Bologna - Does Oscar Meyer Live Here?

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The above photos are: 1. Statue of Roman God Neptune; 2. Leaning Tower of Garisenda; 3. Porticos

This morning we awoke at 7:30 and caught the 9:30 train for Bologna. The train ride is just under 3 hours and outside of Rome, the Italian countryside is hilly and beautiful. We even saw picturesque sheep grazing on a hillside.

We arrived in Bologna at noon. We are staying at a Best Western which is turning out to be the nicest hotel on our vacation. For 89 Euro a night it by far beats the more expensive bed and breakfasts in Milan, Florence, and Rome.

We are only staying in Bologna for one night but we have explored a lot of the town. It is a university town home to the University of Bologna. We have seen many students but few tourists. We read that Bologna is one of Italy's few secrets, the food and museums are among the best but bypassed by visitors.

After a simple lunch of mozarella and tomato panninis we headed for a couple of meseums that were free. Along the way we visited the above Neptune statue sculpted by Frenchman Giambologna in 1566. We also saw the leaning tower of Garisenda.

Many of the museums here are free. I emphasize free because we have been overpaying (in my opinion) to see some of Italy's finest art. Our first stop in Bologna was the Communal Museum home to one of Bologna's famous painters, Giorgio Morandi. His works were mainly penciled flowers and table objects (jars, salt shakers, etc.). We think we saw some of his art earlier on our trip in the Brera Gallery in Milan. Michelle was not all that impressed but I think that it's great this one artist has his own museum.

After Morandi's works, we visited the archaelogical museum to see its Egyptian artifacts. These were some of the finest artifacts I have ever seen including a sarchophogus. This museum has one of the best Egyptian collection in Italy. Unfortunately, all the explanations of the artifacts were in Italian. But regardless of the language, they were in excellant condition. Unfortunately, we did not realize we arrived with the museum nearly closed. While sitting on a bench resting our feet on the ground floor, the lights were turned off. We scooted out quickly. But for free admission, I'm not complaining.

Our next goal was to track down Michaelangelo's San Procolo statue, the forerunner to his David. Our travel book says it's in the San Domenico Basillica. Wrong! It's located about 4 blocks away but by the time we figured out the Italian directions given to us by a stranger, the San Procolo church was closed and would not reopen until 5 p.m. It's quite a walk from our hotel so unfortunately we will not get to see it. We will look it up on the Internet to view it :(

Tonight we are going out for a traditional Bolognese dinner of tortellini. Since Bologna is not a tourist trap we are finding the food prices very fair.

On final comment about Bologna. Many buildings have the porticos as seen in the above photo. They are shaded areas where people can be protected from rain, snow, and sun. Many buildings have them in the city. I think Bologna is unique in Italy for these structures.

Tomorrow we are headed to Venice, our last stop. Michelle has 2 places she wants to see: San Marco piazza and Merano island (where the glass is made). We will have a day and a half in Venice so we will try to see as much as we can. But the temperatures are very warm. Everyday we have been out for 4-5 hours before needing a break, so we will see what Venice holds for us. We know it's a tourist trap so Bologna is a refreshing stop over.

Bona Sera!