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Bologna

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: European Geography

                   Comune di Bologna
           Coat of arms of Comune di Bologna
   Municipal coat of arms
   Country                            Italy Italy
   Region                             Emilia-Romagna
   Province                           Bologna (BO)
   Mayor                              Sergio Cofferati
   Elevation                          54 m
   Area                               140 km²
   Population
    - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 374,425
    - Density                         2,643/km²
   Time zone                          CET, UTC+1
   Coordinates                        44°30′N 11°21′E
   Gentilic                           Bolognesi
   Dialing code                       051
   Postal code                        40100
   Patron                             St. Petronius
    - Day                             October 4

   Location of Bologna in Italy

             Website: www.comune.bologna.it

   Bologna ( IPA [boˈloɲa], from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in the local
   dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in
   the Pianura Padana, between the Po River and the Apennines, exactly,
   between Reno River and Sàvena River.
   The centre of the city.
   Enlarge
   The centre of the city.

History

   Bologna was founded by the Etruscans with the name Felsina (ca. 534
   BCE) in an area previously inhabited by the villanovians, a people of
   farmers and shepherds. The Etruscan city grew around a sanctuary built
   on a hill, and was surrounded by a necropolis.

   In the 4th century BC the city was conquered by the Boii, a Gallic
   tribe, whence the ancient name Bononia of the Roman colony founded in
   c.189 BC. The settlers included 3,000 Latin families led by the consuls
   Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Marcus Atilius Seranus and Lucius Valerius
   Tappo. The building of the Via Aemilia in 187 BC made Bologna a road
   hub, 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 2nd city of
   Italy, and one of the most important of all the Empire) with various
   temples and baths, a theatre, and one arena. Pomponius Mela included
   Bononia among the five opulentissimae ("richest") cities of Italy. The
   city was rebuilt by the Emperor Nero after a fire.

   After a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under
   bishop Petronius, who traditionally 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 however did not enclose most of the ancient ruined Roman
   city. In 728, the city was conquered by the Lombard king Liutprand,
   becoming part of the Lombard Kingdom. The German newcomers formed a
   district called "addizione longobarda" near the complex of S. Stefano,
   where Charlemagne stayed in 786.

   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 of Europe, which
   could boast notable scholars of the Middle Ages like Irnerius, and,
   amongst 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.

   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, of notable public edifices, churches and abbeys.
   In 1294 Bologna was perhaps the 5th or the 6th city in Europe, after
   Cordoba, Paris, Venice, Florence, and, probably, Milan, with 60,000 -
   70,000 inhabitants.

   Like most Italian communes of that age, Bologna was torn by internal
   struggles, which lead to the expulsion of the Ghibelline family of
   Lambertazzi in 1274. 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
   terrible European pestilence, about 30,000 inhabitants died.
   A grosh of the Bentivoglio period (15th century).
   Enlarge
   A grosh of the Bentivoglio period (15th century).
   The famous "Two Towers" of Bologna.
   Enlarge
   The famous "Two Towers" of Bologna.
   Torre degli Asinelli.
   Enlarge
   Torre degli Asinelli.

   After the happy 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 built
   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. 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.

   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 university.

   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 XVIII 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.
   The city's prosperity 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 seat of the
   University. The period of Papal rule saw the construction of many
   churches and other religious establishments, and the renovation of
   older ones. The 96 convents of Bologna are a record for Italy. Artists
   working in this age in Bologna established the Bolognese School that
   includes Annibale Carracci, Domenichino, Guercino and others of
   European fame.
   Palace of King Enzio.
   Enlarge
   Palace of King Enzio.
   Piazza Nettuno, and behind Piazza Maggiore.
   Enlarge
   Piazza Nettuno, and behind Piazza Maggiore.
   Portico.
   Enlarge
   Portico.

