Bologna

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Bologna

Bologna (from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna is an administrative Regions of Italy of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of 20,124 km? and about 4.3 million inhabitants....
in northern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, in the Po Valley (Pianura Padana in Italian), between the Po River

Po River

The Po is a river that flows 652 km eastward across northern Italy, from Monviso to the Adriatic Sea near Venice. It has a drainage area of 71,000 km? and is the longest river in Italy....
and the Apennines

Apennine mountains

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains is a mountain range stretching 1000 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming the backbone of the country....
, exactly between the Reno River

Reno River

The Reno is a river of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is the tenth longest river in Italy and the most important of the region apart from the Po River....
and the Sàvena River. Home of the oldest university in the Western world, "Alma Mater Studiorum", founded in 1088, Bologna is one of the most developed cities in Italy. Bologna often ranks as one of the top cities related to quality of life in Italy, being ranked 5th in 2006 and 12th in 2007 out of 103 Italian cities This is due to its strong industrial tradition and physical position--located at the crossing of the most important highways and railways in the country--as well as its wide range of highly-developed social services.

gna was founded by the Etruscans

Etruscan civilization

Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy and Corsica whom the ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci....
with the name Velzna—Latinised as Felsina—(c.

Circa

Circa means "in approximately", generally referring to a year. It is widely used in genealogy and historical writing, when the dates of events are approximately known....
534 BCE) in an area previously inhabited by the Villanovians

Villanovan culture

The Villanovan culture was the earliest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy, abruptly following the Bronze Age Terramare culture and giving way in the seventh century BC to an increasingly orientalizing culture influenced by Greeks traders, which was followed without a severe break by the Etruscan civilization....
, a people of farmers and shepherds.

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Encyclopedia

Bologna (from Latin

Latin

Emilia-Romagna

Italy

Po River

Apennine mountains

Reno River

History

Bologna was founded by the Etruscans

Etruscan civilization

Circa

Villanovan culture

Boii

Boii is the Ancient Rome name of an ancient Celtic tribes, attested at various times in Transalpine Gaul and Cisalpine Gaul , as well as in Pannonia , Bohemia, Moravia and western Slovakia....
, a Gallic

Gallic

Gallic is an adjective that may refer to:*Gaul, from which the name derives, a region of Europe roughly corresponding to modern France, but also comprising parts of modern northern Italy, Belgium, western Switzerland and parts of the Netherlands and Germany....
tribe, from which came the ancient name Bononia of the Roman colony founded in c.189 BC. The settlers included three thousand Latin families led by the consuls Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Marcus Atilius Seranus, and Lucius Valerius Tappo. The building of the Via Aemilia

Via Aemilia

Via Aemilia was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from Ariminum , on the Adriatic coast, to Placentia on the river Padus ....
in 187 BC made Bologna a road hub, connected to Arezzo

Arezzo

Arezzo or Arretium is a city in central Italy, capital of Province of Arezzo, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km south-east of Florence, at an elevation of 296 meters above sea level....
through the Via Flaminia minor and to Aquileia

Aquileia

Aquileia is an ancient history Roman Republic city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic Sea at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times....
through the Via Aemilia Altinate.

In 88 BC, the city became a municipium: it had a rectilinear street plan with six cardi and eight decumani (intersecting streets) which are still discernible today. During the Roman era, its population varied between c. 12,000 to c. 30,000. At its peak, it was the second city of Italy, and one of the most important of all the Empire, with various temples and baths, a theatre, and an arena. Pomponius Mela

Pomponius Mela

Pomponius Mela, who wrote around 43, was the earliest Roman Empire geographer.His little work is a mere compendium, occupying less than one hundred pages of ordinary print, dry in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing word-pictures....
included Bononia among the five opulentissimae ("richest") cities of Italy. Although fire damaged the city during the reign of Claudius

Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
, the Roman Emperor Nero

Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
rebuilt it in the first century AD.

After a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the fifth century under bishop Petronius, who traditionally built the church of S. Stefano. After the fall of Rome

Decline of the Roman Empire

The English historian Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire made this concept part of the framework of the English language, but he was neither the first nor the last to speculate on why and when the Empire collapsed....
, Bologna was a frontier stronghold of the Exarchate of Ravenna

Exarchate of Ravenna

The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine Empire power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last Exarch was put to death by the Lombards....
in the Po plain, and was defended by a line of walls which however did not enclose most of the ancient ruined Roman city. In 728, the city was captured by the Lombard

Lombards

The Lombards were a Germanic peoples originally from Northern Europe who settled in the valley of the Danube and from there invaded Byzantine Italian peninsula in 568 under the leadership of Alboin....
king Liutprand

Liutprand, King of the Lombards

Liutprand was the king of the Lombards from 712 to 744 and is chiefly remembered for his Donation of Sutri, in 728, and his long reign, which brought him into a series of conflicts, mostly successful, with most of Italy....
, becoming part of the Lombard Kingdom. The Germanic conquerors formed a district called "addizione longobarda" near the complex of S. Stefano, where Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
stayed in 786.

In the 11th century, Bologna began to grow again as a free commune

Medieval commune

Communes in Europe during the Middle Ages were sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup....
, joining the Lombard League

Lombard League

The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Milan, Piacenza, Cremona, Mantua, Crema, Italy, Bergamo, Brescia, Bologna, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Venice, Verona, Lodi, Italy, and Parma, and even some lords, such as the Marquis Malaspina and E...
against Frederick Barbarossa in 1164. In 1088, the Studio

University of Bologna

The University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in the world:, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation....
was founded, now the oldest university in Europe, which could boast notable scholars of the Middle Ages like Irnerius

Irnerius

Irnerius , sometimes referred to as lucerna juris , was an Italy jurist, and founder of the School of Glossators.He taught the newly recovered Roman lawcode of Justinian I, the Corpus Juris Civilis, among the liberal arts at the University of Bologna, his native city....
, and, among its students, Dante

Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri , commonly known as Dante Alighieri, was a Florence poet of the Middle Ages. His Magnum opus, the Divine Comedy , is often considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature....
, Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italy author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanism and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular....
and Petrarca. In the twelfth century, the expanding city needed a new line of walls, and another was completed in the fourteenth century.

