Though fed by the attractive capillaries of via Santo Stefano and via Castiglione, nowhere is the beauty of this area more evident than in the triangular piazza Santo Stefano, site of the intricate complex of churches of the same name, one of the great architectural and artistic wonders of the city. The important strada Maggiore, once part of the Roman via Emilia, witnessed the coming and going, the coronation and invasions of alternate patriarchs and popes. These left their mark on this quarter of the city in a dense forestation of statements. From luxurious palaces and gardens (sadly closed to the public) to exquisite churches and sanctuaries such as Santa Maria dei Servi and the Basilica of Santo Domenico, all are home to countless masterpieces of the decorative arts. Narrow and shadowy in contrast, via Castligione leads up to the murky backwater of the Mirasoli district whose dark, faceless streets still exude the stench of the suspicion that reigned many hundreds of years ago, now replaced by the cheer of some of the best,but least-visited, restaurants in town. SightsLoggia della Mercanzia piazza della Mercanzia. Access to entrance hall only Today housing the Chamber of Commerce, the late 14th-century former customs house designed by the architect di Vicenzo in the city's traditional red and white livery is one of the finest Gothic buildings in Bologna. Having suffered significant damage during the Allied bombardments, its florid windows and extravagant balcony, from which merchants' decisions were announced to the populus, have been lovingly restored. Also of note are the clock and the bulding's many niches full of statues to saints and symbols of civic justice. To the right of the Loggia della Mercanzia is an inscription to make any modern-day student jealous. Roughly translated it states that in recognition of the importance of the city's university, students shall have free books, clothes and food. Palazzo Bolognini via Santo Stefano 9-11. Further up via Santo Stefano from the Loggia della Mercanzia is the former house of another of Bologna's powerful families, the Bolognini. Built in the 16th century the building is also known as the palazzo delle teste (the palace of heads) on account of the many clay busts that look down onto the street and which have been attributed to the sculptor Alfonso Lombardi. Le Case Isolani and La Corte Isolani An elegant passageway links via Santo Stefano to the strada Maggiore via a series of courtyards which in the way they are decorated represent a journey from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. At either end are two houses named after the merchants who plied Cypriot wares here in the 13th century (isolani literally means 'from the islands'). The house on the side of piazza Santo Stefano has a marvellous spiral staircase by Vignola leading up to rooms adorned with many fine paintings by 17th- and 18th- century Bolognese hands. The house on the Strada Maggiore side (no. 19) is characterized by a spectacular 10-m high wooden portico. Today the passageway in between is home to boutiques, banks, restaurants and cafés. Under the portico of strada Maggiore 19, if you crane your neck and peer up in to the murky wooden darkness you can see two mysterious wooden arrows sticking into the ceiling. Much mythology surrounds the origins of these arrows (of which there were once three) but the most probable explanation is that they were put there in jest by builders restoring the portico in the 19th century when the two supporting pillars were added. Via Santo Stefano Along via Santo Stefano are many fine noble houses, which conceal lovely courtyards behind their gates. The pavement is uneven in parts reputedly due to rich families wanting to distinguish their addresses from neighbours'. At number 31 is the old Teatro Corso inaugurated by Napoloeon and which witnessed the debut of the young composer, Gioacchino Rossini. At number 33 is the Palazzo Finzi-Contini which used to house the albergo del Corso where the romantic novelist Giacomo Leopardi stayed, a sojourn which inspired his novel Nel Giardino dei Finzi-Contini. Piazza Santo Stefano Surrounded by intriguing and beautiful buildings, this piazza is one of Bologna's most picturesque locations. Triangular in shape, the cobbled square is also paved with lines of flat, grey stones, an aesthetic device in conflict with classical ideas of symmetry but intended when coming into the piazza from the north to lead the eye towards the church at the piazza's southern end. Chiesa di Santo Stefano via Santo Stefano 24, T 051-223256. Mon-Sun 0900-1200, 1530-1830. Along with the Basilica of San Petronio and the Due Torri this church is one of the must-sees for any visitor to Bologna. At its peak it was a Russian doll of seven interlinked churches within churches. Its fifth-century circular core built around a natural