A piece of history! Worthwhile to take a stop nearby the main square in Bologna and admire these…read morefeats of medieval architecture. As of end Dec 2023 both towers are closed for maintenance as the base and building materials have deteriorated and are no longer safe for tours. Prior to closing stairway access to the top via 498 steps (according to their website) was available for €5 to the taller tower Asinelli, with shorter tower Garisenda already under repair. There is a public website commune.bologna.it where anyone can donate to the restoration campaign.

Between the 12th and the 13th century, Bologna was a city full of towers. Almost all the towers…read morewere tall defensive stone towers. Besides the towers, there are still some fortified porticos that correspond to the gates of the 12th-century city. The richest families used these towers for offensive/defensive purposes during the period of the Investiture Controversy. In the 13th century, many towers were demolished or collapsed. Many towers have been used as a prison, city tower, shop or residential building. The 2 towers remained a famous sight of Bologna throughout the later periods; even Dante mentioned some of the towers in his Inferno.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: Learn about the origin of the word ghetto and the history…read more The word ghetto comes from the Italian word gettare, which means "to cast" or "to throw". The Jewish ghetto of Bologna was born in the XVI century, around 1555 a.d., following the papal bull issued by Pope Paul IV which established the provision of a delimited area of the city for the Jewish community.

Very good. Your visit will be 1+ hour. You learn a lot about…read morebikes, frame, engines, fluid dynamics. €26 Ridotto for 2

Sweet side trip if you're in Bologna! The Ducati museum and the Ducati factory are one and the…read moresame. I was lucky enough to have a friend book this for me and when I arrived in Bologna I made sure to grab a bus ticket and figure out how to get out there. I was told the ride time should be about 20 minutes. I hopped on the bus and headed down here. The bus comes often so you don't have to worry about the bus times. After about 20 minutes I wasn't near the Ducati factory. 25 minutes and still nothing! I was a little worried I had missed my stop. I want to give everyone a heads up but it can take up to 45 minutes. I didn't experience any traffic and it took that long to get out here. No matter which stop you get off at you're still going to have to walk a little bit to get to the museum. Upon arrival at the Ducati factory I had to check in and leave a piece of ID. Sure no problem. They walked me through the gates and to the front desk. There is a small Ducati souvenir store which I wish had more items. I'm not sure why it's not stocked up as there are some items from Ducati that were not available here. The museum itself is really not that large. It's a small showroom with a Ducati from each generation including the very first Ducati which was a pedal bicycle. Walking through the showroom I enjoyed each of the Ducati's they had on show. There is also a movie screen shaped like a motorcycle helmet. Very cool! Unfortunately that's it! I had a chance to see the production floor as well and found that pretty awesome! Unfortunately for me nothing was going on as they hit a target for the month. It was still awesome being there and seeing everything. If you're a motorcycle fan you should definitely come by the Ducati museum. Just set some time aside as the factory is just outside Bologna. Also sample the fantastic food in Bologna!

Not worth it. Nothing much to see and most of the expo didn't make much sense to me. A bit outside…read morethe city and it might take some time to get there. I'd say its not worth the effort to go there to check it out. In addition, place seems a bit run-down...

The works in the permanent gallery are interesting, and the size of the place is very digestible…read more.. but there's just not much explanations for particular works (though they do write everything in English and Italian) --- I do see now that in order to get a tour, you should contact them. Hey, maybe it's a really tight knit experience, I don't know. You have to pay additional for the temporary museum, so my ticket was 6+4=$10. The Morandi Museum... I am not exactly sure why he's the greatest painter in Bologna, but there is definitely a lot of it Morandi. No moral issues with stealing art or artifacts, so that's good. I can't recommend this to a tourist.... ALTHOUGH it does bring you in a distant part of the city (nothing is far in Bologna, don't worry), so maybe it's a good excuse to get you over there. The park nearby is cool, and the Cinema nearby is outstanding.

This square is almost like a hub to all of the best sightseeing in Bologna. It's the central…read moresquare where a lot of the interesting sights are located. While we were there, they were setting up for some sort of viewing with a huge screen and plenty of seats. I didn't look up what it was for but I assume that because this square is so large and central, they do this sort of thing all of the time. We visited the fountain, the church and the shops and restaurants branching off from this square and we also took the San Luca express from here. Great way to landmark yourself in the city.

Other Yelp reviewers have covered many of the major points regarding location and this square's…read morecentrality to all the major site seeing attractions nearby. I'll add a few notes on some of the notable places to visit in and around this piazza: - Palazzo Re Enzo in April 2024 wasn't open to the public for general viewing, inside are mainly government offices. - Biblioteca Salaborsa: cool library building for history and architecture fans. Aside from the impressive details of the current building. Roman ruins are visible from main library floor and visitable underneath the library. See my separate review for this! - Biblioteca Communale and the Two Towers (Asinelli Tower and Garisenda Tower--not to be confused with LOTR) are about a 5 minute walk from this square. Towards the south for the historical library with a historic anatomical studies operating room, and directly east for the towers. - Signorvino: decent spot to people watch, enjoy some wine and a light meal or charcuterie while taking in the view of the piazza. Indoor and outdoor seating available. - Fontana del Nettuno: ask the locals about the legend around the sea god's sculpture...walk around it to view at different angles...maybe not appropriate for kiddies. - Cinema Modernissimo: recently renovated (end 2023) old school movie theater from 1915 that's underground and on the block next to the piazza. They play Italian classics, and both old and modern movies, tickets starting at €6 and some movies with free entry. All showings book up very quickly, so move fast--as of end June all paid shows were booked up thru end November. Hope anyone reading this enjoys their time in Bologna as much as I did!