In 1256, Bologna promulgated the Legge del Paradiso ("Paradise Law"), which abolished feudal serfdom and freed the slaves, using public money. At that time the city centre was full of towers (perhaps 180), built by the leading families, notable public edifices, churches, and abbeys. In the 1270s Bolognese politics was dominated by the lettered Luchetto Gattilusio

Luchetto Gattilusio

Luchetto Gattilusio was a Republic of Genoa statesman, diplomat, and man of letters. As a Guelphs and Ghibellines he played an important role in wider Lombardy politics and as a troubadour in the Occitan language he composed three poetic descriptions of his time....
who served as podestà

Podestà

Podest? is the name given to certain high officials in many Italy cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor....
. Like most Italian cities of that age, Bologna was torn by internal struggles related to the Guelph and Ghibelline factions

Guelphs and Ghibellines

The Guelphs and Ghibellines were Political factions supporting, respectively, the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor in central and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries....
, which led to the expulsion of the Ghibelline family of the Lambertazzi in 1274.

In 1294, Bologna was perhaps the fifth or sixth largest city in Europe, after Cordoba

Córdoba, Spain

viktor chucchuc he sucsuck my dick||-||-|File:Cordoba Water Wheel.jpg|}Cordova is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the C?rdoba ....
, Paris

Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
, Florence

Florence

Florence is the Capital city of the Italy Regions of Italy of Tuscany and of the provinces of Italy Province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 364,779 ....
, and, probably, Milan

Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, with 60,000 to 70,000 inhabitants. After being crushed in the Battle of Zappolino

Battle of Zappolino

The Battle of Zappolino was fought in 1325 between the Italian towns of Bologna and Modena. The Modenese were victorious. The location is today a frazione of the municipality of Castello di Serravalle, Emilia-Romagna....
by the Modenese

Modena

Modena is a city and a comune on the south side of the Padan Plain, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and...
in 1325, Bologna began to decay and asked the protection of the Pope

Church of Rome

Church of Rome may refer to:*The Holy See, the Diocese of Rome to which the Pope is bishop*Roman Catholic Church, in post Protestant Reformation polemics...
at the beginning of the fourteenth century. In 1348, during the Black Plague, about 30,000 inhabitants died.

After the happy years of the rule of Taddeo Pepoli (1337-1347), Bologna fell to the Visconti of Milan

Milan

Papal States

The Papal States, State of the Church or Pontifical States were one of the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia ....
orbit with Cardinal Gil de Albornoz in 1360. The following years saw an alternation of Republican governments like that of 1377, which was responsible for the building of the Basilica di San Petronio and the Loggia dei Mercanti, and Papal or Visconti restorations, while the city's families engaged in continual internecine fighting. In the middle of the fifteenth century, the Bentivoglio

Bentivoglio

Bentivoglio was an Italy family of princely rank, long supreme in Bologna and responsible for giving the city its political autonomy during the Renaissance....
family gained the rule of Bologna, reigning with Sante

Sante Bentivoglio

Sante I Bentivoglio was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1445 to 1462.Alleged to be a natural son of Ercole Bentivoglio, Sante was a cousin of Annibale I Bentivoglio....
(1445-1462) and Giovanni II

Giovanni II Bentivoglio

Giovanni II Bentivoglio was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1463 until 1506. He had no formal position, but held power as the city's "first citizen." The Bentivoglio ruled over Bologna from 1443, and repeatedly attempted to consolidate their hold of the Signoria of the city....
(1462-1506). This period was a flourishing one for the city, with the presence of notable architects and painters who made Bologna a true city of art. During the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
, Bologna was the only Italian city that allowed women to excel in any profession. Women there had much more freedom than in other Italian cities; some even had the opportunity to earn a degree at the university.

Giovanni's reign ended in 1506 when the Papal troops of Julius II

Pope Julius II

Pope Julius II , nicknamed Il Papa Terribile , was born Giuliano della Rovere. He was Pope from 1503 to 1513. His reign was marked by an aggressive foreign policy, ambitious building projects, and patronage for the arts....
besiege

Siege

A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by Battle of attrition and/or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit." A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that cannot be easily taken by a coup de main and refuses to surrender ....
d Bologna and sacked the artistic treasures of his palace. From that point on, until the eighteenth century, Bologna was part of the Papal States, ruled by a cardinal legato and by a Senate which every two months elected a gonfaloniere (judge), assisted by eight elder consuls. In 1530, in front of Saint Petronio Church, Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII.

The city's prosperity continued, although a plague at the end of the sixteenth century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, and another in 1630 to 47,000. The population later recovered to a stable 60,000-65,000. In 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the seat of the University. The period of Papal rule saw the construction of many churches and other religious establishments, and the renovation of older ones. Bologna had ninety-six convents, more than any other Italian city. Artists working in this age in Bologna established the Bolognese School

Bolognese School (painting)

The Bolognese School or the School of Bologna of painting flourished in Bologna, the capital of Emilia Romagna, between the 16th and 17th centuries in Italy, and rivalled Florence and Rome as the center of painting....
that includes Annibale Carracci

Annibale Carracci

Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque Painting....
, Domenichino, Guercino and others of European fame.

