Bologna: preservation of an historic city for the people

by Lucy Komisar

I was standing in the Piazza Giuseppi Verdi, the site of the Bologna opera house, luxuriating in the mellifluous sounds of a classic soprano broadcast by loudspeakers into the square. A fellow pulled up in his motorcycle, switched off the engine, and announced to his girlfriend seated behind him, "Il rumor del modernità," the sound of modernity!

It was to me a symbolic moment for a city that glories in its past but is socially hospitable to its citizens and visitors. Music is for everyone, not just for those who can afford to buy a ticket. And so is all culture.  When I asked a guard at the Palazzo Comunale on Piazza Maggiore, the grand central square, where I could buy a ticket to the exhibits, he answered proudly, "Museums in Bologna are free." It's true for government museums; the notion that culture should be accessible to all was promoted by years of Communist government.

In addition to promoting culture, Bologna's Communist administration in the late 1960s and early 1970s carried out a major project to preserve and enhance the historic center without expelling its residents. It prevented a living Medieval and Renaissance museum from being overrun by modern buildings to make money for real estate interests. I walked the mazes of narrow streets of pastel stone buildings. One was Via de' Giudei in the old Jewish quarter. When I learned about the Bologna preservation plan, it made sense to me to see a food market in the ground floor of one of the historic painted houses. The Bologna restoration project is famous among city planners and architects.

The Communists (the PCI) played a major role in Italy's anti-fascist resistance, broke with Moscow in 1979 after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and invented Euro-communism (ie Communist anti-Stalinism). The PCI generally won a third of the national vote. After the fall of Soviet Communism, it turned into a social democratic party.

Public buildings are, typically, open to the public. The Palazzo Comunale, with its interior arches and burnt sienna painted stone, dates, in its various parts, from the 13th to 16th centuries. Part of the building is used by the local government. On one floor, I passed the open door of a room where a civic ceremony was underway. On another floor, I visited the Museo Morandi to see the largest collection of works by one of Italy's most famous modern painters, Giorgio Morandi, who was born in Bologna in 1890.

The hotel we stayed in was a perfect of sample of Bologna's successful effort to preserve its historic jewels. The Grand Hotel Majestic, formerly known as the Baglioni, is a four-story 18th-century palazzo and former seminary, just a block from the Piazza Maggiore. The façade is pink stone and the entrance is through an archway under a balcony. On the Via dell' Indipendenza, with a long line of columns, it faces the Cathedral of San Pietro.

Inside, the walls are covered in gold and burgundy tapestries and adorned by candle sconces. Everywhere are fresh flowers. The furniture is antique. Paintings, frescoes and sculptures decorate the halls. The elegant breakfast was soothed by walls of paintings and soft jazz vocals.

Our room had a balcony overlooking the Cathedral. There was a sofa and an easy chair covered in red striped silk. The bathrooms were marble. If you have a few thousand dollars to spare, you can book a gorgeous Art Deco suite. We walked out on its huge terrace with a view of Piazza Maggiore.

One day we greeted by a mass of fans and police outside the hotel, and discovered that the Milan soccer team InterItalia was staying there. You couldn't miss them in the elevator! As they took over the breakfast room, we had the good fortune to be moved to the gourmet restaurant, I Carracci, which features historic 16th-century ceiling frescoes by the Carracci Brothers.

Later, outside, we instinctively headed again for Piazza Maggiore, the astonishing Medieval-Renaissance historic and artistic center of the city. We crossed a main street edged with shops and motorcycles. Sometimes, there are evening concerts in the square.

We stopped at the giant 16th-century bronze Neptune Fountain with sculptures of Neptune and four mermaid sirens, by Giovanni Bologna. Families were taking photos with the mythical figures in the background. Then, making a turn around the piazza, I was drawn to the brooding Re Enzo with its mysterious story. Started in 1244, it was the headquarters of the civil magistrate. But that's not the reason for the building's name. Enzo, the illegitimate son of the Emperor Frederick II, was his father's favorite. He fought in the wars between his father, the Pope and cities of Northern Italy. In a campaign of Modena and Cremona against Bologna, he was defeated, captured and imprisoned in 1249 by the Bolognese in the palace that now bears his name. His attempts to escape and efforts to rescue him were futile, and he died in the palazzo in 1272.

