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Because of its strategic location linking northern Italy to central Italy through the Apennines, Bologna has been home to Etruscans (6C BC), Gauls, and Romans; later became an independent city-state (11C), then was a part of the papal states (16C), and eventually a part of the Italian Kingdom in 1859. This lively cultural center is the home of the oldest university in Europe and more bookstores than we have ever seen in one city! It is large and modern but warm and hospitable. The system of porticos makes it possible to walk throughout the main area in any weather.

In the Piazza Maggiore is St. Petronius, one of the great achievements of Italian Gothic architecture; begun in 1390, with work continuing until 1659, it is still considered "unfinished." On the church floor is marked the 60th meridian line (1655, Cassini). A hole in the vaulted ceiling admits the sun's rays to follow the line on the proper day of the year.

Also in the Piazza Maggiore is the Palazzo Comunale (City Hall), the famous portal of which is shown. At one time this was two buildings, with the portal designed by Alessi in 1555 to join them into the present structure. On another side of the square is Palazzo del Podesta (originally medieval, rebuilt in Renaissance style in 1484) with its bell tower from which the bell has rung for important events since 1453. The Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune's Fountain) was designed by Giambologna in 1556.

It is not possible to describe the awe inspired as one walks through the halls of the oldest university in Europe (built in 1563, housed in this Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio until 1803, now located nearby). Part of the building now holds the municipal library and educational archives; the center section (faithfully reconstructed after extensive damage in WWII) contains the halls that were walked by some of the most famous scholars in history. Pictures show only a few of the hundreds of plaques or coats of arms of faculty. We were allowed a special private visit to the beautiful all-wood room anatomy room, in the center of which stands a marble-topped table to hold the cadavers for some of the earliest medical school anatomy classes.

Two towers are shown. The tallest (320 ft), Torre degli Asinelli (12C), is straight. Its neighbor, Torre Garisenda (11C) is marked by the same problems as the leaning tower of Pisa: During construction one side sank, but building continued. The tower is now over 10 ft out of line and apparently stable.

The cluster of five churches headed by Santo Stefano includes the church of Saints Vitale and Agricola, probably 5C, rebuilt 8C and again 11C in Romanesque form, and the church of St. Sepolcro, which contains the only replica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as well as other churches, cloisters, and chapels.