With the rise of Napoleon, Bologna became the capital of the Repubblica Cispadana and, later, the second most important centre after Milan

Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
of the Repubblica Cisalpina and the Italian Kingdom. After the fall of Napoleon, Bologna suffered the Papal restoration, rebelling in 1831 and again 1849, when it temporarily expelled the Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
n garrisons which commanded the city until 1860. After a visit by Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was Pope from June 16, 1846 until his death. His was the longest reign in Church history, lasting 32 years....
in 1857, the city voted for annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont, was the name given to the possessions of the House of Savoy in 1720, when the island of Sardinia was awarded by the Treaty of London to Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia to compensate him for the loss of Sicily to Austrian Empire....
on June 12 1859, becoming part of the united Italy.

In the new political situation, Bologna gained importance for its cultural role and became an important commercial, industrial, and communications hub; its population began to grow again and at the beginning of the twentieth century the old walls were destroyed (except for a few remaining sections) in order to build new houses for the population.

During World War II, Bologna was a key transportation hub for the Germans. Its capture by the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
's 34th Infantry Division on April 21 1945 led to the liberation of the Po Valley and the collapse of German defenses in northern Italy.

On August 2 1980, a massive bomb killed 86 people in the central train station in the city (see Bologna massacre

Bologna massacre

Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870

Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870, also known in the Italian media as the Ustica Massacre , was an Italian flight that suffered an in-flight explosion while in route from Bologna, Italy to Palermo, Italy....
had crashed under suspicious circumstances.

Main sights

For a complete list, see Buildings and structures in Bologna

Until the early nineteenth century, when a large-scale urban reconstruction project was undertaken, Bologna remained one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe; to this day it remains unique in its historic value. Despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in 1944, Bologna's historic centre, Europe's second largest (after Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
), contains a wealth of important Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque
Baroque

In the the arts, the Baroque was a Western cultural Epoch , starting roughly at the beginning of the 17th century in Rome, Italy. It was exemplified by drama and grandeur in Baroque sculpture, Baroque painting, literature, Baroque dance, and Baroque music....
artistic monuments.

Bologna developed along the Via Emilia as an Etruscan and later Roman colony; the Via Emilia still runs straight through the city under the changing names of Strada Maggiore, Rizzoli, Ugo Bassi, and San Felice. Due to its Roman heritage, the central streets of Bologna, today largely pedestrianized, follow the grid pattern of the Roman settlement.

The original Roman ramparts were supplanted by a high medieval system of fortifications, remains of which are still visible, and finally by a third and final set of ramparts built in the thirteenth century, of which numerous sections survive. Over twenty medieval defensive towers, some of them leaning precariously, remain from the over two hundred that were constructed in the era preceding the security guaranteed by unified civic government. For a complete treatment, see Towers of Bologna
Towers of Bologna

The Towers of Bologna are a group of medieval structures in Bologna, Italy. The two most prominent ones, also called the Two Towers, are the landmark of the city....
.

Bologna is home to numerous important churches. An incomplete list includes:
the basilica of San Petronio
San Petronio Basilica

The Basilica of San Petronio is the main church of Bologna, the old citt? d'arte in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy; however, it is not the metropolitan cathedral of the city, which is the Saint Peter ....
, one of the biggest in the world (during construction it was intended to be larger than St. Peter's in Rome, but Pope Pius IV ordered that the arms of the church be truncated, leaving it without transepts).
San Pietro Cathedral
Santo Stefano
Santo Stefano (Bologna)

Santo Stefano is a complex of religious edifices in the city of Bologna, Italy. Located in the eponymous square, it is locally known as Sette Chiese ....
basilica and sanctuary
San Domenico
Basilica of San Domenico

The Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna, Italy. The remains of Saint Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers , are buried inside the exquisite shrine Arca di San Domenico, made by Nicola Pisano and his workshop, Arnolfo di Cambio and with later additions by Niccol? dell'Arca and the young Michelangelo....
basilica and sanctuary
San Francesco
San Francesco (Bologna)

San Francesco is a church in Bologna, northern Italy.It was begun in 1236 by Marco da Brescia and his brother Giovanni, a Franciscan monk.Despite its Romanesque architecture fa?ade, it is one of the best example of French Gothic style in Italy....
basilica
Santa Maria dei Servi basilica
San Giacomo Maggiore basilica
Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca
Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, Bologna

The Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca is a basilica church in Bologna, central Italy, sited atop Colle or Monte della Guardia, in a forested hill some 300 meters above the plain, just south-west of the historical center of the city....
(basilica) on Colle della Guardia
San Michele in Bosco
San Paolo the Great, basilica

The cityscape is further enriched by elegant and extensive arcades (or porticos), for which the city is famous. In total, there are some 38 kilometres of arcades
Arcade (architecture)

An arcade is a passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or Vault supported by columns. In a Gothic architecture cathedral the arcade is the lowest part of the wall of the nave, supporting the triforium and the clerestory....
in the city's historical center (over 45 km in the city proper), which make it possible to walk for long distances sheltered from rain, snow, or hot summer sun. The Portico of San Luca, the longest in the world (3.5 km, 666 arcades) connects the Porta Saragozza (one of the twelve gates of the ancient walls built in the Middle Ages, which circled a 7.5 km part of the city) with the San Luca Sanctuary, on Colle della Guardia, over the city (289 m.).

The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca
Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, Bologna

The Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca is a basilica church in Bologna, central Italy, sited atop Colle or Monte della Guardia, in a forested hill some 300 meters above the plain, just south-west of the historical center of the city....
is located just outside the main city on the Colle della Guardia (Guard Hill). Built in the eleventh century, it was much enlarged in the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. The interior contains works of several masters, but probably the most important is the painting of the Madonna with Child attributed to Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist

Luke the Evangelist was an early Christianity leader who is said by tradition to be the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles....
. The best way to visit this Sanctuary is on foot; you can walk under the portico mentioned above.