spring was constructed by Bishop Petronius, soon-to-be patron saint of Bologna, on the site of a temple to the pagan goddess Isis. The complex is sometimes referred to as La Santa Gerusalemme after the seven connecting sanctuaries in the Holy City. Petronius is supposed to have brought back a copy of the similar design from a fifth-century trip to Palestine. The church is rumoured to be named after the Christian martyr St Stephen, whose remains were found in Jerusalem around the same time. Although the precise evolution of the building is not known, it is thought that the additions and expansions were added variously by the occupying Lombards, and then the Benedictine and Celestine monks between 983 and 1493. The complex was restored between 1870-1930. This also brought about some inexplicable demolitions which reduced the number of churches to the current four. The first and principal church is the Chiesa del Santissimo Crocefisso to which the restorations returned its Lombardic medieval aspect. The beautiful crypt is composed of columns, capitals and other materials from the original Roman construction and bears a pagan inscription to Isis. The Basilica dei Santi Vitale e Agricola is thought to be Bologna's oldest Christian church, again built from the original pagan construction with 11th-century Lombardic naves, and housing the sarcopoghi of the two martyrs of Bologna from which it takes its name. The tranquil cortile di Pilato is named after the Lombardic facsimile of Pontius Pilate's bowl in its centre (where he 'washed his hands' of Christ). To the north is the Chiesa del San Sepolcro (closed 1200-1530) which contains the bones of Saint Petronius (except the skull which is in the basilica). Note a charming image of an angel atop the empty tomb of Christ with dozing soldiers and the women who discovered Christ's disappearance. At Easter the sepulchre is opened to allow people in to recreate the discovery of the Resurrection. To the west is the Chiesa della Trinita, virtually unrecognisable as a church after the restorations but housing a beautiful fresco of the Adoration of the Magi by Simone de' Crocefissi. Beyond this is the peaceful Romanesque cloister with a beautifully harmonious double loggia supported by capitals playfully decorated with sculpted animals, built by the Benedictines in the 11th century. A small museum contains various works of art recovered during the restoration works showing the evolution of Bolognese and Italian painting, most notably the 13th-century Massacre of the Innocents in the left-hand room. Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Servi strada Maggiore, T 051-226807. 0700-1145, 1545-1945. Despite the rude intrusion of nearby traffic one cannot fail to be affected by the delicacy and fragility of the quadriportico (four-sided arcade) that stands before this church. There was originally only one side arcade, built in 1393. The completion of the square was one of the few beautiful interventions of the 19th century although it came at the cost of demolishing the church of San Tommaso which had for hundreds of years stood in its centre. Inside, the church is no less special and is best known as the site of a Madonna and Child by Cimabue and some 14th-century frescoes by Lippo di Dalmasio and Vitale da Bologna, although these should not obscure the many 17th- and 18th-century Bolognese-school paintings which are mostly to be found in the sacristy and convent. At Christmas time the Santa Lucia fair, with Nativity figures, Christmas tree and toys, is held in the quadrangle. Chiesa di San Giovanni in Monte via Monticelli. Mon-Sun 0800-1200, 1500-1800. More of a gallery than a church, this raised 13th-century building with a 15th-century Venetian façade contains a stunning collection of paintings within its Gothic interior, including works by Guercino, Francesco del Cossa and the Crowning of the Virgin altarpiece by Lorenzo Costa. In the middle of the central nave is the bizarre sight of an upturned old Roman Corinthian column topped by a cross in a symbol of Christianity's victory over paganism. The majestic terracotta eagle, symbol of St. John in the lunetta above the wooden door is by Nicolo dell'Arca. Piazza San Domenico This peaceful square laid with river pebbles has a distinct rural feel and also serves as a showcase to a number of important monuments such as the 14th-century elevated tomb to Rolandino de' Passegeri, one of the city's Notaries and a founding father of European law and human rights who is remembered for his heroic resistance to Frederick II in the name of freedom and democracy. The piazza's two columns support statues to the Virgin in celebration of the end of the plague in 1632 and to San Domenico, the latter being sculpted according to a drawing by Guido Reni. Chiesa di San Domenico piazza San Domenico. T 051-6400411. Daily 0700-1300, 