5 Great Reasons to Visit Bologna Now

“Bologna Il Rosso” — so nicknamed for its terra-cotta roofs as well as its historically socialist leanings — is known for being politically liberal, LGBTQ-friendly, and flat-out cool. No surprise, since this is arguably the original college town; its university was founded in 1088. Entrepreneurs, designers, artists, writers, and creatives of all stripes migrate here from more strictured Italian cities, resulting in a youthful, expressive energy that’s palpable everywhere. Wander the streets, many of them streaked with colorful graffiti, and you’ll stumble upon art galleries, bookstores, flea markets, and literary fairs, not to mention an absolutely top-notch vinyl store, Disco D’Oro, where an inscription ascribed to Nietzsche reads, “Senza musica la vita serrabe un errore” (“Without music, life would be a mistake”).

Studded with medieval towers and crisscrossed by Roman-era roads, Bologna’s historic center is a pleasure to stroll, a passeggiata made even more enjoyable by the city’s beloved porticoes. The 25-mile, UNESCO-recognized network of covered porches, many adorned with frescoes or mosaics, provides a shield from sun and rain — locals don’t bother with umbrellas — and creates human-scaled spaces for living, commerce, and exercise. (The 2.5-mile portico leading to the hilltop Sanctuary of San Luca is a popular calorie-buster.) The city’s compactness means you can stay on the edge of the centro storico — in a boutique property like Hotel Porta San Mamolo, with its charming interior garden, or the elegant guest house Casa Bertagni — and eat at local trattorias like Trebbi or Antica Osteria Romagnola, still within a few blocks of the major sites.

The presence of the university — where Pier Paolo Pasolini studied literature and Umberto Eco taught semiotics — also makes Bologna a cradle for the avant-garde. Contemporary art museum MAMbo, housed in a former industrial bakery, supplements its permanent collection of edgy, conceptual, and politically tinged artworks with deep holdings of meditative still lifes by Bologna-born midcentury painter Giorgio Morandi. Fondazione MAST, whose glass-and-steel structure is anchored by large Mark di Suvero and Anish Kapoor sculptures, puts on temporary exhibitions of photography and video art, such as the large-scale camera obscura works of German photographer Vera Lutter. And the Museo per la Memoria di Ustica, a 2007 installation by the late French conceptual artist Christian Boltanski, is a haunting reconstruction of an airplane that mysteriously crashed in the Tyrrhenian Sea in 1980. The city’s annual art fair (February) attracts galleries from across Europe, and there’s a big cinema scene as well: Il Cinema Ritrovato, a well-respected festival devoted to restored film, stages screenings in the Piazza Maggiore every June. Martin Scorcese attended the 2023 rededication of the recently rehabbed, Liberty-style Cinema Modernissimo.

Bologna claims many iconic dishes as its gastronomic birthright, and it’s easy to come by textbook tagliatelle alla ragù, tortellini in brodo, and lasagna (typically with green noodles) — plus plate after plate of tissue-thin, ravishingly delicious mortadella, prosciutto, ciccioli, and lardo. But alongside the old-school establishments a new generation of young chefs is tweaking conventions. The young team at modernist standout Ahimè plays with tart, salty, and umami flavors in dishes like spaghetti with leek butter and charred lemon, and sweetbreads with asparagus, arugula, and green strawberries. At the lively Trattoria da Me, Elisa Rusconi, whose grandfather founded the restaurant in 1937, supplements a menu of pitch-perfect classics (like her Sunday lunch–only lasagna) with seasonally inspired inventions: a trio of savory cheese gelatos; grilled eggplant with tomato and strawberry chutney; Sangiovese-braised pork cheeks with chimichurri. Rusconi recently opened a second location in the 13th-century Galluzzi Tower. Arrive early at Forno Brisa on Via Galliera to sample its ancient-grain sourdough breads and excellent third-wave coffee, then return in the afternoon for a scoop of organic gelato at Gelateria Galliera 49, right across the street.

Why the fertile fields of Emilia-Romagna that produce many of Italy’s most celebrated culinary treasures (Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, prosciutto di Parma, balsamic vinegar) are also home to some its most beloved carmakers remains unexplained. Is the Italian lust for life just stronger in this part of the Po Valley? Ponder that as you view the sexy specimens on display at the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena and the Museo Ferrari in Maranello, where you can also play Niki Lauda (for 15 minutes) on the racetrack; both are about an hour from Bologna. Maserati, Lamborghini, and Ducati also welcome visitors to their facilities in the region. Heritage runs even deeper at Giusti, which has been aging balsamic vinegar in wood casks at the family compound outside Modena since 1605. The region’s twin obsessions come together at Hombre, an organic dairy that both supplies Modena’s famed Osteria Francescana with Parmigiano Reggiano and houses an astonishing collection of vintage Maseratis and other race cars and motorcycles dating back to the 1930s.