I enjoyed wandering the colorful tiled sidewalks of the paving-stoned streets to discover gems in every by-way. I was especially charmed by the pink, 14th-century Palazzo della Mercanzia, the house of merchandise, with the coats of arms of the guilds of the time. Nearby, the Two Towers (Due Torri, or Torri Pendenti – it means leaning) are from the 12th century. They used to belong to noble families and were symbols of their rivalry. (I can build one higher than you, nothing changes.) You can climb the tallest, with nearly 500 steps. There used to be about 200 such towers. Dante mentions them in the Inferno. Now, there are just a handful.

A very special place is Santo Stefano, four medieval churches under a single roof. One dating to the 5th century is dark and sepulchral. The other churches are equally surreal. I liked a weird black marble tomb with a skull that might have inspired a contemporary horror film. In the 11th- 12th-century Pilate courtyard, we came across a group of nuns in traditional habits getting a special tour. They added a wonderful touch of old reality to the scene. The buildings are quite beautiful, outside as well as inside. The exterior walls are covered with colorful brick mosaics, and the marble Pilate's Basin in the courtyard has inscriptions from the 8th-century Lombard invaders. If you visit one historic religious place in Bologna, make it this one.

One afternoon, coming back to the hotel, I decided to explore the Medieval Civic Museum, just around the corner. It is in the 15th-century Palazzo Fava and covers the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. And there, quite appropriately, I found a fascinating confluence of religions. You see artistic sculptures of religious figures in many churches and museums, but this one featured also the carvings of a Jewish tomb. Well, I thought: the sound of modernity!

If You Go

Getting there

The major airlines fly from the U.S. to Bologna via European stopovers.

If you are travelling around Italy, or from neighboring countries, get a Eurailpass from Rail Europe (http://www.raileurope.com/) , which will save money and allow you to avoid buying tickets at each stop. And it's often faster: by rail, Bologna is an easy high-speed train ride to or from Venice (1 hour, 11 min), Florence (37 minutes) and Pisa (2 hours, 11 min). Check times to all destinations on the Rail Europe website. Italian trains often require seat reservations. The Rail Europe website shows the timetables, so you can order reservations in advance and receive them with your rail pass. The Bologna station is at the end of Via dell'Indipendenza; bus 17 or 25 will take you to the Piazza Maggiore.

The Bologna tourist office is on the north side of the Piazza Maggiore

www.provincia.bologna.it

www.comune.bologna.itit/bolognaturismo

Guides

Eyewitness Travel Guides "Italy" has my favorite design, with a large number of colored maps and photos, addresses, phones and timetables, and what you should look for at the destinations. www.dk.com.

Michelin's "Italy" green guide takes you by the hand to make sure you know the best sites and all relevant information, everything rated by stars, even where to stop for a break. www.ViaMichelin.com.

Insight Guides' "Italy" works the sights into essays about each destination, an old-fashioned travel book rather than a compendium of places to visit. www.insightguides.com.

Grand Hotel Majestic, formerly Baglioni
Via dell'Indipendenza, 8 - 40121 Bologna
 39 051 225445; fax: 39 051 234840 –
info.ghmajestic@duetorrihotels.com
www.duetorrihotels.com/content/luxury-hotel
There are 103 rooms; 6 suites; 3 restaurants; 1 bar.
Free wifi. Valet parking.

Palazzo Comunale
9am-3pm, Sunday & holidays 10am-6:30pm
www.comune.bologna.it.
Museum Morandi 10am-3pm, Sat, Sun & holidays 10am-6:30pm
www.museomorandi.it
39 051 2193629

Basilica di Santo Stefano
Daily 9am12:15pm, 3:30 pm-6:15pm
39 051 223256
www.abbaziasantostefano.it

Medieval Civic Museum
Tue-Fri 9am-3pm; Sat & Sun 10am-6.30pm
4 Via Manzoni
www.comune.bologna.it/iperbole/MuseiCivici/
39 051 219 3916

Photos by Lucy Komisar
Lucy Komisar's website is http://thekomisarscoop.com/