpiece by Lorenzo Costa . Finally, the Church of San Michele in Bosco is a 15th century religious complex located on a hill not far from the city's historical center. In terms of total GDP, the Metropolitan City of Bologna generated a value of about €35 billion ($ 40.6 billion) in 2017, equivalent to €34,251 ($ 40,165) per capita,

5246-524: The long tradition of left-wing mayors was interrupted by the victory of independent centre-right candidate Giorgio Guazzaloca . However, Bologna reverted to form in 2004 when Sergio Cofferati , a former trade union leader, unseated Guazzaloca. The next centre-left mayor, Flavio Delbono , elected in June 2009, resigned in January 2010 after being involved in a corruption scandal. After a 15-month period in which

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5332-425: The new Kingdom of Italy . In the last decades of the 19th century, Bologna once again thrived economically and socially. In 1863 Naples was linked to Rome by railway, and the following year Bologna to Florence. Bolognese moderate agrarian elites, that supported liberal insurgencies against the papacy and were admirers of the British political system and of free trade, envisioned a unified national state that would open

5418-417: The population of Bologna grew by 0.0 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The current birth rate of Bologna is 8.07 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. Coffered The stone coffers of the ancient Greeks and Romans are the earliest surviving examples, but a seventh-century BC Etruscan chamber tomb in the necropolis of San Giuliano , which

5504-434: The province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, of whom 46.7% were male and 53.3% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 12.86 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 27.02 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Bologna resident is 51 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007,

5590-452: The rebellion by 26 April. By the mid-1840s, unemployment levels were very high and traditional industries continued to languish or disappear; Bologna became a city of economic disparity with the top 10 percent of the population living off rent, another 20 percent exercising professions or commerce and 70 percent working in low-paid, often insecure manual jobs. The Papal census of 1841 reported 10,000 permanent beggars and another 30,000 (out of

5676-473: The restoration of older ones. At this time, Bologna had ninety-six convents, more than any other Italian city. Painters working in Bologna during this period established the Bolognese School which includes Annibale Carracci , Domenichino , Guercino , and others of European fame. It was only towards the end of the 16th century that severe signs of decline began to manifest. A series of plagues in

5762-583: The scholar Irnerius ( c.  1050 – after 1125) and his famous students, the Four Doctors of Bologna . After the death of Matilda of Tuscany in 1115, Bologna obtained substantial concessions from Emperor Henry V . However, when Frederick Barbarossa subsequently attempted to strike down the deal, Bologna joined the Lombard League , which then defeated the imperial armies at the Battle of Legnano and established an effective autonomy at

5848-503: The second half of the 18th century. In 1790, the city had 72,000 inhabitants, ranking as the second largest in the Papal States; however, this figure had remained unchanged for decades. During this period, Papal economic policies included heavy customs duties and concessions of monopolies to single manufacturers. Napoleon entered Bologna on 19 June 1796. Napoleon briefly reinstated the ancient mode of government, giving power to

5934-578: The soldiers were speaking Italian, they poured out onto the streets to celebrate. In the post-war years, Bologna became a thriving industrial centre as well as a political stronghold of the Italian Communist Party . Between 1945 and 1999, the city was helmed by an uninterrupted succession of mayors from the PCI and its successors, the Democratic Party of the Left and Democrats of the Left ,

6020-670: The third highest figure among Italian provinces (after Milan and Bolzano/Bozen ). The economy of Bologna is characterized by a flourishing industrial sector, traditionally centered on the transformation of agricultural and zootechnical products ( Eridania , Granarolo , Segafredo Zanetti , Conserve Italia  [ it ] ), machinery ( Coesia  [ it ] , IMA , Sacmi ), construction equipment ( Maccaferri ); energy ( Hera Group ), automotive ( Ducati , Lamborghini ), footwear, textile, engineering, chemical, printing and publishing ( Cappelli , il Mulino , Monrif Group  [ it ] , Zanichelli ). In particular, Bologna

6106-444: The town. The cityscape is further enriched by its elegant and extensive porticoes , for which the city is famous. In total, there are some 38 kilometres (24 miles) of porticoes in the city's historical centre (over 45 km (28 mi) in the city proper), which make it possible to walk for long distances sheltered from the elements. The Portico di San Luca is possibly the world's longest. It connects Porta Saragozza (one of

6192-428: The tradition on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to Egyptian goddess Isis . The Basilica of Saint Dominic is an example of Romanic architecture from the 13th century, enriched by the monumental tombs of great Bolognese glossators Rolandino de'Passeggeri and Egidio Foscherari. Basilicas of St Francis , Santa Maria dei Servi and San Giacomo Maggiore are other magnificent examples of 14th century architecture,

6278-647: The twelve gates of the ancient walls built in the Middle Ages, which circled a 7.5 km (4.7 mi) part of the city) with the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca , a church begun in 1723 on the site of an 11th century edifice which had already been enlarged in the 14th century, prominently located on a hill (289 metres (948 feet)) overlooking the town, which is one of Bologna's main landmarks. The winding 666 vault arcades, almost four kilometres (3,796 m or 12,454 ft) long, effectively links San Luca , as

