Busy Day in Bologna

Wednesday May 3, 2023

We enjoy another amazing breakfast at the Avenguardia Art Club. After, we finish packing and head out to the train station. On the way we stop to take a picture of the Palazzo Diamanté, which we passed the other day when it was raining. This palace was built in the 15th century when Duke Ercole I D’Este asked the court architect to tear down the walls on the northe end of Ferrara to build an addition to the city to accommodate its population growth. The palazzo Diamanté was designed for the brother of the Duke and its exterior is made up of more than 8500 white laced with pink marble blocks carved in the shape of diamonds. 

Normally, we buy our train tickets to our next destination when we arrive but we did not do it this time. We just leave a little more time to buy tickets at the station and are glad we did. When we arrive, all the machines that we normally use to buy the tickets on are not working. In addition, the ticket window is closed. I ask an official looking lady where I can buy tickets and she says at the Tobacco shop, so I head there. Before I was able to ask, another person (most likely American idiot) kept asking her if the train will be running tomorrow from Ravenna and at least 4 times the lady says I do not know about the trains in Ravenna only here. He kept persisting as if asking the same question a half a dozen times would change the result. I do not know how some people survive in this world. I go to the tobacco shop and ask for due bigliette a Bologna and viola!, purchase successful. It appears that the Tren Italia system is different than the tobacco shops and the tren Italia system is totally down with some kind of power outage. Anyway, our train arrives slightly late but we do not care as we are in Bologna in only 30 minutes. We have about a 1.5 mile walk to our apartment and it is not bad as the streets are all flat and pretty well marked. Bologna and this region is in a valley, which makes for fertile agriculture and livestock raising. This in turn leads to the great food and products in the area. We make it to the apartment on time and our host Giovanni is there to greet us. The apartment is not clean yet but we get to leave our bags which is all we need. He is very nice and tells us about the floods they had the last two days complete with pictures. probably the reason for the power outage on the train ticket system. We get a map which will help us find our way and head out to the city center.

Our first stop is Piazza Maggiore, one of the oldest and largest squares in Italy. The Basilica of San Petronio is here flanked by grand palaces. There is a fountain of Neptune with Neptune holding back the seas, the four angels at his feet representing the rivers of the four known continents. Sensual sea nymphs are in the corners squeezing water out of their breasts. Strangely enough, the fountain in all its naughty glory was commissioned by the Pope at the time. There is also a partisan wall with pictures of hundreds of partisans executed by the nazis. 

The Basilica of San Petronio is the first sight on our list and we head inside. Construction started in 1390 and it is named in honor of the patron saint of Bologna. It was never totally completed due to a conflict with Rome but it has some interesting things which make it unique. One of these is the longest Meridian Line in the world created in 1656. It is  67m (over 200 feet) long and corresponds to 1/600,000 of the earths circumference. To this day it marks the passing of the days and seasons with the sun entering from a small hole positioned in the vault 27m above the ground and hitting the precise time of year on the line. It is amazing the calculations that were done and executed into the church over 350 years ago. 

The Basilica is also home to the oldest functioning organ in the world built in 1470 by Lorenzo da Prato. There is an amazing altar with a gold cross, impressive frescos, stained glass, tombs in the floor, and amazing beauty everywhere you look. It is a contrast to the unfinished facade in the piazza. We return to the apartment to settle in and develop our plan for the afternoon. We had stopped at the TI to get Bologna Welcome Cards for museums and plot out a route to the archeological museum and other sights. 

The archeological museum turns out to be a bit of a surprise with a very good Egyptian collection. There are nice stone reliefs, papyrus writing, and Carols favorite, mummies. I am intrigued by mummies of a different sort. They are animal mummies. Crocodile mummies, hawk mummies, and my favorite cat mummies. They have a cool display that shows the ahem, cat scan, of the cat mummies so you can see how they are inside the wrapping. It is very fascinating. Most of the Egyptian collection is from the tomb of General Horemheb at Saqquara ( reign of Tutankhamen, 1332-1323. B.C. Horemheb would be the last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The other collections go from prehistoric Bologna to Etruscan to Gallic to Roman. Since we have already seen a lot of these cultures on this trip, we spend the majority of our time in he Egyptian section which in our opinion is definitely the highlight. 

