Bologna & Ravenna

Holiday Ratings
Recommended days	3
Budget	£
Difficulty	Easy

Why Bologna and Ravenna

Bologna is yet another of those beautifully historical Italian cities. The unusual attraction is the tall towers, built by the medieval nobility to display their status. Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire after the sack of Rome in 410 and has superb churches and mosaics.

Bologna

We arrived around 6PM on a dreary December day. The transfer to the hotel though was waiting at the airport and very efficient, despite the Bolognese traffic! Catrina was waiting outside the hotel (a converted Palazzo) and took us through the courtyard, up the lift and then another two flights of spectacular stairs to the floor the hotel was on. There was a large dining room where all the tea/coffee facilities were and then our room was overlooking the famous towers. The room was toasty warm with some amazing old beams in the ceiling.

We went out for some dinner, keeping to the beautiful medieval collonades to avoid the drizzle. We found a couple of bargain eateries and finished up with crepes with nutella and coconut. There was lot of classical music buskers which created a lovely atmosphere.

The hotel we stayed in was very central which was just great, we could wander out for a couple of hours then come back for a pause before resuming sightseeing. The old city is very compact with a gorgeous mixture of architecture and, well, it’s Italian. Nowhere else I have been has impressed me with such design flair as Italy and the food, even for a philistine like me, is impressive!

Bologna Anatomy Theatre

The university here is one of the oldest in Europe and the anatomy theatre is well worth a visit to see where the lectures took place and the tools they used! There was also an exhibition of WW1 prosthetic limbs.

The centre is composed of piazzas and palazzos, beautiful buildings which have mostly been converted to more modern uses now, shops, apartments or museums. Other than that, it’s all churches, every street seems to have one. Some are Roman pagan temples that have been converted, other were built in the 4th century onwards. Santo Stefano was the one on our street – originally 7 churches and now one huge church complex.

Bologna’s Two Towers

Other than food, Bologna’s claim to fame is the two towers of Garisenda and Asinelli. These leaning towers can be seen from most of the city and have stood for about 900 years. Climbing up the 498 steps to the top of Asinelli I was convinced it was going to collapse, rickety wooden stairs give way or just be blown over by the wind. Luckily, it survived and I was able to very carefully survey the view!

Ravenna

Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire after Rome became vulnerable to barbarian raids. The marshes and poor public transport links made it easy to defend and the city has some of the best Roman/Byzantine mosaics in the world.

Ravenna San Vitale

I didn’t have a tripod so the photos are pretty rubbish as the interiors were so dark but take it from me, the colours were stunning! San Vitale is the famous one but the converted palace at Basilica di Sant Apollinare Nuovo is breathtaking.

We actually took the train there, after my last experience in Bologna I didn’t want to hire a car again! The train was excellent and Ravenna is a very pretty and walkable town. I just need a new camera before my next visit! (Hint, hint Debbie! )

As always, we ate far too much nice food but another great city break and lots of walking for Debbie and I. No more city breaks this year but Bologna and Ravenna was certainly a good way to finish the year!

2017