1430-2000. Begun in 1221 to commemorate the life of Domingo de Guzman, the founder of the Dominican order, this church contains one of the masterpieces of Bolognese heritage, the Fabergé-esque arca or canopy to the tomb of the saint in the right-hand nave, designed by Nicola Pisano and executed by Niccolo de Bari, the beauty of which earned him the name Niccolo dell'Arca. He died before all the statuettes had been completed, leaving the outstanding work – the figures of Saint Petronious and Saint Procolus – to no less a hand than Michelangelo. Among the bas-reliefs on the ark is a little dog. Legend has it that before his birth, Domenico's mother had a vision that she would give birth to a dog that would spread light and happiness in the name of the Lord. As with many of the city's churches, additions were made in the form of lavish side chapels to the vanity of various ruling families, decorated with superb frescoes by Ludovico Carracci, di Dalmasio, Filippino Lippi (The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine), Guido Reni (The Glory of Saint Dominic) and other masters of the Bolognese school. Guido Reni is buried in the Rosario chapel in the church. The nearby convent is composed of two cloisters, the first, the cloister dei Morti (of the Dead) noted for its Roman-Gothic belltower, and the other for being the cell, home and deathbed of the saint himself. There is also a small museum beyond the apse of the main basilica (Tue-Sun, 1000-1200, 1500-1800, free). Conservatorio and Chiesa della Madonna del Baraccano piazza del Barracano 2, T 051-392680. Sat-Sun 1000-1300, 1600-1900. Set into the remains of the third and outer circle of the old city walls this church is famous for the 15th-century portico through which it is accessed. The building above the portico is the seat of the Conservatorio del Baraccano, which was established in 1531 as a kind of finishing school for less well-off young girls. The church itself was commissioned by Giovanni Bentivoglio in 1472 to subsume a small chapel that bears an image of the Madonna set in the city walls. Ever preoccupied with beauty, various additions including the cupola were made in the 15th and 16th centuries to enhance the overall aesthetic effect. Strada Maggiore This important street, a suburban section of the Roman via Emilia, is lined with a series of former noble residences. At number 24 the casa Sampieri has paintings by all three Carraccis in the three ground floor rooms with ceilings by Guercino. At number 44 the imposing palazzo Bargellini is recognisable by the enormous, sinuous and muscular statues of Atlas that stand on either side of the entrance supporting the balcony above (the Greek god Zeus condemned Atlas to support the weight of the world on his shoulders for having colluded with the Titans' plot to overthrow him). This building houses the Davia Bargellini fine-art collection (T 051-236708, Tue-Sun 0900-1400, free) which includes many famous masterpieces from the 14th through to the 18th century by both Crespis and Donato Creti. Art pilgrims will not want to miss the Madonna and Child and deeply moving Pieta by Simone dei Crocefissi. The same building also houses the Museo d'Arte Industriale (which, translated, would be Museum of Applied Arts) which displays furniture and decorative art from various eras and provides a window onto middle-class and noble Bolognese interiors of the 16th-18th centuries (details as above). Just off strada Maggiore, via Fondazza 37 was where the artist Giorgio Morandi lived, among the colours that inspired many of his soft abtsract paintings. At number 11 is an interior design shop in which a piece of the old via Emilia Roman road has been uncovered, complete with the grooves made by wheels. Palazzo Ercolani strada Maggiore 45. This 18th-century building is a senatorial palace once inhabited by the Ercolani family who were part of the senate when the city was under papal rule. Beyond the courtyard is a classically English garden while an arcade leads to a statue-lined staircase up to rooms that are nowadays used as part of the university's Faculty of Political Science. Casa Carducci piazza Carducci, T 051-225583/347592. Tue-Sun 0900-1300, Thu 0900-1700. Closed Mon. €2.50, concessions €1.30. His earlier more humble lodgings being in via Broccaindosso, the poet Carducci was given this 16th-century residence as a new home by Queen Margherita of Savoy with whom he was head over heels in love. Carducci lived here from 1890 until his death in 1907 when his vast collection of books, letters and manuscripts was donated by the Queen to the citizens of Bologna in the form of the Carducci library. The building was erected on the ruins of the medieval outer city wall and since 1990 has been home also to the Museo Civico del Risorgimento, a museum celebrating the creation of the unifed Italian state in 1860. In