We walk around and find the Church of Santa Maria Delle Vita. It is not a large church but in a small side chapel it contains The Lamentation by Nicola dell’Arca. He was a sculptor who was described as bizarre, wild, and obstinate. He acquired his name from one of his masterpieces, the marble crowning of the Ark of St Domenic in the Basilica of St Dominica, here in Bologna. The Lamentation Over the Dead Christ is a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture and is in its originally painted terracotta. It is a sacred representation of the time between the deposition of Christ from the Cross and his entombment. The bereaved weep in chorus over the supine body of Christ. Their garments clinging to their bodies seem to be driven by a dramatic force. In the figures different gestures and attitudes, you are confronted with their feeling of pain. The figures include Maria Salome, Madonna, Saint John the Apostle, Mary of Cleophas, Mary Magdelena, and Nicodemus (portrayed as the sculptor himself). It is quite moving. 

When we leave the church, we wind our way towards the Asinelli tower where we have a reservation to climb to the top of it. More on that in just a minute as we have a breaking news story. Carol passes by a Pasticceria and sees a pastry that looks good to her called an aragosta. We pause to buy two a lemon filled and a pistachio filled. They are like mini sfogliatelle (a favorite of moms) and are incredible. The winner of the two is the lemon and we may be stopping here again while in Bologna. 

Now back to the tower, actually two towers. Pisa is not the only city with a leaning tower as here in Bologna, there are two of them. The Garisenda and Asinelli Towers were originally built as military lookouts and status symbols. These were the tallest in town and both happen to be leaning a noticeable 1.3 degrees off center. Built by the Garisenda and Asinelli families (hence their names) in the 11th century, they were at the entrance to the ancient city and were meant to warn off potential invaders. There used to be about 180 towers in Bologna but only 20 have survived the ravages of fire, wars, and lightning strikes. 

We are going to climb the Asinelli tower via wooden steps with slats where you can see the depths below. Why would we do this, well because it is there, we can get great views, and mostly because we are none too bright when it comes to climbing towers, castles, and mountains. Our time arrives and we begin the climb to the top. When we emerge victorious we have climbed and descended 1000 stairs and definitely worked off the aragosta pastry. The views are as advertised and we can see Piazza Maggiore, the Basilica of San Luca (stay tuned), the ancient Roman road of Via Emilia, red roofs of Bologna and rolling hills of the area. We seal our victory with a kiss in case we are too weak kneed to make it down. 

Back on solid ground, we stroll up a street lined with a criss cross of bus and tram line wires and snap a few pictures of the towers from the ground up. We have had a full first day and start to find our way back to our apartment. We pass a street that has Imagine in lights above it and then every 10 feet or so there is a line from the song by John Lennon until the whole song is completed. We will have to return to see it at night (Note: for some reason, we never made it). 

Back at our place, we get to relax a bit, freshen up and hang out until dinner time. We chose a place close by that is rated good, in the local neighborhood away from the crowds. It is called Al Sangiovese ( which just happens to be one of our favorite wine grapes. Coincidence, I think not. We show up at opening and ask if they have a table for two. He asks if we have a reservation. We say no, he says sorry they are full. I ask about tomorrow night. He looks than does some calculating and then splits a table set for four and tells us to sit. We are in.

We order a very nice bottle of wine following the hosts wife’s recommendation. Than we order our meal, two primis, a lasagna verde al forno which is a green (spinach noodle) lasagna with no ricotta, and a meat and bechamal sauce baked in the oven until crispy on top, a risotto made with Sangiovese wine and Parmesan cheese, and than a secondi which is a steak fillet with a wine sauce and a side of grilled vegetables. The meal was amazing and the steak may be the best steak we have ever had. Perfectly cooked with a nice wine reduction. The atmosphere is wonderful, the place fills up with locals, and the food is so good that I ask about reserving a table for four on Friday Night. He looks and we do the same dance. He is full, it is a Friday and full on Saturday too. I thank him and tell him the meal was fantastic. As I turn around to leave, un minuti, more calculating and we have a table for Friday night for us and Gwenn and Dave, who are rejoining us tomorrow. We are excited and leave as two happy people in the land of Bologna. Tomorrow will bring more adventure, we are sure.

Expenses Train From Ferrara to Bologna 10.40E Aragosta Pastries 2.80E Breakfast items and Wine from Coop 8.18E Dessert and Wine from Meta Grocery Store 11.09E Bologna Welcome Card 50E Dinner and Wine (steak) at Al Sangiovese Ristorante 76E Charming and Cosy Apartment 109.40E Walked 10.3 Miles