A list of the top sights to visit while in Bologna, Italy

The medieval Palazzo di Rei Enzo, named for Enzo, king of Sardinia, who died here in 1272 after languishing in captivity for 23 years; the Romanesque Palazzo del Podesta; and the Palazzo Comunale, seat of the local government... » more

A walk through the complex provides a remarkable overview of the history of Bologna. The first church you enter is the Crocifisso, begun in the 11th century (as you enter, notice the pulpit built into the facade). San Petronio, Bologna's patron saint, lies in the church to the left––the most charming in the group––the 12th-century San Sepolcro, a polygon modeled after the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem... » more

Rome got wind of the Bolognese scheme to build a church bigger than St. Peter's and cut off funding. Even so, the structure that was erected over the next three centuries is impressively grand. Its facade is partially striped in white and red (the city's heraldic colors) and punctuated by one of the great works of the Italian Renaissance: a marble doorway surrounded by bas-reliefs depicting the Madonna and Child and other biblical scenes carved by Jacopo della Quercia, which are now sadly weather-worn... » more

In the sixth chapel on the right inside San Domenico is one of the great treasures of Bologna, the beautifully crafted tomb of San Domenico. St. Dominic, founder of the teaching order that bears his name, died in Bologna in 1221... » more

By the 13th century, more than 10,000 students from all over Europe were descending on this center of learning. Their scholarly numbers have included Thomas à Becket, Copernicus, Dante, Petrarch, and, much more recently, Federico Fellini... » more

While most of Università di Bologna ★ is now housed up Via Zamboni, the most interesting bit to visit is in one of its oldest buildings just south of Piazza Maggiore: the Teatro Anatomico inside... » more

This oratory was frescoed with scenes from the lives of St. Catherine and her husband, St. Valerian, by the best artists working in Bologna in the 16th century. ... » more

Built by noble families as symbols of their wealth and prestige, are still standing—and just barely. The two most famous lean alarmingly toward one another on Piazza di Porta Ravegna, where the seven main streets of medieval Bologna converge... » more

During the Middle Ages, the city revolved around its university, and the most enchanting treasures are the sepulchers of professors, surrounded for eternity by carvings of dozing and mocking students... » more

The museum's most sought-out work is not by a native son but by Raphael, whose Ecstasy of St. Cecilia is one of the great achievements of Renaissance painting. However, much of the rest of these galleries is devoted to either Bolognese painters or painters from elsewhere who worked in Bologna... » more

The Egyptian holdings include a portion of the Book of the Dead and bas-reliefs from the tomb of Horemheb, followed by replicas of well-known Greek and Roman statues, plus a peaceful central courtyard littered with ancient milestones from Via Emilia... » more

Among the masterpieces here are a Madonna and Child by Francesco Francia, along with the frescoes the Bentivoglios commissioned from Ferrarese master Lorenzo Costa... » more