celebration of the poet's love of nature, the house also has a garden, il giardino monumentale (monument garden), so-called after its central statue to the poet by Leonardo Bistolfi. Via Castiglione The name of this road is supposedly an elision of the words castello (castle) and leone (lion). In this instance the lion was the powerful Pepoli family and the many buildings they owned on this road constituted their fortress. Palazzo Pepoli and Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande Palazzo Pepoli, via Castiglione 6-10; Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, via Castiglione 7. The Palazzo Pepoli, with its Guelph crenellations displaying the appriopriate aspect of a fortress, was commissioned in 1344 by Taddeo Pepoli as a sign of power to the citizens of Bologna. Opposite is an equally impressive piece of Pepoli vanity on an even greater scale, this time commissioned by a different generation, Eduardo Pepoli in the late 17th century. Less of a fortress, this was conceived as a place for receptions, banquets and festivals. Inside are many fine frescoes, some of them forcibly paying homage to the Pepolis, while the most spectacular are the 17th-century paintings by Giuseppe Maria Crespi depicting The Allegory of the Seasons, The Triumph of Hercules and The Council of the Gods. Ex-Chiesa e Convento di Santa Lucia via Castiglione 36. Relieved of its religious functions by Napoloeon, this 17th-century church and convent was designed by Girolamo Rinaldi on the site of the 13th-century original. Set back from the porticoed road, it boasts another of Bologna's unfinished façades, with a bare and stubbly charcoal face resembling a climbing wall. It is now the Aula Magna (main lecturing hall) of the university, decorated with a famous Madonna by Giuseppe Mazza and inaugurated in 1988 by Pope John Paul II on the 800th anniversary of the city university. Palazzo di Giustizia piazza del Tribunale. Bologna's law courts stand majestically as if in judgement themselves looking over the flowery piazza del Tribunale. Originally a 16th-century commission as a private residence, the building has undergone numerous additions and restorations, the most notable being the harmonious façade, the central section of which has been attributed to Palladio, and the rest to Tibaldi. Restoration has also preserved the fine staircase, the courtyard and a number of fine canvasses on the first floor by Franceschini, Bigari and Giani. Piazza Galvani Just in front of the Archiginnasio, this piazza is named after the 19th-century Bolognese scientist, Luigi Galvani, who conducted ground-breaking experiments in electricity using frogs and from whom we get the word 'galvanize'. The statue in the square shows him peering into a book with a petrified frog on the page. Piazza Minghetti This leafy square, flanked by the imposing main post office building, is named after Marco Minghetti, one of the architects of the unification of Italy, who became the young nation's Home Secretary in its 1860 Turin Parliament. Bizarrely, he pursued a policy of local government that diced with all the regions' old local rivalries. He was res- ponsible for liberating Rome from Napoloeon III but was forced to resign when he tried to move the capital from Turin to Florence. Mirasoli Literally translated as 'reflecting the sun' and so named after the reflection cast by a nearby branch of the then uncovered city canal, the group of alleys between via Miramonte and via d'Azeglio was once one of the dodgiest parts of town. A little Sicily complete with its own code of honour and culture of omerta – see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing – people here feared to tread lest they be knifed. It was correspondingly colourful, with many notorious osterie, most of which no longer exist, although Osteria le Mura still provides a hint of the area's disaffected past. Chiesa di San Procolo via Massimo d'Azeglio 52, T 051-331223. 0800-1100, 1700-1900. This diminutive church built on the site of an old Roman temple has a 13th-century crypt where Proculus, the eponymous Roman soldier was entombed, but not before becoming a saint for having dared profess his Christian faith to his superior officer in the Imperial army. It has undergone many incarnations since then, and even served as a warehouse in Napoleonic times, before being restored as a place of worship in 1826. It has become famous for a piece of early graffiti, a cryptic ancient tongue-twister inscribed on the left façade: 'Si procul a Proculo Proculi campana fuisset, nunc procula a Proculo Proculis ipse forret, A.D. 1393'. Roughly translated it means 'If Proculus' bell was far from Proculus, then Proculus would be far from Proculus' Legend has it that Proculus (the Second) was a bell-ringer who died crushed by a falling bell.
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