   With the rise of Napoleon Bologna became the capital of the Repubblica
   Cispadana and, later, the second most important centre after Milan of
   the Repubblica Cisalpina and the Italian Kingdom. After the fall of
   Napoleon, Bologna suffered the Papal restoration, rebelling in 1831 and
   again 1849, when it temporarily expelled the Austrian garrisons which
   commanded 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.

   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 few
   parts) in order to build new houses for the population.

   Though damaged during the closing battles of World War II, Bologna soon
   recovered and is now one of the richest, most civil and well-planned
   cities of Italy.

   On August 2, 1980 a massive bomb killed 86 people in the central train
   station in the city (see Bologna massacre). Only two month previously
   Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 crashed in suspicious circumstances enroute
   from Bologna to Palermo killing 81 people. The official verdict,
   released only in 1999 was that the plane was shot down accidentally by
   NATO forces. (Guardian)

Transport

   Bologna is the first railway and motorway hub in Italy; its Fiera
   District (exhibitions) is the 2nd in Italy and the 4th in Europe, with
   important international exhibitions, like Motorshow (cars,
   motor-cycles, considered the most important in all the world), Saie,
   Saiedue and Cersaie (buildings), Cosmoprof (beauty culture, considered
   the most important in all the World), Lineapelle, etc. Bologna and its
   metropolitan area has important industries (mechanics, foods,
   electronics), has very important retail and wholesale trade (the
   "Centergross" in the northern metropolitan area, built in 1973, was the
   biggest in Europe until few years ago), and has the first Italian
   vegetable and fruit market. Bologna also has important monuments,
   museums, and rich cultural life.

Importance

   The importance of Bologna in Italy and in Europe, considered from the
   points of view of culture, industry, trade, social, political, economy,
   etc., is much greater than suggested by its demographic data: about
   400,000 inhabitants in the city, about 1 million in the metropolitan
   area, including over 100,000 students of the ancient and renowned
   University of Bologna, founded in the 11th century.

Main sights

   Until the late 19th century, when a large-scale urban reconstruction
   project was undertaken, Bologna remained one of the best-preserved
   Medieval cities in Europe, though to this day it remains unique in its
   historic value. Despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in
   1944, Bologna's historic centre, Europe's 2nd largest (after Venice),
   contains a wealth of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque artistic
   monuments of primary importance.

   Bologna developed as an Etruscan, then Roman colony along the Via
   Emilia, the street that still runs straight through the city under the
   changing names of Strada Maggiore, Rizzoli, Ugo Bassi, and San Felice.
   Due to its Roman heritage, the most central streets of Bologna, today
   largely pedestrianized, follow the grid pattern of the Roman
   settlement.

   The original Roman ramparts were supplanted by a high medieval system
   of fortifications, remains of which are still visible, and finally by a
   third and final set of ramparts built in the 13th century, of which
   numerous sections survive. Over twenty medieval defensive towers, some
   of them leaning precariously, remain from the over two hundred that
   were constructed in the era preceding the security guaranteed by
   unified civic government.

   Bologna is home to numerous important churches. An incomplete list
   include:
     * the basilica of San Petronio, one of the biggest in the World
     * San Pietro Cathedral
     * Santo Stefano basilica and sanctuary
     * San Domenico basilica and sanctuary
     * San Francesco basilica
     * Santa Maria dei Servi basilica
     * San Giacomo Maggiore basilica
     * Beata Vergine di San Luca basilica and sanctuary, on Colle della
       Guardia
     * San Michele in Bosco
     * San Paolo the Great, basilica

   The cityscape is further enriched by elegant and extensive arcades (or
   porticos), for which the city is famous. In total, there are some 38
   kilometres of arcades in the city's historical centre (over 45 km in
   the cityproper), which make it possible to walk for long distances
   sheltered from rain, snow, or hot summer sun. The Portico of San Luca,
   the longest in the World (3,5 km, 666 arcades) connects Porta Saragozza
   (one of the twelve Gates of the ancient Walls built in the Middle-Age
   which rounded the city on 7,5 km) with San Luca Sanctuary, on Colle
   della Guardia, over the city (289 m/o.l.s.).

