SIGHTS IN BOLOGNA

There is much to see in Bologna.  Some we've done on our own and than we've also gone a walking tour  and also taken a bus tour to get us outside the old city.  Each day brings new discoveries.  

The Basilica di San Petronio is located right  beside the main square of Piazza Maggiore and is one of the first things we did on our own.  Our walking tour guide also took us in and we found we had missed a few things.  

“The facade of San Petronio looks like a ploughed field; the rough grooves in the brick have the same colour as the freshly ploughed Emilia plains.” This is how an Italian writer describes the facade of San Petronio, Bologna’s most famous and impressive church. It is the sixth largest church in Europe, preceded only by St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Seville Cathedral, the Duomo in Milan, and the Duomo in Florence. Its size is impressive: 132 metres long by 66 metres wide by 45 metres tall with the facade reaching a height of 51 metres.

The building of the Basilica began in 1390 and when the architect died twenty-five years later, the plan had evolved into a Latin cross and the church was supposed to reach almost 224 metres long and 150 metres wide. The basilica should have been the largest in the world, but things didn’t go well: the pope didn’t approve of the idea of a church larger than St. Peters. Because of this, in 1650 the papal government began building the Archiginnasio on a site immediately adjacent to the Basilica, literally blocking the realization of its ambitious design.

The Basilica was paid for by the people of Bologna for their Patron Saint and did not appreciate the Pope interferring with its building.  

The facade was designed using a methos of cosmologica and esoteric "diagramming."  The lower one was clad with marble in the 16th cenury; the upper one remains exposed brick and you can still see the irrgular profile which was meant to anchor final cladding.  

Inlaid in the church floor is the largest sundial in the world, created in 1600.  The hour is not designed with a line of shadow, but rather a ray of light forming the image of the sun.  

The Basilica can hold 28,000 parishoners, and over the course of its history has hosted numerous stately ceremonies, incuding the coronation of Charles V in 530.  

The Sundial by Cassini and Guglielmini.

                                                         

                                                        

Of note is the bolognese musical Chapel where the most prestigious symbol is a functional organ, built around 1470 by Lorenzo da Prato: the oldest in the world still in use. Another organ more recent (1596) was built by Baldassarre Malamini and even that is functioning despite the four hundred years of life. 

Elizabeth Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister is also buried in the Basilica.  She was a longtime resident of the city.  

A wonderful collection of Etruscan, Roman and Egyptian artifacts are located in the church behind the main altar. 

Busto di Marco Aurelio in marmo

As I mentioned the Basilica was included in our walking tour.  Sharon and I had already gone to and paid our two euro to take pictures.  Our guide pointed out some things which we were not aware of when we went in - like the sundial.  So those pictures are some I found on the internet.  

Here's our guide explaining "something " to us on Plazza Maggiore.  The poor man had to compete with some trumpet player who was playing "My Way".  He was giving the tour in both English and Italian and it was difficult for me to catch the transistion between the languages.  Consequently I didn't follow a lot of what he had to say.  He was knowlegable and had some funny stories to tell about various things but I only know they were funny because I heard people laugh.  Well, to be honestt I did hear some of the funny stories.  We arranged this walking tour through the welcome center.  I imagine in the summer there would be enough English speakers that the tour would be given only in English and another guide would give the Italian tour.  One of the disadvantages of traveling in non peak season.  

The Statue of Neptune in the Piazza del Neptuno which is adjacent to Piazza Maggiore.

"Just steps from the city’s political core, the fountain was an immediate hit with the vegetable sellers, launderers, and artisans -- so much so that a punishment of 50 lashes was given to women and children caught using it for bathing, while the punishment for men was “ (a torturous and crippling procedure involving tying the arms behind the back and cranking up on them to the point of dislocation)."

It is said that Giambologna wanted to fashion Neptune with larger genitalia but naturally met with opposition from the Church. However, the sculptor would not be swayed: he designed the statue so that from a particular angle the thumb of the outstretched left hand lines up with the groin area, making it look like an erect penis. According to the prelates, the women of Bologna were so disturbed by the sight that the Church had to put bronze pants on the statue. Actually, the entire fountain has a strongly erotic quality: just take a look at the voluptuous nymphs spraying their breasts with water!

I'm kind of surprised the pope got his focus up high enough to notice Neptune's genitalia.  This is the angle where you can see the thumg but unfortunately I don't think the picture captures the "site".

