The FAT

Although I haven't read it, I'm told that a certain, popular travel personality - who has their own website, book series (that contain charming, hand-drawn but useless maps, I might add), tour agency and television shows - wrote once of Bologna:  "...nice if you're on the way between more interesting cities and towns, but otherwise, you can give it a miss."

Or something to that effect.

This is a somewhat popular assessment of the city, actually.  Many people will readily admit to not knowing that Bologna - populated with historic universities and therefore, lots of students - is worth a visit.

Or two, in my case.  In one month's time. 

So come with me, to 'The Fat' (Bologna's nickname).

Along the way, I need to point out the occasional vagaries of travel here.  I took a photo of this lit board because I wanted to commemorate the fact that EVERYONE is looking at the board too, waiting for their train line to be posted. A crazy-making feature of many large train stations here is how long you wait to see what track to run to, and how little time you are given to make it to said track. 

The view from our b&b, just outside the city center.  You can see some of the remaining defense towers that still stand today. 

This has nothing to do with travel and everything to do with being quintessentially Italian.  I wonder if all bookkeeping courses - long and short - give particular instruction for how to keep your records:  ALL ON PAPER, IN LABELED BINDERS.
You will see this in every kind of office, everywhere in the country. This is our b&b owner's collection. 

To get to the city center from our lodgings, we took a short walk. 

Into the historic ghetto...

The two best-known towers of Bologna.  And yes, they lean precipitously towards one another.

Hel-LO yummy breakfast.  Our host really outdid herself. 

I really should have taken a shot of the side of this church so that you could see the curious issue with many church facades in Italy:  namely, they are just that...facades.  Note that you can see daylight through the small rose windows on the top right and left.  The actual roof of the interior is far lower than the top of the facade.  

However, spaces are still built to feel as if they are soaring in their Gothic upwardness.  

Now, look down:  tt has become something of a sport for me to seek out these meridians in many of these Italian churches.  They are often roped off and protected from foot traffic. 

This would be the star chapel of this church. 

I tried to shoot this fantastic blue devil in hell from outside the chapel, but wound up paying to go inside for a closer look. 

Shhh.  Don't tell the lady I paid that I shot this.  

Look carefully at what this (yes, traditionally blue, per his late Gothic/early Renaissance status) devil is doing.  Consuming and....ahem...simultaneously evacuating. 

You can't tell me that the messaging of this era was exactly a 'soft sell.'

The other frescoes here were wonderful to examine, but not quite so captivating as the blue devil!

As I previously said, Bologna is a university town.  Many young people live and study here. 

Bologna was historically not only a learned town, but also a wealthy one.  There are miles and miles of these loggias in the city center.  You could stroll about in your finery and be protected from inclement weather or the sun's hot rays. 

And enjoy a nice lunch with an octopus salad starter...

And a secondo, lasagna bolognese.  Why wouldn't you get what the city is (and with good reason) known for? 

What I haven't really clarified yet (but should be rapidly apparent) is that while there are lots of things to see and do in Bologna, you really need to go FOR THE FOOD.

An Italian friend will ask you, regardless of where you traveled, 'what did you eat?'  But they are prepared for stories of pure gluttony after your trip to Bologna, and you will only hear enthusiastic murmurs of agreement in response. 

So you stuff yourself at lunch and then proceed to another church to see a wondrous exhibit...

A life-size terracotta (that's baked clay, for those who don't know) set of statues depicting the Lamentation.

Can you hear them?

Wailing.  Shrieking.

If art is supposed to express for us what we ourselves cannot necessarily or readily feel, then this is IT.

Look at the movement in this figure!

Such sculptural arrangements exist elsewhere, occasionally.  This was a museum space that adjoined the church. 

yeah, the shot's a little wonky, but wow, nonetheless

The masonry of the dome of Santo Stefano, a conglomerate of 7 different church/religious structures, all of different ages. 

The capitals of these columns attest to the progressive eras this place contains.

A fragment of the oldest flooring, seen through parts of the existing flooring.

It took me awhile to remember why a rooster would be an older Christian symbol. My only defense for failing to recall it would be that the bird just doesn't show up in Christian art history.  

It was a good day.

A curious relic: the 'bandage that the Madonna wore as a sign of mourning.

Fantastic patterning in the masonry.

Santo Stefano seen from the front, where it is not readily apparent that you can see 7 structures upon going in and through.

Ah...a pre-dinner break for a cider!?! At a true pub? I LOVE this town.

We came to Bologna for a concert.  The Spouse's favorite band performed. They have a devoted - if now perhaps a bit more middle-aged - following.

You've seen these kinds of performances, and perhaps been just as engaged in them:  singing along with every lyric.  I always like to see that kind of enthusiasm.  

Our second morning?  It's probably a good thing that the trip was a short one, as no one can live indefinitely on indulgent breakfasts like these, which a wonderful view of the warmly hued towers of Bologna.