Culture
Over the centuries, Bologna has acquired many nicknames: "the learned one" (la dotta) is a reference to its famous university; "the fat one" (la grassa) refers to its cuisine.

"The red one" (la rossa) originally refers to the colour of the roofs in the historic centre, but this nickname is also connected to the political situation in the city, started after World War II: until the election of a centre-right mayor in 1999, the city was renowned as a bastion of socialism
Socialism

Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating public or state ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterized by equality for all individuals, with a fair or Egalitarianism method of compensation....
and communism
Communism

Communism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarianism, classlessness, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general....
. The centre-left regained power again in the 2004 mayoral elections, with the election of Sergio Cofferati
Sergio Cofferati

Sergio Cofferati is an Italy politician, and mayor of Bologna as of 2004 for the Democrats of the Left.Initially an employee for the Milan's Pirelli and a member of CGIL, Cofferati rose up in the major Italian trade union, becoming leader of Filcea in 1988, and leader of the CGIL itself in 1990, succeeding Bruno Trentin....
. It was one of the first European towns to experiment with the concept of free public transport.

The city of Bologna was appointed a UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
City of Music on 29 May 2006. According to UNESCO, "As the first Italian city to be appointed to the Network, Bologna has demonstrated a rich musical tradition that is continuing to evolve as a vibrant factor of contemporary life and creation. It has also shown a strong commitment to promoting music as an important vehicle for inclusion in the fight against racism and in an effort to encourage economic and social development. Fostering a wide range of genres from classical to electronic, jazz, folk and opera, Bologna offers its citizens a musical vitality that deeply infiltrates the city’s professional, academic, social and cultural facets."

Economy

Bologna is a very important railway and motorway hub in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. The economy of Bologna is based on an active industrial sector which, traditionally strong in the transformation of agricultural products and in animal husbandry, also includes the footwear, textile, engineering, chemical printing and publishing industries, as well as on flourishing commercial activity. The city's Fiera District (exhibition area) is one of the largest in Europe, with important yearly international expos of the automobile sector (Bologna Motor Show), ceramics for the building industry (International Exhibition of Ceramic Tiles and Bathroom Furnishings) and food industry. Bologna and its metropolitan area have several important industries in the fields of mechanics, food, tobacco and electronics, important retail and wholesale trade (the "Centergross" in the northern part of its metropolitan area (built in 1973), and one of the first Italian vegetable and fruit markets.

Transport
Bologna is home to Guglielmo Marconi International Airport, expanded in 2004 by extending the runway to accommodate larger aircraft. It is the tenth busiest Italian airport for passenger traffic (over than 4 million/year in 2007) and is an intercontinental gateway.

Bologna Central Station
Bologna Central Station

Bologna Centrale is a railways station in Bologna, Italy. It is at the southern end of the Milan?Bologna high-speed railway line, which opened on 13 December 2008 and the northern end of the Bologna?Florence railway line, opened on 22 April 1934....
is considered the most important train hub in Italy thanks to the city's strategic location. Also, its goods-station (San Donato) with its 33 railway tracks, is the largest in Italy in size and traffic.

Bologna's station holds a memory in Italian public consciousness of the terrorist bomb attack that killed 85 victims in August 1980. The attack is also known in Italy as the Strage di Bologna

Bologna massacre

The Bologna massacre was a terrorism bombing at the Bologna Central Station of Bologna, Italy on the morning of August 2, 1980, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 200....
("Bologna massacre").

Demographics
In 2007, there were 372,256 people residing in Bologna (in which 1 million live in the greater Bologna area), located in the province of Bologna, Emilia Romagna, of whom 46.7% were male and 53.3% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 12.86 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 27.02 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Bologna resident is 51 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Bologna grew by 0.0 percent, while Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The current birth rate of Bologna is 8.07 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.

As of 2006, 91.88% of the population was Italian
Italian people

The Italian people are a Southern European ethnic group located primarily in Italy and, by virtue of a wide-ranging Italian diaspora, throughout Western Europe, the Americas and Australia....
. The largest immigrant group came from other Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
an countries (mostly from Romania
Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
and Albania
Albania

Albania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a country in Balkans. It is bordered by Greece to the south-east, Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, and the Republic of Macedonia to the east....
): 2.82%, East Asia
East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either Geography or cultural terms. Geography and geopolitically, it covers about 12,000,000 km?, or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia as Central Asia....
(mostly Filipino
Filipino people

Filipino people refers to an ethnic group in the Philippines, a country in Southeast Asia. The name Filipino was derived from Las Islas Filipinas , the Spanish language name given to the Philippines in the 16th century, by Spanish explorer Ruy L?pez de Villalobos....
): 1.50%, and the South Asia
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
(mostly from Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
): 1.39%.

University
The University of Bologna
University of Bologna

The University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating degree-granting university in the world:, the word 'university' being first used by this institution at its foundation....
, founded in 1088, is the oldest existing university in Europe, and was an important centre of European intellectual life during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, attracting scholars from throughout Christendom
Christendom

Christendom usually refers to Christianity as a territorial phenomenon. It can also refer to the part of the world in which Christianity prevails....
. A unique heritage of medieval art, exemplified by the illuminated manuscripts and jurists' tombs produced in the city from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, provides a cultural backdrop to the renown of the medieval institution. The Studium, as it was originally known, began as a loosely organized teaching system with each master collecting fees from students on an individual basis. The location of the early University was thus spread throughout the city, with various colleges being founded to support students of a specific nationality.