   The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca is a very notable site,
   located just outside the main city on the Colle della Guardia (Guard
   Hill). Built in the 11th century and much enlarged in 14th and 18th
   centuries. The interior contains works of different masters but
   probably the most important is the painting of the Madonna with Child
   attributed to Luke the Evangelist. The best way to visit this Sanctuary
   is by foot as you can walk under the portico mentioned above.

Culture

   Over the centuries, Bologna has acquired many nicknames: "Bologna the
   learned one" (Bologna la dotta) is a reference to its famous
   university; "Bologna the fat one" (Bologna la grassa) refers to its
   cuisine.

   "Bologna the red one" has also been said to refer to the city's
   left-leaning politics. Until the election of a centre-right mayor in
   1999, the city was a historic bastion of socialism and communism. The
   centre-left gained power again in the 2004 mayoral elections, with the
   election of Sergio Cofferati. It was one of the first European
   settlements to experiment with the concept of "free" public transport.

   Another nickname for Bologna is Basket City, referring to Bologna's
   obsession with basketball, unusual in football-dominated Italy. The
   local derby between the city's two principal basketball clubs,
   Fortitudo and Virtus (often called after the clubs' principal
   sponsors), is intense. Violence, however, has been largely absent in
   the derby.

   Football is still a popular sport in Bologna; the main local club is
   Bologna F.C. 1909, which was relegated to Serie B at the end of the
   2004/2005 season.

   The city of Bologna was appointed a UNESCO City of Music on 29 May
   2006. According to UNESCO "As the first Italian city to be appointed to
   the Network, Bologna has demonstrated a rich musical tradition that is
   continuing to evolve as a vibrant factor of contemporary life and
   creation. It has also shown a strong commitment to promoting music as
   an important vehicle for inclusion in the fight against racism and in
   an effort to encourage economic and social development. Fostering a
   wide range of genres from classical to electronic, jazz, folk and
   opera, Bologna offers its citizens a musical vitality that deeply
   infiltrates the city’s professional, academic, social and cultural
   facets".

Transport

   Bologna is home to Guglielmo Marconi International Airport, expanded in
   2004 by extending the runway to accommodate larger aircraft: it is the
   fifth busiest Italian airport for passenger traffic (about 3,6
   million/year). Since 2004, is the third busiest for intercontinental
   flights.

   Bologna Central Station is considered the most important train hub in
   Italy thanks to the city's strategic location. Also, its goods-station
   (San Donato) with its 33 railway tracks, is the largest in Italy in
   size and traffic and is one of the biggest in Europe. Bologna's station
   holds a memory in Italian public consciousness for the huge terrorist
   bomb attack that killed 85 victims in August 1980. The attack is also
   known in Italy as the Strage di Bologna, the Bologna massacre. It is
   widely believed the bomb was planted by neo-fascist activists -
   possibly to stir public opinion against Italian communists.

Demographics

   As of 2004, the greater Bologna area had a resident population of
   943,983, of which 94.09% were ethnic Italians. Immigrants in the city
   constitute 5.91% of the population. Of the 55,840 immigrants in
   Bologna, Europeans other than Italian origins slimly outnumber those
   from the African continent. They number 19,668 and are chiefly of
   Romanian, Albanian, and Ukrainian origins. Closely following, Africans
   number 19,060, but are almost entirely North African Arab rather
   sub-saharan blacks. A recent and growing Asian population number 14,119
   and are mostly Filipino, and Chinese. The remaining consists of
   immigrants from the Americas and the Middle East. While ageing
   continues to be a factor in the city's population, the number of births
   has risen in the past decade, contributing to the positive growth of
   the city.

