Day trip to Bologna from Rome

The Fountain of Neptune is a monumental civic fountain located in the eponymous square, Piazza del Nettuno, next to Piazza Maggiore, in Bologna, Italy Its bronze figure of Neptune, extending his reach in a lordly gesture of stilling and controlling the waters, is an early work by Giambologna, completed about 1567.

Piazza Maggiore is located in the very centre of Bologna. In the past, the square underwent many changes and was embellished with important buildings: the Basilica di San Petronio, Palazzo dei Notai, Palazzo d'Accursio, Palazzo del Podestà and Palazzo dei Bianchi.

The basilica of Santo Stefano encompasses a complex of religious edifices in the city of Bologna is located on Piazza Santo Stefano. The Basilica di Santo Stefano, also known as Sette Chiese, is the most peculiar in Bologna. Its name derives from the original idea of dividing the church in seven chuches. Others believe it was commissioned by Saint Petronio, but built on top of the ruins of a pagan temple, next to which other buildings were added.

The two towers are the symbol of Bologna and they are strategically placed at the entry point in the city of the ancient Via Emilia. The Torre degli Asinelli is the tallest leaning medieval tower in the world and it was built between 1109 and 1119. It is 97,20 m tall and was built by the Asinelli family. The second tower, Torre Garisenda is less taller than the first one, it is just 47 metres tall.

The Basilica of San Petronio is the main church of Bologna, Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. It dominates Piazza Maggiore. It is the tenth-largest church in the world by volume, 132 metres long and 66 metres wide, while the vault reaches 45 metres inside and 51 metres in the facade. With its volume of 258,000 m³, it is the largest (Gothic or otherwise) church built of bricks in the world.

The “Quadrilatero” area has an ancient tradition. It had its greatest development in the Middle Ages and kept its trade vocation throughout the years. The main craft guilds of the city such as goldsmiths, butchers, fishermen, “Salaroli” (workers who salted meat to cure it), the Furriers, Barbers and the Society of Painters, had their headquarters in this area.