In the Napoleonic era, the headquarters of the university were moved to their present location on Via Zamboni (formerly Via San Donato), in the north-eastern sector of the city centre. Today, the University's 23 faculties, 68 departments, and 93 libraries are spread across the city and include four subsidiary campuses in nearby Cesena
Cesena

Cesena is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of province of Forl?-Cesena....
, Forlì
Forlì

Forl? is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, famed as the birthplace of the great painter Melozzo da Forl?, of the Renaissance humanism historian Flavio Biondo, of the famous physicians Geronimo Mercuriali and Giovanni Battista Morgagni....
, Ravenna
Ravenna

Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna once served as the seat of the Western Roman Empire and later the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna....
, and Rimini
Rimini

Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, near the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa ....
. Noteworthy students present at the university in centuries past included Dante
Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri , commonly known as Dante Alighieri, was a Florence poet of the Middle Ages. His Magnum opus, the Divine Comedy , is often considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature....
, Petrarch
Petrarch

Francesco Petrarca , known in English language as Petrarch, was an Italy scholar, poet and one of the earliest Renaissance humanism. Petrarch is often popularly called the "Father of Humanism"....
, Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to his death. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion....
, Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V

Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455....
, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically-based heliocentrism cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
. Laura Bassi
Laura Bassi

Laura Maria Caterina Bassi was an Italian scientist, the first woman to officially teach at a college in Europe....
, appointed in 1732, became the first woman to officially teach at a college in Europe. In more recent history, Luigi Galvani
Luigi Galvani

Luigi Galvani was an Italy physician and physicist who lived and died in Bologna. In 1771, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs twitched when struck by a spark....
, the discoverer of biological electricity, and Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi

Marchese Guglielmo Marconi was an Italy inventor, best known for his development of a radiotelegraph system, which served as the foundation for the establishment of numerous affiliated companies worldwide....
, the pioneer of radio technology, also worked at the University. The University of Bologna remains one of the most respected and dynamic post-secondary educational institutions in Italy. To this day, Bologna is still very much a university town, and the city's population swells from 400,000 to over 500,000 whenever classes are in session. This community includes a great number of Erasmus, Socrates, and overseas students.

The university's botanical garden
Botanical garden

Botanical gardens grow a wide variety of plants primarily to categorize and document for scientific purposes. Botanists and horticulturalists tend the flora and maintain the garden's library and herbarium of dried and documented plant material....
, the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna
Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna

The Orto Botanico dell'Universit? di Bologna, also known as the Orto Botanico di Bologna, is a botanical garden located operated by the University of Bologna....
, was established in 1568; it is the fourth-oldest in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
.

Cuisine
of Bologna.]] Bologna is renowned for its culinary tradition. It has given its name to the well-known Bolognese sauce
Bolognese sauce

Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce for pasta originating in Bologna, Italy. Bolognese sauce is sometimes taken to be a tomato sauce but authentic recipes have only a small amount of tomato....
, a meat based pasta sauce called in Italy ragù

Ragú

Rag? is a brand name, marketed version of an Italian cusine-style sauce known as rag?. The Rag? brand was first sold in 1937 - and currently one of many consumer brands in the portfolio of Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever....
alla bolognese but in the city itself just ragù as in Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle // is the classic pasta of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Individually, they are long, flat ribbons, similar in shape to fettuccine, but typically about 0.65cm to 1cm wide....
al ragù.

Situated in the fertile Po River Valley, the rich local cuisine depends heavily on meats and cheese
Cheese

Cheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cattle, Water Buffalo, goats, or sheep's milk. It is produced by Coagulation of the milk protein casein....
s. As in all of Emilia-Romagna, the production of cured pork
Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig . The word, pork, is often meant to denote specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but it can be used as an all-inclusive term, to include cured, smoked, or processed meats It is one of the most-commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry dating back...
meats such as prosciutto
Prosciutto

Prosciutto is the Italian language word for ham . In English language the word is almost always used for an aged, dry-Curing , spiced Italian ham that is usually sliced thin and served uncooked....
, mortadella
Mortadella

Mortadella pronounced /morta'dl:a/ is a large Italy sausage or cold cut made of finely hashed/ground heat-cured pork sausage which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat ....
and salame is an important part of the local food industry. Well-regarded nearby vineyards include Pignoletto dei Colli Bolognesi, Lambrusco di Modena and Sangiovese di Romagna.

Tagliatelle
Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle // is the classic pasta of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Individually, they are long, flat ribbons, similar in shape to fettuccine, but typically about 0.65cm to 1cm wide....
al ragù, lasagne, tortellini
Tortellini

Tortellini is a variety of ring-shaped pasta. They are typically stuffed with a mix of meat . Originally from the Italy region of Emilia , they are usually served in broth, with cream, or sometimes with a rag?....
served in broth and mortadella
Mortadella

Mortadella pronounced /morta'dl:a/ is a large Italy sausage or cold cut made of finely hashed/ground heat-cured pork sausage which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat ....
, the original Bologna sausage, are among the local specialties.

Sport
Another nickname for Bologna is the Basket City, referring to Bologna's obsession with basketball
Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a basketball through a 10 feet high hoop under organized rules....
, which is somewhat unusual in football
Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world....
-dominated Italy. The local derby
Local derby

In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two rivals, particularly in association football....
between the city's two principal basketball clubs, Fortitudo
Fortitudo Bologna

Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna is a prominent Serie A professional basketball club that is based in Bologna. It began the current 2008-09 season as the only club in the top Italian League that did not include a sponsor's name , but in November 2008 signed a sponsorship deal with the American financial services company GMAC....
and Virtus
Virtus Bologna

Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna is a prominent Serie A professional basketball club that is based in Bologna. Virtus returned to Italy's Serie A for the Serie A season after two years in the second division....
(often called after the clubs' principal sponsors), is intense, as you can see and . Football
Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world....
is still a highly popular sport in Bologna; the main local club is Bologna F.C. 1909
Bologna F.C. 1909

Bologna Football Club 1909 is an Italy football Italian Football League Teams based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. They were formed in 1909 and continue on today....
, which is currently in Serie A
Serie A

Serie A is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the Italian football league system. It is widely regarded as one of the elite leagues of the footballing world....
.

