Why Bologna Is Italy’s Most Underrated City — and Its Most Delicious

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Most visitors to Italy draw a straight line. Rome to Florence, Florence to Venice. Bologna sits at the centre of that route — forty minutes from Florence by high-speed train. And most people don’t stop.

That is their loss.

The World’s First University Town

The University of Bologna was founded in 1088. It is the oldest university still in continuous operation on Earth.

Medical students once studied anatomy in secret here, dissecting bodies by candlelight. Copernicus studied here. So did Dante, Petrarch, and Umberto Eco.

The city has been young for nearly a thousand years. Students fill the cafés and archways. Bookshops cluster around the medieval towers. There is a restless, intellectual energy to Bologna that you feel before you understand it.

The Porticoes — 40 Kilometres of Covered Walkways

Bologna has more covered arcaded walkways than any other city in the world. Nearly 40 kilometres of them, stretching through the historic centre and out into the hills.

In 2021, UNESCO added them to the World Heritage List.

Walk the longest one: 666 arches lead from the city gate up the hillside to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. The climb takes about an hour. On a Sunday morning, you will share it with elderly Bolognese making the weekly pilgrimage, young couples, and the occasional dog. At the top, the city lies below you in every direction.

The porticoes were not built to be beautiful. They exist so that students and traders could move through the city in all weather. Bologna builds practical things, then accidentally makes them extraordinary.

The Food Capital of a Food-Obsessed Country

Italy does not agree on much. But ask any Italian which region produces the best food, and the answer is almost always Emilia-Romagna — and its capital is Bologna.

Parmigiano Reggiano comes from here. So does Prosciutto di Parma. And the real Mortadella — not the pale supermarket imitation, but the smooth, pink, pistachio-flecked original that Bologna has been producing since the 14th century.

And tortellini. The origin story is debated, as all great Italian food stories are. Most versions agree the ring-shaped pasta was invented in Bologna — shaped, depending on who you ask, like Venus’s navel. It is served here in a clear broth that holds nothing back.

Bologna also gave the world Bolognese sauce. The real Bolognese uses little tomato, slow-cooked meat, and a splash of milk. It has almost nothing in common with the red pasta sauce the rest of the world calls by that name.

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The Hidden Waterways

Most visitors never find them. Beneath the medieval streets, and occasionally visible through iron grates in the pavement, runs a network of canals built to power the mills that made Bologna wealthy in the Middle Ages.

In one place — the Canale delle Moline — the water is fully visible, running between rust-red and ochre walls of centuries-old buildings. Stand at the small viewing window on Via Piella, push open a wooden flap in the wall, and you find a view that looks more like Venice than anywhere else in landlocked Emilia-Romagna.

Most visitors walk straight past it. That is part of Bologna’s gift to the people who slow down.

A Day in Bologna — Where to Start

Begin at Piazza Maggiore. The vast medieval square holds the Basilica di San Petronio — one of the largest churches in the world, left deliberately unfinished after Vatican authorities grew nervous about its ambitions.

Walk to the Due Torri, the two leaning towers at the heart of the old city. Climb the taller one for views across the terracotta rooftops.

Spend lunchtime at the Mercato di Mezzo, the covered market in the centro storico. Order whatever is freshest. Eat standing up at the counter, the way Bolognese have always done.

In the late afternoon, find the Via Piella viewpoint and the hidden canal. Then look for an enoteca as aperitivo hour begins. Bologna’s wine bars fill early and stay full.

The incredible range of pasta shapes you will find across Emilia-Romagna alone is worth a dedicated trip — tortellini, tagliatelle, garganelli, and a dozen more, each shaped by a different town’s history and hands.

When is the best time to visit Bologna, Italy?

Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to October) are the best times to visit Bologna. Summers can be hot and humid, and many locals head to the coast in August. Winter brings fewer tourists, festive Christmas markets, and crisp weather that is very manageable with the protection of the porticoes.

What food should you try in Bologna?

Bologna’s must-eat list is long: tortellini in brodo (pasta rings in clear meat broth), tagliatelle al ragù (the authentic local Bolognese), mortadella from a proper salumeria, and aged Parmigiano Reggiano. The covered market Mercato di Mezzo is the ideal starting point, with local producers selling directly to visitors every day.

How far is Bologna from Florence and Venice?

Florence is just 37 minutes from Bologna on the high-speed Frecciarossa train. Venice is about 1 hour 25 minutes away. Milan is just over an hour. Bologna is one of the best-connected cities in Italy, making it an ideal base or an easy and worthwhile day trip from any major northern Italian city.

Is Bologna worth visiting as a day trip from Florence?

Absolutely — a day trip from Florence to Bologna is one of the best decisions you can make on an Italian itinerary. The train is fast and affordable, the historic centre is compact and walkable, and the food alone justifies the journey. Arrive for lunch, explore the porticoes and towers in the afternoon, and return to Florence for the evening.

Bologna will not push itself on you. It has been feeding, educating, and sheltering people for nearly a thousand years, and it has no particular need for your approval. That is exactly why it will stay with you.

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