   Age profile

     * 00 - 14 (108,422) = 11.48%
     * 15 - 64 (615,488) = 61.59
     * 65+ (220,113) = 23.31%

Cuisine

   Bologna is renowned for its culinary tradition and it is regarded by
   some as the food capital of Italy. It has given its name to Bolognese
   sauce, a meat based pasta sauce called in Italy ragù alla bolognese but
   in the City itself just ragù alone as in Tagliatelle al ragù . Bologna
   is also influenced by Milanese cuisine as its specialities include
   risotto, however one is hard pressed to find bread that is neither
   stale nor made from finely ground bleached flour.

   Situated in the fertile Po River Valley, the rich local cuisine depends
   heavily on meats and cheeses. As in all of Emilia-Romagna, the
   production of cured pork meats such as prosciutto, mortadella and
   salame is an important part of the local food industry. Well-regarded
   nearby vineyards include Pignoletto dei Colli Bolognesi, Lambrusco di
   Modena and Sangiovese di Romagna.

   Tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini served in broth and mortadella (the
   original Bologna sausage) are among the local specialties.

University

   The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is the oldest existing
   university in Europe, and was an important centre of European
   intellectual life during the Middle Ages, attracting scholars from
   throughout Christendom. A unique heritage of medieval art, exemplified
   by the illuminated manuscripts and jurists' tombs produced in the city
   from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, provide a cultural
   backdrop to the renown of the medieval institution. The Studium, as it
   was originally known, began as a loosely organized teaching system with
   each master collecting fees from students on an individual basis. The
   location of the early University was thus spread throughout the city,
   with various colleges being founded to support students of a specific
   nationality.

   In the Napoleonic era, the headquarters of the university were moved to
   their present location on Via Zamboni (formerly Via San Donato), in the
   north-eastern sector of the city centre. Today, the University's 23
   faculties, 68 departments, and 93 libraries are spread across the city
   and include four subsidiary campuses in nearby Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna,
   and Rimini. Noteworthy students present at the university in centuries
   past included Dante, Petrarch, Thomas Becket, Pope Nicholas V, Erasmus
   of Rotterdam, and Copernicus. Laura Bassi, appointed in 1732, became
   the first woman to officially teach at a college in Europe. In more
   recent history, Luigi Galvani, the discoverer of biological
   electricity, and Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneer of radio technology,
   also worked at the University. The University of Bologna remains one of
   the most respected and dynamic post-secondary educational institutions
   in Italy. To this day, Bologna is still very much a university town,
   and the city's population swells from 400,000 to over 500,000 whenever
   classes are in session. This community includes a great number of
   Erasmus, Socrates, and overseas students. Several American Colleges and
   Universities, such as Brown University, Dickinson College and
   University of California, sponsor exchange programs. There is also a
   consortium of several universities, the Bologna Cooperative Studies
   Program, that is headed by Indiana University. The University of Denver
   also has an embedded study abroad program in Bologna, in coordination
   with the Centre for Civic Engagement. In addition the Johns Hopkins
   University School of Advanced International Studies maintains a
   permanent campus in the city.

   Nowadays, the University of Bologna controls 23 faculties: Agricultural
   sciences; Industrial Chemistry; Economics; Pharmacy; Law; Engineering;
   Literature and philosophy; Foreign languages and literatures; Medicine
   and surgery; Veterinary medicine; Sciences of education; Mathematics,
   physics and natural sciences; Sciences of physical education; Political
   Sciences; Statistics. Only in Cesena: Architecture; Psychology. Only in
   Ravenna: Conservation of cultural heritage.
   San Petronio.
   Enlarge
   San Petronio.