Famous natives of Bologna and environs

Maria Gaetana Agnesi
Maria Gaetana Agnesi

Maria Gaetana Agnesi was an Italian linguist, mathematician, and philosopher. Agnesi is credited with writing the first book discussing both differential and integral calculus....
(mathematician, humanitarian, and linguist, 1718-1799)
Pupi Avati
Pupi Avati

Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati , is an Italy film director, Film producer and screenwriter....
(director, born 1938)
Adriano Banchieri
Adriano Banchieri

Adriano Banchieri was an Italy composer, music theory, organ ist and poet of the late Renaissance music and early Baroque music eras. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna....
(composer, 1568 – 1634)
Agostino Barelli
Agostino Barelli

Agostino Barelli was an Italian architect of the baroque.Barelli was invited to Munich by Henriette Adelaide of Savoy to construct the Theatinerkirche in 1664....
(architect, 1627 - 1687)
Laura Bassi
Laura Bassi

Laura Maria Caterina Bassi was an Italian scientist, the first woman to officially teach at a college in Europe....
(scientist, first female appointed to university chair in Europe, 1711 – 1788)
Ugo Bassi
Ugo Bassi

Ugo Bassi was an Italy patriot....
(Italian nationalist hero, executed for role in 1848 uprisings, 1800 - 1849)
Stefano Benni
Stefano Benni

Stefano Benni is an Italian satire writer, poet and journalism. His books have been translated into around 20 foreign languages and scored notable commercial success....
(writer, born 1947)
Benedict XIV (Prospero Lambertini, Pope 1740-58)
Giovanni II Bentivoglio
Giovanni II Bentivoglio

Giovanni II Bentivoglio was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1463 until 1506. He had no formal position, but held power as the city's "first citizen." The Bentivoglio ruled over Bologna from 1443, and repeatedly attempted to consolidate their hold of the Signoria of the city....
(1443-1508)
Giordano Berti
Giordano Berti

Giordano Berti is an Italian writer and teacher of History of Arts. Born in Bologna, he grew up in Monghidoro, a town of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines....
(writer, born 1959)
Rossano Brazzi
Rossano Brazzi

Rossano Brazzi was an Italian actor.Brazzi was born in Bologna and attended San Marco University, in Florence, Italy, a city in which he lived since age 4....
(actor, 1916-1994)
Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci

Annibale Carracci was an Italian Baroque Painting....
(painter, 1560 – 1609)
Lodovico Carracci (painter, 1555 – 1619)
Agostino Carracci
Agostino Carracci

Agostino Carracci was an Italy Painting and printmaker. He was the brother of the more famous Annibale Carracci and cousin of Lodovico Carracci....
(painter, 1557 – 1602)
Pierluigi Collina
Pierluigi Collina

Pierluigi Collina is an Italy former Association football referee . He is regarded as the best referee of all time.He is still involved in football as non-paid consultant to the Italian Football Referees Association , and is a member of the UEFA Referees Committee....
(football referee, born 1960)
Alessandro Cortini
Alessandro Cortini

Alessandro Cortini is an Italy musician best known for touring with the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 2005 to 2008 as the keyboardist....
(Musician, born 1976)
Scipione del Ferro
Scipione del Ferro

Scipione del Ferro was an Italy mathematics who first discovered a method to solve the cubic equation....
(mathematician, solved the cubic equation, 1465 – 1526)
Lucio Dalla
Lucio Dalla

Lucio Dalla is a popular Italy singer-songwriter and musician. He also plays clarinet and keyboards.He is the composer of Caruso , which has been covered by numerous international artists....
(singer-songwriter, born 1943)
Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri, painter, 1581 - 1641)
Gianfranco Fini
Gianfranco Fini

Gianfranco Fini is an Italy politician, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and current leader of National Alliance , former Deputy Prime Minister and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Silvio Berlusconi, from 2001 to 2006....
(politician, born 1952)
Luigi Galvani
Luigi Galvani

Luigi Galvani was an Italy physician and physicist who lived and died in Bologna. In 1771, he discovered that the muscles of dead frogs twitched when struck by a spark....
(scientist, discoverer of bioelectricity, 1737 – 1798)
Alessandro Gamberini
Alessandro Gamberini

Alessandro Gamberini is an Italians Association football who plays for Serie A club ACF Fiorentina....
, Italian footballer
Serena Grandi
Serena Grandi

Serena Grandi is an Italy actress....
(actress, born 1958)
Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni, Pope 1572-85, instituted Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas....
)
Gregory XV (Alessandro Ludovisi, Pope 1621-3)
Il Guercino (Giovanni Barbieri, painter, 1591 - 1666)
Irnerius
Irnerius

Irnerius , sometimes referred to as lucerna juris , was an Italy jurist, and founder of the School of Glossators.He taught the newly recovered Roman lawcode of Justinian I, the Corpus Juris Civilis, among the liberal arts at the University of Bologna, his native city....
(jurist, c.1050 - at least 1125)
Lucius II (Gherardo Caccianemici dell'Orso, Pope 1144-5)
Marcello Malpighi
Marcello Malpighi

