Bologna is one of Italy’s most underrated cities. With an eminently walkable and charmingly unique historic centre, a deep cultural heritage and one of the best culinary offerings in a country known for its food, it’s a wonderful city to spend some time in.
Despite not being a massive city, it has many different sides to it. And perhaps the best way to understand Bologna’s multifaceted history and nature, at a glance, is to learn about its many nicknames. In this blog, I briefly outline 5 of the most common nicknames given to the city, how it earned these nicknames.
La Grassa – the fat one
This nickname celebrates what Bologna is best known for: its food. Even in Italy, where just about every region lays claim to countless culinary delights, Bologna stands out. It’s the birthplace of tagliatelle al ragú – itself the inspiration behind spaghetti Bolognese (just don’t try to order a spag-bol while you’re here!). Unlikely spaghetti bolognese, which uses lots of tomato, real Bolognese ragú is all about the meat.
The towns food heritage doesn’t stop there though. Tortellini in broth, the Bolognese cutlet, and its close distance to Parma (the home of Parmigiano Reggiano and Parma ham) and Modena (for real balsamic vinegar) are just a few of the reasons Bologna earned its nickname as the fat one. Exploring its market streets and exceptional taverns will leave you feeling like la grassa too. But it’s worth it.
La Dotta – the learned one
Bologna has long been a meeting place for people from across Europe, because of its university. In fact, the city is home to the oldest university in the western world – the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. It had a pretty illustrious alumni, with the elite of Europe sending their children to study here. It counts Dante, Erasmus of Rotterdam and no less than four popes among its former students.
Today the University of Bologna still one of the most prestigious in Italy, with the tens of thousands of students making up a significant portion of its population and giving it a fun, young feel.
You can also still feel the universities heritage. There are many important museums in the city, and in the centre of town is the magnificent Archiginnasio, which for a few hundred years was the central building of the university. Visiting this building gives you a sense of just how important the city was across the whole of Europe. Its walls and ceilings are covered in coats of arms, representing the countries or cities of former students. You’ll find heraldic coats of arms representing every corner of the continent.
Planning a visit?
- Read the top things to do in Bologna
- Explore the best day trips from Bologna by public transport
La Rossa i – the red one (literally)
Bologna is red. It’s one of its most distinguishing features (along with the miles and miles of porticoes). Pretty much every building has a deep-orangey red hue – an astonishing amount of well-maintained terracotta medieval buildings.
This is because there was no marble in the region – but lots and lots of clay. Probably the best way to see this is from one of the city’s viewpoints, such as from the tower in the town hall, where you can see the countless red terracotta roofs spilling out before you.
So that’s part of the story behind this nickname – a very literal one, literally ‘the red one’. But it’s not the whole story.
La Rossa II – Radical politics and socialism
Another reason behind this nickname is Bologna’s political history. It has long had a reputation for progressive, sometimes radical, politics.
As an industrial hub it gave birth to many workers’ rights movements. And during Germany’s occupation of Italy in World War Two, it was the heart of the resistance movement. You can still see a monument to those who died in this movement in the main square, Piazza Maggiore.
In the decades after the war was a strong hold for Italy’s Communist Party. With its strong student population, this political heritage is in fine health – just look at the street art around the student district.
La turrita – the towered one
Sometimes, Bologna is called ‘la turrita’ – the towered one – or the medieval Manhattan, referring to the many tall towers that once dominated its skyline,
At its peak it’s thought there were around 100 towers. There were three main types– defensive towers, tower houses (which were attached to houses as a sign of wealth) and fortified gateways.
Bologna’s tower-building began to decline in the 16th century when they bcame less useful and less safe, and most of them have now since collapsed. A few remain, though. Most famous are the two towers of Bologna, both with slightly worrying leans, and the taller of which reaches almost 100 metres tall.
The porticoed one
Ok, so I made this one up. But really, it should be one of Bologna’s nicknames, because to be honest, in terms of its actual urban character, Bologna’s porticoes are its most unique feature.
Their history comes from the city’s university, when every new building on a street of a certain width was required by law to have a portico – allowing for just that little extra space for more student flats. The result is miles and miles of covered streets (60km, to be exact, including the world’s longest continuous portico).
So important are Bologna’s porticoes that they’ve been given a UNESCO World Heritage status. Across the city you’ll find a huge architectural variety in the porticoes (more than I thought possible…) ranging from Medieval wooden porticoes, somehow still standing, to grand and wide renaissance styles.
Hopefully this blog, and learning about the many names of Bologna, has helped you understand a bit more about the many sides to this wonderful Italian city.
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