Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Piazza Maggiore; 8am-1pm & 3-6pm)
The world's fifth-largest church, measuring 132m by
66m by 47m, hides some interesting oddities. Firstly, though construction started in 1390,
the church wasn't consecrated (officially blessed) until 1954. Secondly, it has been the tar-
get of two thwarted terrorist attacks, in 2002 and 2006. Thirdly, the church exhibits an un-
usual scientific intrusion into a religious setting: inside, a huge sundial stretches 67.7m
down the eastern aisle. Designed in 1656 by Gian Cassini and Domenico Guglielmi, the
sundial was instrumental in discovering the anomalies of the Julian calendar and led to the
creation of the leap year.
Lastly, take a look at the incomplete front facade and you'll quickly deduce that the
church was never finished. Originally it was intended to be larger than St Peter's in Rome,
but in 1561, some 169 years after building had started, Pope Pius IV blocked construction
by commissioning a new university on the basilica's eastern flank. If you walk along Via
dell'Archiginnasio you can see semi-constructed apses poking out oddly.
Quadrilatero
To the east of Piazza Maggiore, the grid of streets around Via Clavature (Street of Lock-
smiths) sits on what was once Roman Bologna. Known as the Quadrilatero, this compact
district is less shabby than the adjoining university quarter, with the emphasis on old-style
delis selling the region's world-famous produce.
HISTORIC QUARTER
