Bologna
Italy's food capital: tortellini in brodo, 40 km of porticoes, the oldest university in the West, and two towers that lean more than Pisa's

About Bologna
Bologna is Italy's best-kept secret, which Italians find hilarious because they have known for centuries. The city has three nicknames: La Grassa (the fat one, for the food), La Dotta (the learned one, for the university, the oldest in the Western world, founded 1088), and La Rossa (the red one, for both the terracotta buildings and the politics). The food nickname is the one that matters to visitors, because Bologna is where ragù (the real one, not the jar), tortellini in brodo (tiny filled pasta in clear broth, the dish that defines the city), mortadella (the original, sliced thin and eaten on bread), and tagliatelle al ragù (never spaghetti, never) were invented.
The city is built under porticoes. 40 kilometres of covered walkways run through the centre, UNESCO-listed since 2021, which means you can walk from one end of Bologna to the other without getting wet, sunburned, or bored. The Two Towers (Asinelli and Garisenda) define the skyline, and climbing the Asinelli (498 steps, EUR 5) gives you a terracotta rooftop view that explains the "red" nickname. Piazza Maggiore is the main square, with the Basilica di San Petronio (free, the fifth-largest church in the world, never finished because the Pope redirected the funds to St Peter's in Rome), and the Archiginnasio (the old university building, the Anatomical Theatre with carved wooden seating is extraordinary and creepy).
The Quadrilatero is the medieval market quarter behind Piazza Maggiore: specialty shops selling aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh pasta drying on racks, mortadella sliced to order. A proper tortellini in brodo at a traditional trattoria costs EUR 12-15 and tastes like someone's grandmother made it, because someone's grandmother taught the cook who made it.
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Practical bits, answered
Tortellini in brodo is tiny meat-filled pasta rings served in clear capon or beef broth. The filling is pork loin, prosciutto, mortadella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and egg. It is the defining dish of Bologna, traditionally served on Christmas Day and at Sunday lunch. You eat it in the broth with a spoon. It does not come with cream sauce: that is an abomination exported abroad. It does not come with marinara sauce. It comes in brodo. A serving costs EUR 10-14 at a traditional trattoria.
Tagliatelle al ragù is the actual dish. The pasta is fresh, hand-rolled, egg-based tagliatelle (wide flat ribbons). The sauce is a slow-cooked meat ragù (beef and pork, slowly cooked with soffritto, wine, and a very small amount of tomato). Together they coat properly and eat correctly. Spaghetti bolognese does not exist in Bologna. It was invented for export. Ordering spaghetti bolognese in a good Bologna trattoria is the single reliable way to get a pitying look from the waiter.
Walk under them. They run along almost every street in the historic centre, providing cover from rain and sun. 40 km of covered walkways, all UNESCO-listed since 2021. The most beautiful sections are around Piazza Maggiore, along Via dell'Indipendenza (the main boulevard), and the famous San Luca portico (666 arches, 3.8 km, the longest in the world). You can cross the entire historic centre in any weather without getting wet.
Modena (25 min by train, EUR 3.50): the traditional balsamic vinegar acetaie (EUR 15-25 for tours), the Enzo Ferrari Museum (EUR 17), and the extraordinary Romanesque cathedral. Parma (55 min, EUR 6): Parmigiano-Reggiano dairy visits, Prosciutto di Parma producers, the Baptistery frescoes, Correggio in the cathedral dome. Ravenna (75 min, EUR 6): the 5th-6th century Byzantine mosaics (UNESCO, the best in the world outside Istanbul).
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