Bologna's elegant old Roman road: leaning towers at one end, porticoed palazzos and hidden courtyards along the way.
Explore → Get Early AccessThe old Roman road out of the city is Bologna's most elegant straight line — wooden-beamed porticoes, palazzo courtyards, the Santa Maria dei Servi arcade, and the Garisenda leaning into view at the end.
This is the Via Emilia itself entering the city — the 187 BC Roman highway became the medieval pilgrim and market road, and its palaces record every century of Bolognese money since.
Casa Isolani's portico here rides on nine-meter oak beams from the 1200s — among the oldest surviving in the city. Legend hides three arrows in its ceiling, shot (the story goes) by assassins distracted by a naked lady at a window; visitors squint for them daily.
Bologna's grandest portico: the sweeping arcade beside the Archiginnasio where the city has promenaded for centuries.
666 arches and 3.8 kilometers uphill to the Sanctuary of San Luca: the world's longest portico…
Walking Through 40km of Covered Medieval Arcades
Bologna's cathedral, and the tower-within-a-tower almost nobody climbs
Medieval Skyscrapers Since 1109
Bologna's Sacred Hilltop Pilgrimage & Panoramic Paradise
Alma Mater Studiorum - Since 1088
Our favourite gelato in Bologna, on Via Castiglione since 1994
Bologna's Bronze Giant
Join food lovers discovering authentic Bologna. Get our guide to real ragù, traditional osterie, and local markets.
Explore more destinations in our Italian travel network
More journeys: 🌺 rHawaii ✈️ rVacation 📷 rPhotography 🍽️ rDining
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend tours and stays we would book ourselves.