The map of the Jewish ghetto of Bologna.

An open-air market, naturally.

Perhaps not our finest moment, squeezed into a narrow street with tons of tourists. 

We visited what is claimed by some as the oldest university in Europe.  This is its anatomical theater.

Damaged in WWII era bombing raids, but fully restored.

Even the ceiling.

A statue of Gaspero Tagliacozzi, the first physician to attempt plastic surgery.  

Yes, he is holding a nose.

The state of the building after bombing.

A University town does indeed cater to its crowd by serving up the good - and affordable! - stuff.

We proceeded to the city museum, which we often do in order to get a better grip on the history of a place we don't know very much about. As you might expect, Etruscan artifacts have been found in the area.

A display for Annibale Carracci, a Bolognese painter of the Baroque era.

An interesting, virtual way of depicting a reality of Bologna's:  water runs underneath it. You'll see what I mean later.

No Italian city's history would be complete without the mention of Fascism.  Eerily, though, this actual portrait of Il Duce had been gouged, and was left that way for the museum display.

In all honesty, I come to Bologna for two things:  food and women artists.  Historically speaking, Bologna had a fairly progressive attitude toward women in general, as they were permitted university educations in the 1600s.  A lot of wealthy and powerful women commissioned portraits, small devotional works and altarpieces from women artists.
So what I want to see in this city is what I hope to be more concentrated evidence of these women makers.  In the last great room of the city museum is this display of a series of portrait busts of the 'famous women of Bologna.'  And here I found contemporary portrayals of them.  First up: Elisabetta Sirani, trained by her artist father and famous for being an extremly fast painter.  She staged live demonstrations of painting in order to prove to doubters that she was in fact the author of her own works.  She died extremely young, at the age of 27. 

Next up: Lavinia Fontana, the mother of 13 (!) children, the primary breadwinner of the household, married to a lesser painter named Zappi who became more or less her agent and assistant. She is considered by many to be Western Europe's first professional female artist. 

And last, Properzia di Rossi, a sculptor who began her career carving stones from fruits.  She sustained scandalous tales about her romantic life, and not much of her work remains for us today.

So this was somewhat satisfying, although I was intent upon finding actual paintings or sculptures by these women, so we scheduled a visit to the big art museum of Bologna for our last day.

But this day had not yet ended:  dinner was tortelloni in ragu with a dusting of parmigiano.  Friends, this is heaven. Tortellini (small) or tortelloni (larger) in one of three ways:  with ragu, with a cheese sauce, or in brodo (broth) - whichever way you have it, this is a requisite of your Bolognese visit. 

I almost didn't act quickly enough, because the Spouse was busy wolfing down his version of heaven.

This restaurant served this homemade pasta and virtually nothing else.  And the place was PACKED for most of our time there.

The next morning, a sultry, humid Sunday, when you can see some impressive graffiti on the shops' shutters.

As we should expect, the museum is full of Christian art of the 12th through 17th centuries. 

I knew I could find more blue/black devils of the late Gothic/early Renaissance period.

And Moses, with 'horns' that are supposed to be manifestations of rays of light.

And a Lavinia Fontana painting.  One of only two visible works of art by women in the entire museum. *sigh*

Women of this era were often pictured with little lapdogs (technically, the Bolognese terrier).  Having one close by in a portrait was symbolic of her faithful nature....often faithful to an already deceased spouse.

Make no mistake:  her wealth is largely announced via her expensive attire.  Bolts of extraordinary fabrics like this were considered as valuable as gold. And speaking of gold:

That is what you think you're seeing:  the jewel-encrusted head of an ermine, attached to the belt by an elaborate chain.  The belief was that these pricey accessories would ward off fleas. 

While happy to see this piece, I was disappointed that so few women makers were present here.  And I ran out of time to find Elisabetta Sirani's burial spot in a Bolognese church, too.  Maybe next time? 

We emerged with just enough time to find a little window on a street where you can peer through and see the watery canals that Bologna actual has, but are largely hidden.  This explains why the city can be very, very humid.

And we still had time to order some great sandwiches before boarding our train home.

But wait, there was a next time.  It happened just a few weeks later. 

Sure, we ate a lot and walked around a lot and shopped and had a great time again, but we made it a point to visit the church of San Domenico.

And behind a wall plaque, buried alongside the Baroque master Guido Reni, is Elisabetta. 

This is quite an impressive church (and we're not even facing the altar - we're looking at a famous side chapel).

This is the shrine of San Domenico, designed by the early Renaissance masters Nicola Pisano and Arnolfo di Cambio.

Inside the shrine is the actual reliquary of the Saint.

But the real draw for some people would be this angel candleholder, which is attributed to a young Michelangelo.

There you have it, folks, the city some famous tour guides argue is worth passing by:  a veritable feast of food and art and history.