6364-527: The university's top students, had their classrooms in the main hallway. At the end of each wing there are two great halls, one of them has now become the library's reading room, the other one is now used as a congress room and is known as "Sala dello Stabat Mater" in memory of the first performance of Rossini 's Stabat Mater , directed by Gaetano Donizetti, on March 18, 1842. The walls of the building form an enormous heraldic complex, made up of six thousand coats of arms painted on its walls. The honor of putting

6450-422: The utmost importance. They deal with the civil, cultural, religious and social history of Bologna and its territory. Upon entering, visitors are asked to hand over all bags and writing materials which can be picked up when leaving. Externally the building presents a porch some 139 meters long comprising thirty arches supported by sandstone columns, inside a central courtyard with two line of loggias that surrounds

6536-477: The walls is also possible to notice the connection with the papal power (Bologna was the second main city of the Papal States), many are the coats of arms with the symbols of the church: triple crowns, St. Peter's keys and the clerical hats. The upper level of the building still houses the anatomical theatre, which was built in 1636 by Antonio Levanti. It was the hall used for anatomy lectures and displays. It

6622-472: The weight of the dome, can be found in the ceiling of the rotunda dome in the Pantheon, Rome . Coffered ceilings were used in cathedrals starting with St Mark's Basilica and Santa Maria Maggiore . They spread following the reforms of the Council of Trent , as the improved acoustics and opportunity to include statues, apostolic heraldry and other religious elements in compositions with versatile shapes

6708-706: The western edge of the Po Plain on the border with Ferrara to the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The centre of the town is 54 metres (177 ft) above sea level (while elevation within the municipality ranges from 29 metres (95 ft) in the suburb of Corticella to 300 metres (980 ft) in Sabbiuno and the Colle della Guardia). The province of Bologna stretches from the Po Plain into the Apennines;

6794-463: Was begun at the end of February 1562, built very quickly, it was inaugurated on October 21, 1563. The goal of this project was to create a single place where the Schools of the " Legisti" (Canon and Civil law) and " Artisti " (philosophy, medicine, mathematics, natural sciences and physics), previously located in various places across the town, could be hosted together. The building of the new "Schools"

6880-457: Was defeated and captured on 26 May 1249 at the Battle of Fossalta . Although the emperor demanded his release, Enzo was thenceforth kept a knightly prisoner in Bologna, in a palace that came to be named Palazzo Re Enzo after him. Every attempt to escape or to rescue him failed, and he died after more than 22 years in captivity. After the death of his half-brothers Conrad IV in 1254, Frederick of Antioch in 1256 and Manfred in 1266, as well as

6966-680: Was elected mayor with 61.9% of votes, becoming the most voted mayor of Bologna since the introduction of the direct elections in 1995. Bologna is situated on the edge of the Po Plain at the foot of the Apennine Mountains , at the meeting of the Reno and Savena river valleys. As Bologna's two main watercourses flow directly to the sea, the town lies outside of the drainage basin of the River Po . The province of Bologna stretches from

7052-468: Was eventually ousted by a popular rebellion and Bologna became a signoria under Taddeo Pepoli in 1334. By the arrival of the Black Death in 1348, Bologna had 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, reduced to just 20,000 to 25,000 after the plague. In 1350, Bologna was conquered by archbishop Giovanni Visconti , the new lord of Milan. But following a rebellion by the town's governor, a renegade member of

7138-472: Was heavily bombed again on 25 September. The raids, which this time were not confined to the city centre, left 2,481 people dead and 2,000 injured. By the end of the war, 43% of all buildings in Bologna had been destroyed or damaged. After the armistice of 1943 , the city became a key centre of the Italian resistance movement . On 7 November 1944, a pitched battle around Porta Lame , waged by partisans of

7224-562: Was named Archiginnasio after the classical term which was used to designate the Studium, as the University was first called , of Bologna. The Archiginnasio ceased to be a University in 1803 when the University was moved to Palazzo Poggi where it is still located today. Scuole Pie (primary schools) were housed in this building for a few years and later, from 1838 onwards, were replaced by the city library. Archiginnasio Municipal Library

7310-697: Was not evident in the 1500s, which were marked by some major developments in Bologna. In 1530, Emperor Charles V was crowned in Bologna, the last of the Holy Roman Emperors to be crowned by the pope. In 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio , the main building of the university. The period of Papal rule saw also the construction of many churches and other religious establishments, and

7396-477: Was undertaken, Bologna was one of the few remaining large walled cities in Europe; to this day and despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in 1944, Bologna's 142 hectares (350 acres) historic centre is Europe's second largest, containing an immense wealth of important medieval, renaissance, and baroque artistic monuments. Bologna developed along the Via Emilia as an Etruscan and later Roman colony;

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