Bologna

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For other uses, see Bologna (disambiguation).

Bologna

—  Comune  —

Comune di Bologna

A collage of the city, showing the Fontana del Nettuno, the Public Library, the Piazza Maggiore and an aerial view of the city.

Coat of arms

Bologna

Location of Bologna in Italy

Coordinates: 44°30′27″N 11°21′5″ECoordinates: 44°30′27″N 11°21′5″E

Country         Italy

Region           Emilia-Romagna

Province       Bologna (BO)

Frazioni        Frabazza, Monte Donato, Paderno, Rigosa

Government

 - Mayor        Anna Maria Cancellieri (Special Commissioner)

Area

 - Total           140.7 km2 (54.3 sq mi)

Elevation      54 m (177 ft)

Population (30 April 2009)

 - Total           376,792

 - Density       2,678/km2 (6,935.9/sq mi)

Time zone     CET (UTC+1)

 - Summer (DST)     CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code   40100

Dialing code +39051

Patron saint St. Petronius

Saint day       October 4

Website         Official website

Bologna (Italian pronunciation: [boˈloɲɲa]  ( listen), from the Latin Bononia, Bulåggna; pronounced [buˈləɲɲa] in the Bolognese dialect of Emiliano-Romagnolo language) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River.

Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna is one of the most developed cities in Italy. Bologna often ranks as one of the top cities, in terms of quality of life in Italy: it was ranked 5th in 2006, and 12th in 2007, out of 103 Italian cities.[1] This is due to its strong industrial tradition, its wide range of highly-developed social services, and its physical location at the crossing-point of the most important highways and railways in the country. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, and it has a rich history, art, cuisine, music and culture, and was made 2000's European Capital of Culture.[2]

Contents [hide]

1 History

1.1 Etruscan, Celtic and Roman times

1.2 Middle Ages

1.3 Early modern

1.4 Late modern and contemporary

2 Geography

2.1 Climate

3 Cityscape

3.1 Architecture

4 Economy

5 Transport

6 Demographics

7 Culture

7.1 Entertainment and performing arts

7.2 Cuisine

7.3 Sport

7.4 Education

8 Famous natives of Bologna and environs

9 Famous companies

10 Twin towns – sister cities

11 See also

12 References

13 External links

History

Etruscan, Celtic and Roman times

In the 4th century BC, the city and the surrounding area were conquered by the Boii, a Celtic tribe coming from Transalpine Gaul. The tribe settled down and mixed so well with the Etruscans, after a first aggressive period, that they created a civilization that modern historians call Gaul-Etruscan (one of the best examples is the archeological complex of Monte Bibele, in the bolognese Appennine). After the Battle of Telamon, in which the forces of the Boii and their allies were badly beaten, the tribe accepted reluctantly the influence of the Roman Republic, but with the outbreak of the Punic Wars the Celts once more went on the path of war. They first helped Hannibal's army to cross the alps then gave him a consistent force of infantry that proved itself decisive in several battles. With the downfall of the Carthaginians came the end of the Boii as a free people, the Romans destroying many settlements and villages (Monte Bibele is one of them) and the founding of the colonia of Bononia in c.189 BC. The settlers included three thousand Latin families led by the consuls Lucius Valerius Flaccus. The Celtic population was ultimately absorbed in the Roman society but the language survived in some measure until today in the Bolognese dialect, which linguists say belongs to the Gaul – Italic group of languages and dialects. The building of the Via Aemilia in 187 BC made Bologna an important centre, connected to Arezzo through the Via Flaminia minor and to Aquileia through the Via Aemilia Altinate.

In 88 BC, the city became a municipium: it had a rectilinear street plan with six cardi and eight decumani (intersecting streets) which are still discernible today. During the Roman era, its population varied between c. 12,000 to c. 30,000. At its peak, it was the second city of Italy, and one of the most important of all the Empire, with various temples and baths, a theatre, and an arena. Pomponius Mela included Bononia among the five opulentissimae ("richest") cities of Italy. Although fire damaged the city during the reign of Claudius, the Roman Emperor Nero rebuilt it in the 1st century AD.

Middle Ages

After a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under bishop Petronius. According to legend, St. Petronius built the church of S. Stefano. After the fall of Rome, Bologna was a frontier stronghold of the Exarchate of Ravenna in the Po plain, and was defended by a line of walls which did not enclose most of the ancient ruined Roman city. In 728, the city was captured by the Lombard king Liutprand, becoming part of the Lombard Kingdom. The Germanic conquerors formed a district called "addizione longobarda" near the complex of S. Stefano. Charlemagne stayed in this district in 786.

Depiction of a fight between the Guelf and Ghibelline factions in Bologna, from the Croniche of Giovanni Sercambi, about 1400.

