{"id":32636,"date":"2022-10-04T18:23:08","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T01:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=32636"},"modified":"2022-10-27T11:26:52","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T18:26:52","slug":"bologna-la-cittadei-portici","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/bologna-la-cittadei-portici\/","title":{"rendered":"Bologna: La Citt\u00e0 dei Portici"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story & Photographs by Tom Weber <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

All photos \u00a9 2022 Tom Weber<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bologna, the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region of central Italy, had, until recently, three unique sides to its personality: La Dotta<\/em> (The Learned), because the oldest university (1088) in the western world, where the poet Dante studied, was founded here; La Rossa<\/em> (The Red), because of the terracotta-colored roofs, and, to a lesser degree, its penchant for left-leaning politics; and, La Grassa <\/em>(The Fat), because of all of the great, original cuisine found within its postal code, like rag\u00f9, lasagne, mortadella, along with Lambrusco and Pignoletto wines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The triumverate of this ancient medieval grid of a city \u2014 the very first Italian commune to abolish slavery in the 13th century \u2014 has stood the test of time, but now there\u2019s a new moniker nudging its way to the forefront of Bologna\u2019s spirit and spotlighting all of those ornate arcades. Last year, UNESCO listed 12 of the most significant sections of the archways of Bologna as a World Heritage Site, recognising them as an identifying element of the metropolis and proclaiming The Learned, The Fat and The Red (insert trumpet sounds here), La Citt\u00e0 dei Portici<\/em> (The City of Arcades).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No other city on the planet has more arcades than Bologna. In the centro storico<\/em> alone, there are more than 42 km of covered walkways, with an addional 20 km of porticoes meandering outside the city gates. It\u2019s an international record that the city has been holding onto for more than 900 years and that today, together with its remaining 22 neck-craning towers, including the leaning Garisenda Tower, and tasty tortellini \u2014 in brodo<\/em> or with butter and sage \u2014 are the cornerstones of Bologna\u2019s urban identity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Strolling through the vaulted passageways \u2014 dry when it rains, shady and cool when it\u2019s hot \u2014 you find yourself surrounded by these architectural masterpieces built out of brick, stone or wood since the 12th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The most famous and longest arcade in the world, stretching 3.79 km, is the Portico of San Luca. It starts at Porto Saragozza, one of the city\u2019s original 12 gates, and is supported by a devilish 666 arches.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re on foot \u2014 the absolute best way to experience this grand portico \u2014 you arrive at the halfway mark, Arco del Meloncello, crack a left and then it\u2019s all uphill from there, sans defibullators, to reach the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca. Catch your breath, have a look around, then do an about-face and head back, the best part of the walk, because it\u2019s all downhill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re in a hurry, you can hop on the San Luca Express, a tourist train that leaves Piazza Maggiore just about every half hour between 10:00 am and 5:30 pm. Or, catch bus 20 in the city center and ride it to Arco Meloncello, alight and climb the remaining 2 km in the shadows of the remaining porticoes up to the sanctuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Either on foot, tourist train or bus, you\u2019ve got to experience the Portico of San Luca, just like you have to savor rag\u00f9, when visiting Bologna. Afterall, she\u2019s not called La Grassa<\/em> for nothing, nor La Citt\u00e0 dei Portici<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW TO ARRIVE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A major transportation hub, almost all trains \u2014 local, regional or the super-fast, high-speed Frecce or Italo \u2014 stop at Bologna\u2019s main railway station. From there, hail a taxi for the ride to your hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National and international flights take off and land at Bologna\u2019s Guglielmo Marconi Airport. From there, hail a taxi for the 15-20 min. ride to the city center, or hop on the Marconi Express that zips you to the main train station in just 7 min.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHERE TO STAY \u2014 WHAT TO SEE \u2014 WHAT TO EAT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the best hotels, restaurants, city itineraries and current and future calendar of events, look no further than the Bologna Convention and Visitors Bureau\u2019s website: Welcome to Bologna<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bologna, the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region of central Italy, had, until recently, three unique sides to its personality: La Dotta (The Learned), because the oldest university (1088) in the western world was founded here; La Rossa (The Red), because of the terracotta-colored roofs, and, to a lesser degree, its penchant for left-leaning politics; and, La Grassa (The Fat), because of all of the great, original cuisine found within its postal code, like rag\u00f9, lasagne, mortadella and Pignoletto wine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":32678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-content-only.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[6887,436,6883,2118,6882,6889,6885,6884,6886,6888],"class_list":["post-32636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-travel","tag-arco-del-meloncello","tag-bologna","tag-city-of-arcades","tag-home_page","tag-la-cittadei-portici","tag-piazza-maggiore","tag-portico-of-san-luca","tag-porticoes","tag-porto-saragozza","tag-sam-luca-express"],"yoast_head":"\nBologna: La Citt\u00e0 dei Portici - 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