As I mentioned, my first base in Italy was Bologna. This is a well connected town at the centre of Italy's rail network (and with its own airport), historic city walls and old buildings.
One of the first places I visited was the Torre degli Asinelli. Here there are actually a pair of leaning towers, only one of which (the taller one) you can go up. You can only go up by steps so you get some exercise on the way! From the top you get some good views across the city (and down onto the next tower!)
The city itself is very pretty, with old squares and rambling streets. There was a big market in town, and an old university.
As ever in Italian towns and cities there are many churches to go and visit. One of the most interesting is San Luca on the outskirts of the city with a very interesting way to go and visit it. It effectively has a covered walkway - a portico - which takes you all the way from the gate in the old city walls to the church, over a distance of 3km. At first this takes you alongside buildings and shops, but eventually it becomes a stand alone structure of its own, taking you up the hill with a combination of steps and slopes, weaving its way around the road. Whilst the church at the top is probably not worth the effort getting there, the route itself makes it an interesting journey.
Whilst there are historic art museums in Bologna, the one I was looking to visit was the modern art museum MAMbo. The museum had some interesting pieces and some very officious guards who insisted you went round in a certain order (despite the big group of schoolchildren blocking the way!)
There were a number of museums also linked to the University. Of these the most curious was the Palazzo Poggi. This had an odd collection which ranged from scientific artefacts, art, model ships, maps and models of the human body with certain layers of skin and muscle removed and different ways babies can he wrong position for birth (enough to put you off having children). I also visited various other university museums covering geology (lots of rocks), anthropology, animals (stuffed), evolution and other odd things, as well as the botanic gardens.
As ever in Italian towns and cities there are many churches to go and visit. One of the most interesting is San Luca on the outskirts of the city with a very interesting way to go and visit it. It effectively has a covered walkway - a portico - which takes you all the way from the gate in the old city walls to the church, over a distance of 3km. At first this takes you alongside buildings and shops, but eventually it becomes a stand alone structure of its own, taking you up the hill with a combination of steps and slopes, weaving its way around the road. Whilst the church at the top is probably not worth the effort getting there, the route itself makes it an interesting journey.
Whilst there are historic art museums in Bologna, the one I was looking to visit was the modern art museum MAMbo. The museum had some interesting pieces and some very officious guards who insisted you went round in a certain order (despite the big group of schoolchildren blocking the way!)
There were a number of museums also linked to the University. Of these the most curious was the Palazzo Poggi. This had an odd collection which ranged from scientific artefacts, art, model ships, maps and models of the human body with certain layers of skin and muscle removed and different ways babies can he wrong position for birth (enough to put you off having children). I also visited various other university museums covering geology (lots of rocks), anthropology, animals (stuffed), evolution and other odd things, as well as the botanic gardens.
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