Famous natives of Bologna and environs

     * Pupi Avati (director, born 1938)
     * Adriano Banchieri (composer, 1568 – 1634)
     * Laura Bassi (scientist, first female appointed to university chair
       in Europe, 1711 – 1788)
     * Ugo Bassi (Italian nationalist hero, executed for role in 1848
       uprisings, 1800 - 1849)
     * Stefano Benni (writer, born 1947)
     * Benedict XIV (Prospero Lambertini, Pope 1740-58)
     * Giovanni II Bentivoglio (1443-1508)
     * Annibale Carracci (painter, 1560 – 1609)
     * Lodovico Carracci (painter, 1555 – 1619)
     * Agostino Carracci (painter, 1557 – 1602)
     * Pierluigi Collina (football referee, born 1960)
     * Scipione del Ferro (mathematician, solved the cubic equation, 1465
       – 1526)
     * Lucio Dalla (singer-songwriter, born 1943)
     * Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri, painter, 1581 - 1641)
     * Gianfranco Fini (politician, born 1952)
     * Luigi Galvani (scientist, discoverer of bioelectricity, 1737 –
       1798)
     * Serena Grandi (actress, born 1958)
     * Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni, Pope 1572-85, instituted Gregorian
       Calendar)
     * Gregory XV (Alessandro Ludovisi, Pope 1621-3)
     * Il Guercino (Giovanni Barbieri, painter, 1591 - 1666)
     * Irnerius (jurist, c.1050 - at least 1125)
     * Lucius II (Gherardo Caccianemici dell'Orso, Pope 1144-5)
     * Guglielmo Marconi (engineer, pioneer of wireless telegraphy, Nobel
       prize for Physics, 1874 - 1937)
     * Giuseppe Mezzofanti (cardinal and linguist, 1774 - 1839)
     * Marco Minghetti (economist and statesman, 1818 - 1886)
     * Giorgio Morandi (painter, 1890 - 1964)
     * Gianni Morandi (singer, born 1944)
     * Pier Paolo Pasolini (writer, poet, director, 1922 - 1975)
     * Romano Prodi (Italian prime minister and academic, born 1939)
     * Roberto Regazzi (luthier, born 1956)
     * Guido Reni (painter, 1575 - 1642)
     * Ottorino Respighi (composer, 1879 - 1936)
     * Augusto Righi (physicist, authority on electromagnetism, 1850 -
       1920)
     * Fabio Sassi (artist, born 1955)
     * Alberto Tomba (skier, born 1966)
     * Ondina Valla (first Italian woman Olympic gold medalist, 1916 -
       2006)
     * Mariele Ventre (teacher and educator, founder of Piccolo Coro dell'
       Antoniano choir, 1939 - 1995)
     * Christian Vieri (footballer, born 1973)
     * Alex Zanardi (race car driver, born 1966)

   In addition to the above natives, the following became associated with
   Bologna by long-term residence:
     * Giosuè Carducci (poet and academic, Nobel Prize for Literature,
       born near Lucca, Tuscany, 1835 - 1907)
     * Umberto Eco (writer and academic, born at Alessandria, Piedmont,
       1932)
     * Giovanni Pascoli (poet and academic, born at San Mauro di Romagna,
       1855 - 1912)
     * St. Petronius (San Petronio, bishop of Bologna and patron saint of
       the city, birthplace unknown, died c. 450 AD)
     * Gioacchino Rossini (opera composer, born in Pesaro, 1792 - 1868)

Famous companies

     * Ducati Motor Holding (motorcycles)
     * Lamborghini (cars)
     * Maserati (cars, now seats in Modena)
     * Omas (luxury fountain pen, now owned by French Luxury Group LVMH)
     * A number of prominent co-operative enterprises, including Coop, the
       leading Italian retailing chain.

Twin cities

     * United Kingdom Coventry, United Kingdom, since 1984
     * Ukraine Kharkov, Ukraine, since 1966
     * Argentina La Plata, Argentina, since 1988
     * Germany Leipzig, Germany, since 1962
     * United States St. Louis, Missouri, United States, since 1987
     * United States Portland, Oregon, United States, since 2003
     * Greece Thessaloniki, Greece, since 1981
     * Nicaragua San Carlos, Nicaragua, since 1988
     * Senegal Saint-Louis, Senegal, since 1991
     * France Toulouse, France, since 1981
     * Bosnia and Herzegovina - Tuzla, Bosnia and Hercegovina, since 1994
     * Spain Valencia, Spain, since 1976
     * Croatia Zagreb, Croatia, since 1963

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