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| Bologna on a painting by Guido Reni (detail). |
The oldest university in the western world was founded in Bologna in 1088, so staying in the city where Erasmus of Rotterdam and many more studied is just great. There are so many students in the city, the streets are always lively. Spacious squares, beautiful huge buildings. I could live in this city.
Not much that
one can do and see in one day but with my sister we made the most of it. To
save time for a few hours we separated: I went to see arts while she walked up
to the tallest tower in the city.
On the Via Belle
Arti (what a name!) is the Pinacoteca Nazionale. In the art gallery many
paintings are from the region, representing local art made between the 16th
and 17th centuries. There are works by Ludovico, Agostino and
Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni and Guercino. Not only these but art from the 13th
century can be seen here too. Works by Giotto, Raphael, Perugino and Titian
just to name a few. (my teachers from the Art Valuer course would be so proud
of me… J )
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| Paolo Uccello |
On the way to
the Pinacoteca Nazionale I also paid a short visit to the Church of San
Martino. It was built in the first half of the fourteenth century and houses
works by Paolo Uccello and Ludovico Carracci. The altar piece and the 16th
century organ are also very beautiful in this church.
The Two Towers
are the symbols of Bologna. With its towers today’s Piazza di Porta Ravegnana
was the point of arrival and departure for Ravenna. The towers have been
standing for almost 900 years; they were built at the beginning of the 12th
century. The higher is 97 meters and there are 498 steps inside to go up and
enjoy the view of the city. The shorter one is 48 meters and started leaning
soon after its construction.
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| The Neptune Fountain (detail). |
The Fountain of
Neptune by Giambologna was built in 1563 and has a few interesting details. Have
a closer look! J
Finally we found
the famous canals of Bologna too and we also had time for an ice cream.
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