Marcello Malpighi was an Italy doctor, who gave his name to several physiological features....
(scientist, founder of microscopic anatomy and the first histologist, 1628-1694)
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi

Marchese Guglielmo Marconi was an Italy inventor, best known for his development of a radiotelegraph system, which served as the foundation for the establishment of numerous affiliated companies worldwide....
(engineer, pioneer of wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy

The term wireless telegraphy is a historic term used today as applied to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices. Wireless telegraphy originated as a term to describe electrical signaling without the electric wires to connect the end points....
, Nobel prize
Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
for Physics, 1874 - 1937)
Giuseppe Mezzofanti (cardinal and linguist, 1774 - 1839)
Marco Minghetti
Marco Minghetti

Marco Minghetti was an Italian economist and statesman....
(economist and statesman, 1818 - 1886)
Giorgio Morandi
Giorgio Morandi

Giorgio Morandi was an Italy Painting who specialized in still life....
(painter, 1890 - 1964)
Gianni Morandi
Gianni Morandi

Gianni Morandi is an Italy pop singer and entertainer,Born Gian Luigi Morandi in Monghidoro, Emilia-Romagna, he became one of the best-known show-business personalities in Italy of the past four decades....
(singer, born 1944)

Edgardo Mortara
Edgardo Mortara

Edgardo Mortara was a Jews boy who became the center of an international controversy when he was seized from his Jewish parents by authorities of the Papal States and taken to be raised as a Catholic....
( Catholic priest that was the subject of the Mortara Case during the Risorgimento, 1851 - 1940 )
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italy poet, intellectual, film director, and writer. Pasolini distinguished himself as a journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, Painting and political figure....
(writer, poet, director, 1922 - 1975)
Roberto Regazzi
Roberto Regazzi

Roberto Regazzi Notable contemporary violin maker and scholar who received his initiation to the craft from Otello Bignami, Bologna, in the late 1970s....
(luthier, born 1956)
Guido Reni
Guido Reni

Guido Reni was a prominent Italy Painting of high-Baroque style....
(painter, 1575 - 1642)
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi

Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and Conducting. He is best known for his orchestral Roman trilogy: Fontane di Roma - "Fountains of Rome"; Pini di Roma - "Pines of Rome"; and Feste Romane - "Roman Festivals"....
(composer, 1879 - 1936)
Augusto Righi (physicist, authority on electromagnetism
Electromagnetism

Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field, a field which exerts a force on Elementary particles with the property of electric charge and which is reciprocally affected by the presence and motion of such particles....
, 1850 - 1920)
Carlo Ruini
Carlo Ruini

Carlo Ruini was one of the most noted anatomy of the horse of the 16th century.He was born into a wealthy family in Bologna, Italy and was privately educated in the style of most upper class children....
(equine anatomist, 1530-1598)
Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani

Elisabetta Sirani was an Italy painter whose father was the painter Giovanni Andrea Sirani of the Bolognese School , and the principal assistant of Guido Reni....
(painter, 1638-1665)
Alberto Tomba
Alberto Tomba

Alberto Tomba is a retired champion Alpine skiing from Italy. He was the dominant technical skier in the late 1980s and 1990s. Tomba won three Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics gold medals, two FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, and nine Alpine Skiing World Cup season titles; four in slalom, four in giant slalom, and one overall title....
(skier, born 1966)
Ondina Valla (first Italian woman Olympic gold medalist, 1916 - 2006)
Mariele Ventre
Mariele Ventre

Maria Rachele Ventre was an Italy musician and singer, the founder and director of Italian children's choir Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano....
(teacher and educator, founder of Piccolo Coro dell' Antoniano
Piccolo Coro dell' Antoniano

The Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano is an Italy children's choir of Bologna created by Mariele Ventre in 1963 in Institute of Antoniano to sing together with little kids at the Zecchino d'Oro festival, opened only five years earlier....
choir, 1939 - 1995)
Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri

Christian Vieri is an Italy Association football striker, who plays for Atalanta B.C.....
(footballer, born 1973)
Alex Zanardi
Alex Zanardi

Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi is an italian people racing driver. He won two Champ Car championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver....
(race car driver, born 1966)

In addition to the above natives, the following became associated with Bologna by long-term residence:
Giosuè Carducci
Giosuè Carducci

Giosu? Carducci was an Italian poet, oft reckoned as one of Italy's greatest, and a noted teacher. He was very influential and was regarded as the unofficial national poet of modern Italy....
(poet and academic, Nobel Prize for Literature, born near Lucca, Tuscany, 1835 - 1907)
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco is an Italy medievalist, Semiotics, philosopher, Literary criticism and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory....
(writer and academic, born in Alessandria, Piedmont, 1932)
Giovanni Pascoli
Giovanni Pascoli

Giovanni Pascoli was an Italy poet and classical scholar....
(poet and academic, born in San Mauro di Romagna, 1855 - 1912)
St. Petronius (San Petronio, bishop of Bologna and patron saint of the city, birthplace unknown, died c. 450 AD)
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi

is an Politics of Italy and statesman. He served as President of the Council of Ministers of Italy of Italy twice, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008....
(economist, politician, born in Scandiano, Reggio Emilia, 1939)
Gioachino Rossini (opera composer, born in Pesaro, 1792 - 1868)
Giuseppe Torelli
Giuseppe Torelli

Giuseppe Torelli was an Italian violist, violinist, teacher, and composer, who ranks with Arcangelo Corelli among the developers of the Baroque music concerto and concerto grosso....
(composer, born in Verona, 1658 - 1709)

Famous companies

Ducati Motor Holding
Ducati Motor Holding

Ducati Motor Holding S.A. is a privately owned Italy motorcycle manufacturer located in Bologna, Italy. Ducati has achieved prominence in the motorcycle industry and in motorcycle racing....
(motorcycles)
Malaguti
Malaguti