There is also a noteworthy superstition. In order to pass an important exam, students run two counter-clockwise laps around the fountain. Apparently this practice comes from Giambologna himself who - being extra careful while planning the fountain because of his earlier “failure in Florence” - continually circled the base deep in thought. And good luck certainly isn’t lacking here. The trident the god is brandishing has become one of the world’s most well known symbols: that of Maserati, the Bologna based automobile manufacturer.

The statue of Pope Gregory XIII overlooks the square from the facade of Palazzo d'Accursio. He was Pope from 1572- 1585  and is best known for commisioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian Calendar.  

A memorial to those partisans who died in World War II.  Bologna was one of the Italian cities most affected by the war.., both for its importance in the communication/transportation system, and for its location in the rear of the Gothic Line.  Between September 1943 and April 1945 the city was occupied by the Nazis.  The people suffered from cold and hunger.  Allied bombings and Nazi reprisals such as that of Monte Sole.  Throughout this period, the courageous action of groups of anti-fascist partisans kept the people's hope alive.

A high toll was paid by the Bolognese: the number of civilian deaths under the bombing was 2481, while 2064 partisans were killed.  On the morning of April 21, 1945 Bologna was free.  

Women's groups began to lay flowers and put pictures of their loved ones in Piazza Nettuno, on the wall where  many partisans had been shot.  

Thus was born the shrine of the partisans.

Here's Sharon relegated to the  corner. I tried to get her to behave but when she wouldn't she was confined to the corner.  Actually, our guide was demonstrating the first "telephone".  He had people go to each of the corners and talk into them.  The voice carried to the other corners.  I guess this is similar to whispering in the dome of the US capitol.  The voice carrys for some reason.  It wasn't planned and no one knows who discovered the phenomena.  

The coats of arms of the Medici family.  

The building ordered built by the Pope to obstruct the building of the Basilica and keep it from being larger than St. Peter's in Rome.  The construction of the Archiginnasio dates back to the 16th century.  It was the main building of the 'stadium' as the university of Bologna was first called, from 1563 until 1803, when it became the location for the Institute of Science.  It  is truly a beauitufl building.  We went back to explore it on a later day. 

The Archiginnasio Palace, the first permanent seat of the ancient Studium or University of Bologna.  The oldest university in the world.  Its aim was to concentrate in a single location all the schools of the legisti ( civil and canon law) and the Artisti ( philosophy, mathmatics, physics, medicine and natural sciences), which until that time had been dispersed in various places in the city.  

Bologna has the oldest university in the world - 1088.  Today there are 90,000 students in the city whose population is 500,000.  

The walls of the building form an enormous heraldic complex, made up of seven thousand coats of arms hanging on its walls.  The honor of putting a coat of arms on the walls was reserved for those students that participated as heads of the nationes.  The coats of arms indicate the home country or city of the student, along with the student's name.  They were fortunately spared from the destruction ordered by the republican government in 1797 and the allied bombings during WWII.  

The two staircases are opposite each other as you enter the building.

The Doctor's staircase. 

The most impressive feature of the Archiginnasio and the most striking testimony of its historical glory is the very rich decoration of the walls of the halls, arches, loggioti and stairases.  

The anatomy theatre, where anatomy was taught empirically through dissection of corpses was built in 1637.  The hall contains statues of famous ancient and Bolognese physicians and a figure of Apollo surrounded by symbols of heavenly constellations on the ceiling.  The hall has largely been reconstructed after very serious war damage.  Whenever possible original parts were salvaged and used.  The lecture chair consists of a canopy supported by two famous "skinless" statues, signed and dated by Ercole Lelli in 1734 but actually made, at least in large part, by Silestro Giannotti, who is also to be credited for twelve statue physicians replacing those by Levanti.  

More student coat of arms.  

The Sabat Mater Hall  (Fomerly Hall of the Jurists)

The outside of Santuario Di Santa Maria della Vita.  The church was founded in the second half of the 13th century by the Congregation of Battutui or Flagellati, whose name refers to their habit to whip themselves.  The members of the congregation mainly devoted themselves to charitable activities, thus having a hospital unit and a church built in 1287.

We didn't have much time in this church except to see these figures.  The Sorrow over Dead Christ (1463) by Niccolo dell'Arca.  The sculptor was a master of terracotta figures.  It is a life-size group of six separate figures lamenting in a semicircle around the dead Christ in a lying position.  The dramatic pathos, the expressions of grief and torment of the figures is intensified by the realism of their dramatic facial details.  

