Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
50m (165-ft.) Torre Garisenda tilts a precarious 3m (10 ft.) off the perpendicular,
while Torre degli Asinelli, which is nearly twice as tall, is 2.3m (7
1
⁄
2
ft.) out of plumb.
Best of all, you can climb the
Torre degli Asinelli
5
(Piazza di Porta Ravegna;
€
3;
May-Sept daily 9am-6pm, Oct-Apr daily 9am-5pm),
500 steps to the reward of a
stunning view over Bologna's red-tile rooftops and the surrounding hills.
TOP MUSEUMS
Though a Roman wall runs through the courtyard of the
Museo Civico
Medioevale
(Via Manzoni, 4;
%
051-203930; www.comune.bologna.it/
iperbole/MuseiCivici;
€
4; Tues-Sat 9am-6:30pm, Sun 10am-6:30pm),
the collec-
tion itself is devoted to depicting life in medieval Bologna. During the Middle
Ages, the city revolved around its university, and the most enchanting treasures
are the sepulchers of professors, surrounded for eternity by carvings of dozing and
mocking students. Also on view are fascinating cooking utensils from daily life in
medieval Bologna, illuminated manuscripts, and a sizable collection of arms and
armor. It also has a healthy handful of medieval objects from cultures around the
world (collections left over from previous incarnations of the museum), and the
museum's name hasn't kept it from squirreling away a few small Renaissance and
baroque bronzes by the likes of Giambologna, Bernini, and Algardi.
Many of the galleries at the
Pinacoteca Nazionale
5
5
(Via delle Belle Arti, 56;
%
051-4209411; www.pinacotecabologna.it;
€
4; Tues-Sun 9am-6:30pm)
are
devoted to either Bolognese painters or painters from elsewhere who worked in
Bologna, including Italy's largest collection by the city's most illustrious artist,
Guido Reni (1575-1642). Perhaps his best-known work is the
Ritratto della
Europe's First University
Bologna's university is Europe's oldest, rooted in a Roman law school from
A
.
D
. 425 and officially founded in the 10th century. By the 13th century,
more than 10,000 students from all over Europe were descending on this
center of learning. Their scholarly numbers have included Thomas à
Becket, Copernicus, Dante, Petrarch, and, much more recently, Federico
Fellini. Always forward-thinking, even in the unenlightened Middle Ages,
the university employed female professors, and the political leanings of
today's student body are displayed in leftist slogans that emblazon the
15th- to 19th-century buildings.
While most of the university is now housed up Via Zamboni, the
most interesting bit to visit is in one of its oldest buildings just south of
Piazza Maggiore: the Teatro Anatomico inside the baroque
Palazzo di
Archiginnasio
(Piazza Galvani, 1;
%
051-276811; www.archiginnasio.it;
free admission; Mon-Fri 9am-6:45pm, Sat 9am-1:30pm).
In this quite the-
atrical anatomical theater, ancient wooden benches surround a marble slab
used for the continent's first (legal) gross anatomy classes, and carved
skinless human pillars support the lectern.
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