In the 11th century, Bologna began to grow again as a free commune, joining the Lombard League against Frederick Barbarossa in 1164. In 1088, the Studio was founded, now the oldest university in Europe, which could boast notable scholars of the Middle Ages like Irnerius, and, among its students, Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca. In the 12th century, the expanding city needed a new line of walls, and another was completed in the 14th century as the city had expanded further.

In 1256, Bologna promulgated the Legge del Paradiso ("Paradise Law"), which abolished feudal serfdom and freed the slaves, using public money. At that time the city centre was full of towers (perhaps 180), built by the leading families, notable public edifices, churches, and abbeys. In the 1270s Bolognese politics was dominated by the lettered Luchetto Gattilusio who served as podestà. Like most Italian cities of that age, Bologna was torn by internal struggles related to the Guelph and Ghibelline factions, which led to the expulsion of the Ghibelline family of the Lambertazzi in 1274.

In 1294, Bologna was perhaps the fifth or sixth largest city in Europe, after Cordoba, Paris, Venice, Florence, and, probably, Milan, with 60,000 to 70,000 inhabitants. After being crushed in the Battle of Zappolino by the Modenese in 1325, Bologna began to decay and asked the protection of the Pope at the beginning of the 14th century. In 1348, during the Black Plague, about 30,000 inhabitants died.

After the prosperity years of the rule of Taddeo Pepoli (1337–1347), Bologna fell to the Visconti of Milan, but returned to the Papal orbit with Cardinal Gil de Albornoz in 1360. The following years saw an alternation of Republican governments like that of 1377, which was responsible for the building of the Basilica di San Petronio and the Loggia dei Mercanti, and Papal or Visconti restorations, while the city's families engaged in continual internecine fighting.

Early modern

In the middle of the 15th century, the Bentivoglio family gained the rule of Bologna, reigning with Sante (1445–1462) and Giovanni II (1462–1506). This period was a flourishing one for the city, with the presence of notable architects and painters who made Bologna a true city of art. During the Renaissance, Bologna was the only Italian city that allowed women to excel in any profession. Women there had much more freedom than in other Italian cities; some even had the opportunity to earn a degree at the university.

Map of Bologna in 1640.

Giovanni's reign ended in 1506 when the Papal troops of Julius II besieged Bologna and sacked the artistic treasures of his palace. From that point on, until the 18th century, Bologna was part of the Papal States, ruled by a cardinal legato and by a Senate which every two months elected a gonfaloniere (judge), assisted by eight elder consuls. In 1530, in front of Saint Petronio Church, Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII.

The city's state continued, although a plague at the end of the 16th century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, and another in 1630 to 47,000. The population later recovered to a stable 60,000–65,000. In 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the center of the University. The period of Papal rule saw the construction of many churches and other religious establishments, and the reincarnation of older ones. Bologna had ninety-six convents, more than many other Italian city. Artists working in this age in Bologna established the Bolognese School that includes Annibale Carracci, Domenichino, Guercino and others of European fame.

Late modern and contemporary

With the rise of Napoleon, Bologna became the capital of the Cispadane Republic, and later, after Milan, the second most important center of the Repubblica Cisalpina and the Italian Kingdom. After the fall of Napoleon, Bologna was once again under the sovereignty of the Papal States, rebelling in 1831 and again 1849, when it temporarily expelled the Austrian garrisons which controlled the city until 1860. After a visit by Pope Pius IX in 1857, the city voted for annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia on June 12, 1859, becoming part of the united Italy.

Bologna railway station after the 1980 terrorist attacks.

In the new political situation, Bologna gained importance for its cultural role and became an important commercial, industrial, and communications hub; its population began to grow again and at the beginning of the 20th century the old walls were destroyed (except for a few remaining sections) in order to build new houses for the population.

During World War II, Bologna was a key transportation hub for the Germans. Its capture by the Polish 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division[3] on April 21, 1945 led to the liberation of the Po Valley and the collapse of German defenses in northern Italy. It was also a centre for the Italian Resistance and after World War II became a stronghold for the Italian Communist Party.

On August 2, 1980, a massive terrorist attack killed 85 people and wounded more than 200 in the central train station (see Bologna massacre). The attack has been attributed to the neo-fascist terrorist organization Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari. Only two months previously, Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 had crashed under suspicious circumstances.

Geography

Climate

Bologna has a climate variously described by climatologists as humid temperate or continental, characteristic of Northern Italy's inland plains, with hot summers and cold, humid winters.[4] Temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) often from May to early September and heatwaves are very common during the summer. Because of the high rate of humidity, perception both of heat in summer and cold in winter are amplified. Due to humidity, fog is very common during late autumn and winter (as in most parts of Northern Italy). Annual precipitation ranges from 700 millimetres to 800 millimetres concentrated usually in spring and autumn. Snowfall can occur from late November to April, but snow accumulation occurs mainly from December through February. The coldest temperature recorded is −19.8 °C (−3.6 °F) on 13 January 1985, the highest temperature ever recorded was 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) on August 2003.