Bologna is one of the food capitals of the world and of course they have a wonderful market.  I was standing just outside the doorway of this store and the smells coming from the store were "fabulouso"!

Bologna is also a UNESCO City of Music and was appointed as such in May, 2006.  It is the first Italian city to be appointed to the Network.  Also a member of UNESCO's International Coalition of Cities against Racism, Bologna is reaping the universal nature of music as a vehicle for communication, reinventing the way in which people from all walks of life, young and old, are living and interacting with one another. 

By mbilizing international teams, exploring new forms of urban animation and redefining public space, Bololgna is drawing on music as a natural and abundant raw material to achieve very concrete goals.  

I had briefly mentioned this church in an earlier blog.  This is one of the highlights of Bologna, a hidden gem.  I am including this excerpt from the internet which gives a much better description and history than I could ever do.  Long but interesting.  We just stumbled on this and hadn't researched it at all when I took the pictures.  Sharon is going to go back so I'm sure her blog will have more pictures that tie in with the history.  

- Church of Santo Stefano -

The backdrop of the Piazza Santo Stefano is the basilica that gives it its name: an interweaving of seven religious buildings that are surprisingly interconnected. According to tradition, San Petronio, the Bishop of Bologna, had the idea of creating a basilica after the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

It was built on top of a temple dedicated to Isis. The buildings that make up the complex are all very old. Because of the numerous restorations in the first decades of the 20th century, the look of the complex has changed from the original “Seven Churches” to four. Despite this, it is still one of the most romantic and interesting monuments in the city.

You enter through the Church of the Crucifix. Of Lombard origin, it dates back to the 8th century. It has a single nave with a raised presbytery reached by a stair. Here is found the 14^th century crucifix that gives the church its name. In the left nave you can admire a sculpture from the 18^th century that depicts the “Lamentation over the Dead Christ”.

According to legend, the work was made using playing cards that had been confiscated during the years when gambling was prohibited. The church walls are covered with frescoes telling the story of the martyr St. Stefano. Under the presbytery stair is a splendid crypt. It is divided into five naves by a series of antique columns, each one different from the other. According to legend, one of these is the exact height of Jesus.

At the back, an urn on the altar holds the remains of St. Vitale and St. Agricola. On the left of the altar, a small fresco from the 15^th century shows the "Madonna of the Snows”. While it is of little artistic merit, it is nonetheless striking. On the right of the entrance is a little statue of the Madonna Child.

A side door leads to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the oldest building in the entire complex. 12 columns surround the shrine which held relics of San Petronio that had been recovered here in 1141. The little door of the tomb used to be opened for one week year during which time it was possible to crawl inside and pay one’s respects to the saint’s remains.

According to a curious custom, pregnant women in Bologna would circle the sepulchre thirty-three times, one for each year of Christ’s life. After each turn, they would crawl into the small sepulchre to pray. At the end of the ritual, they would go to the nearby church of Martyrium to pray in front of a fresco of the pregnant Madonna. In 2000 the body of San Petronio was moved to the basilica that bears his name, reunited with his head which was already there. From that point on, the sepulchre was never opened again.

In the church there is also a natural spring that holds very high symbolic value: it represents the River Jordan, where Christ was baptized, an idea also reflected in the seven African marble columns reused in the sepulchre. Of course, in reality the spring already existed when the original temple on the site was dedicated to Isis.

A side door leads to the church dedicated to Vitale and Agricola. The two men were a master and servant who became Bologna martyrs when they lost their lives, in 305 AD, victims of Diocletian’s persecution.

The church had originally been dedicated to St. Peter: a sepulchre had been found on the site with the inscription "Symon" and so the rumour circulated that it was the tomb of the first apostle Simon who later came to be called Peter. Although the information had no historical foundation, it naturally managed to draw many pilgrims away from Rome.

Went back after Easter and saw the chapel without the Shroud. 

Three little angels in the cloisters.  

There's a lot of history in Bologna and lot to see so we will have lots to blog about as we explore this city.  Tomorrow I am going on a "Italian Days Food Experience" tour.  I 'm going all by myself as the tour didn't really interest Sharon.  I have to be out the door by 7:25.  It's going to be a long day but they advertise it as FUN, FUN, FUN!  Sure hope so!

The square outside the church is supposed to be one of the lovliest in Bologna.  If you approach the square and church from the street these figures, allegedly praying,  although I don't really thinnk their heads are bowed, line the street.