What a nifty library--the history of this location alone is an incredible story spanning epochs…read more I love libraries. They are a doorway into the community and culture of the neighborhoods they reside in. This one was no exception. Even though it's located in the most touristy part of town, right on the NE corner of Piazza Maggiore, there were plenty of locals and students alike perusing, studying, reading, making use of the total facilities. On a weekday afternoon around 2pm when I visited there were several uniformed student groups on field trips here, leaving around the time I arrived. Inside the entry is free and open to the general public. First door on the right upon entry is the children's library which consists of a few different rooms with reading materials for young children under 5-6, mostly illustrated books. Children's artwork decorates the walls. Walking into the main atrium, three stories of columned archways flank the spacious rectangular chamber. On each floor are visible reading/sitting/studying/browsing areas, classrooms, and bookshelves of various mediums. Elaborate wooden coffered ceilings frame a central skylight. Uniquely inset into the atrium floor are square glass panels, providing a view of the ancient ruins underneath the library. When I was there an exhibit on children's book illustrators and the illustrations was on display in one corner, I admired the varied styles, diversity of artists and artistic mediums--sketches, oils, paints, digital, etc, what terrific talent! Wandering around each floor the library lounge seating and study tables were packed! And the general silence is golden rule certainly was relevant. Following signs for the ruins in the basement, I made my way downstairs, where I came upon a hallway diagram showing the history of the museum and the grounds it occupies, then to the door that leads to the underground conservation area. Inside there are metal walkways constructed so you can walk over the stone wall remains of two main streets from Roman times. Very cool that you can see above into the current library thru the aforementioned glass window squares.

Right in the middle of the main square is an ornate beautiful castle. We looked at the photographs…read moreand the names of the people that died in the struggle for freedom. We walked into a beautiful ornate library. There were children's rooms that were well used. The glass floors looked down at the ruins alone. Pretty incredible! This library opened in 2001, but the building, Palazzo d'Accursiouch older. The ruins underneath are the remains from the ancient city of Bononia, dating back to 189 BC.There are also Etruscan ruins on site that predate the Roman ones. Ancient ruins are accessible from the basement floor, where there is information. The archaeological site is supposed to be visible from the crystal floor in the centre of the library, but I couldn't see through it.

Just when I thought that I had done everything Bowie, including meeting the man himself in 2004,…read morethis was the icing on the cake celebrating more than just a complete circle but of everything music. This whole Europe trip with my best friend in small ways has been chasing Bowie's ghost yet this exhibition felt like a proper closure for me. The emotions didn't hit me until I handed the lady my ticket and walked through the first exhibition room. Boom! Like a car crash everything I felt growing up rolled into one emotional ball was served to me on a platter made out of a vinyl record. My stomach felt hollow combined with the internal burning session of sadness. I also shivered from the coldness of grief that hit my body at once. I had a difficult time suffocating the tears. I did leak a bit when the outfit used in the Top of The Pops segment was displayed behind glass with the video for Starman played in the background. I stood there frozen for a solid 10 minutes watching the performance on loop glancing at random moments at the costume. Once my heart recovered from the feeling of heavy bricks the rest of the exhibition was an educational celebration. I walked each room slowly taking in every moment the best I could. I was trying to imprint the history as presented to me through glass display cases that read "Do Not Touch," the only time Bowie's music and status has been untouchable to me. Everyone I was walking with had their own memories and level of fandom. It was cool to be in the same room celebrating a great musical influence. I am a child of 90's music, therefore, my memories naturally differed from most (still just as rich in their own way). There's a subtle dark humorous side to Bowie that is often missed by the general public, however, those close to him have grown to appreciate and recognize his off beat sense of humour. He had his antique coke spoon on display as a historical piece during the recording of Diamond Dogs just to fuck with people. The stage costumes were a lot to take in, especially the vintage ones. I felt as though I was transported in time in the front row of selected 70's and 80's tours. It was like feeling the ghost of Bowie. Of course finally seeing in person the Steve McQueen Earthling jacket was fascinating to me on both the fashion and artistic level. They had the costume from the Reality tour on display which was both haunting and nostalgic for me. I saw Bowie 13 times in that costume stitch for stitch on that tour from the front row. For a moment it seemed as though nothing had changed, however, the minute I walked into the other room it hit me that without Bowie the musical future was bleak and that everything had changed. The hand written lyrics amused me for unconventional reasons. I was fascinated by the lyrics that were scratched out rather than reading the exact lyrics of my childhood soundtrack. It was a true glimpse at his thought process not often talked about. Many of the items are from Bowie's personal collection. In the 90's he went on a buying spree of photo rights and fan memorabilia to fill in the gaps to complete his "lost years."

Cyndy's Bottom Line: Extraordinary Ai Wei Wei exhibit. Sept 21, 2024 - May 04, 2025…read more Palazzo Fava is a historic building in Bologna dating back to the Middle Ages. The palace, whose current structure takes shape in the Renaissance, was purchased by the ancient Fava family in 1546 who entrusted the decoration of the main floor to Carracci with the cycles of frescoes of the Stories of Jason and Medea and the Stories of Aeneas. The architecture is grand and in harmony with the magnificent frescoes. Look up to discover all the astonishing froscoes by Carraci. *Highly recommend. *The Ai Wei Wei exhibit was provocative and thought provoking. A must see.