Malaguti is a family-owned Italy scooter and motorcycle company based in San Lazzaro di Savena, founded by Antonino Malaguti in 1930....
(motorcycles)
Lamborghini
Lamborghini

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini, is an Italy manufacturer of sports cars, based in the small Italian village of Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna....
(cars)
Maserati
Maserati

Maserati is an Italy manufacturer of automobile racing and sports cars, established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident....
(cars)
Coop
Coop (Italy)

Coop is an Italy cooperative which operates the largest supermarket chain in Italy.The first cooperative shop was established in Turin in 1854....
(supermarket
Supermarket

A supermarket is a self-service Retailing#Retail types offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments....
chain)

Twin cities

Coventry
Coventry

Coventry is a City status in the United Kingdom and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. With a population of 303,475 at the United Kingdom Census 2001 , Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, since 1984
Kharkiv
Kharkiv

Kharkiv , or Kharkov is the second largest city in Ukraine.It was the first capital of Soviet Ukraine, now the Capital of the Kharkiv Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Kharkiv Oblast within the oblast....
, Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
, since 1966
La Plata
La Plata

La Plata is the capital city of the Provinces of Argentina of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, as well as of the departments of Argentina of La Plata Partido....
, Argentina
Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
, since 1988
Leipzig
Leipzig

Leipzig is, with a population of over 511,252, the largest city in the States of Germany of Saxony, Germany....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, since 1962
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri, located near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River. St....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, since 1987
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States United States, near the confluence of the Willamette River and Columbia River rivers in the state of Oregon....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, since 2003
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , Thessalonica, or Salonica is the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country in Greece and the capital of Macedonia , the nation's largest Regions of Greece....
, Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, since 1981
San Carlos
San Carlos, Río San Juan

San Carlos is the capital city of the municipality of San Carlos and of the R?o San Juan Departments of Nicaragua of Nicaragua. The city proper has a population of roughly 12,174, while the city and surrounding communities contain 37,461 as of 2005....
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua

Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democracy republic. It is the largest state in Central America with an area of 130,000 km2, about the size of the state of New York....
, since 1988
Saint-Louis, Senegal
Saint-Louis, Senegal

Saint-Louis, or Ndar as it is called in Wolof language, is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and 320 km north of Senegal's Capital City Dakar, it has a population officially estimated at 176,000 in 2005....
, since 1991
Toulouse
Toulouse

Toulouse is a commune of France in southwest France on the banks of the Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea....
, France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, since 1981
Tuzla
Tuzla

Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 131,000 inhabitants. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkans peninsula of South Eastern Europe with an area of 51,129 square kilometres . Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is Landlocked#Nearly landlocked, except for 26 kilometres of the Adriatic Sea coas...
, since 1994
Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)

Valencia is the capital of the Spanish Valencia and its Valencia . It is the third largest city in Spain and the 21st largest in the European Union....
, Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, since 1976
Zagreb
Zagreb

Zagreb is the Capital and the largest city of Croatia. Zagreb is the Culture of Croatia, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Cinema of Croatia, Economy of Croatia and Government of Croatia center of the Croatia....
, Croatia
Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, since 1963
Prague
Prague

Prague is the Capital and World's largest cities of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavn? mesto Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City....
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic

The Czech Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east....

Trivia

John Grisham
John Grisham

John Ray Grisham is an United States ex-politician, lawyer and novelist is best known for his works of modern legal drama. As of 2008, his books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide....
's novel, The Broker
The Broker

The Broker is a suspense novel written by American author John Grisham published in the United States on January 11 2005. The novel follows the story of Joel Backman, a newly-pardoned prisoner who had tried to broker a deal to give the world's most powerful satellite surveillance system to the highest bidder....
, takes place largely in the city of Bologna with extensive reference to many of its sights, history, people and cuisine.
The book Catch-22
Catch-22

Catch-22 is a Satire, Historical fiction novel by the United States author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961. The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1943 onwards, is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century....
features a World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
-era air siege of the city.

See also

Greater Bologna
Greater Bologna

Greater Bologna is a term for the urban area around the city of Bologna, Italy, composed of the cities of Anzola dell'Emilia, Calderara di Reno, Casalecchio di Reno, Castel Maggiore, Castenaso, Granarolo dell'Emilia, Pianoro, San Lazzaro di Savena, Sasso Marconi and Zola Predosa....
Province of Bologna
Province of Bologna

The Province of Bologna is a Provinces of Italy in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bologna.It has an area of 3,702 km?, and a total population of 944,297 ....
Bologna Central Station
Bologna Central Station

Bologna Centrale is a railways station in Bologna, Italy. It is at the southern end of the Milan?Bologna high-speed railway line, which opened on 13 December 2008 and the northern end of the Bologna?Florence railway line, opened on 22 April 1934....
Bologna declaration
Bologna declaration

The Bologna declaration is the main guiding document of the Bologna process. It was adopted by ministers of education of 29 European countries at their meeting in Bologna in 1999....
Bologna process
Bologna process

The purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention....
The Strage di Bologna terrorist attack

Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer

Boulogne-sur-Mer is a city in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France of the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais.The population of the city was 44,859 in the 1999 census, whereas that of the whole metropolitan area was 135,116....
(also previously known as Bononia)
Bentivoglio
Bentivoglio

Bentivoglio was an Italy family of princely rank, long supreme in Bologna and responsible for giving the city its political autonomy during the Renaissance....

Bologna

History

Main sights

Culture

Economy

Transport

Demographics

University

Cuisine

Sport

Famous natives of Bologna and environs

Famous companies

Twin cities

Trivia

See also

External links