I met Lorenza, one of Bologna Connect ambassadors, thanks to the wide and dynamic bolognese network of passionate residents that are in love with this special city and strive to share the knowledge and history of Bologna – a city out of the main tourist tracks that deserves a deep visit.
I have lived there for 6 years and yet realised I did not know it under many aspects: so I eagerly took a walk with Lorenza to see the spot from a different point of view.
We started our walk at the train station, and traced history’s steps backwards from August 2, 1980 to 189 before Christ.
The first stop, at the Galliera gate, made me better know and appreciate a historical reference that I have seen too many times, but that I have never deepened enough: Lorenza’s lively explanations turned a mid-July sultry day into an interesting movie.
The route continued through the arcades of Bologna (just proclaimed a Unesco heritage site) up to the well-known “little window” of via Piella, loved by tourists and not, for its particularity, given its position and its strong attraction of photographers or simple passers-by who want to share it on social networks or keep a special memory aside.

La finestrella di Via Piella Credits: Alessandro Salomoni – Bologna Welcome

Step by step I discovered many other little secrets and places of interest that I had never considered before, such as the numerous towers located in the city center in addition to the two most famous ones,

Le Due Torri Credits: Alessandro Salomoni – Bologna Welcome

or the Roman excavations inside the city library, as well as the Archiginnasio, where I had never entered before and which fascinated me from the first moment with its countless frescoes and coat-of-arms; so for me all these stages were real first times.

Among the curiosities that struck me the most was the “cellar” where the wellknown car factory Maserati was founded in the early 1900s, which is almost sacred for engine lovers : I had probably already passed dozens of times in piazza Santo Stefano and did not know that a piece of world history about four wheels has been made there!
Bologna is often artistically underestimated compared to other more famous cities such as Florence or Rome, but indeed it hides innumerable works of art and out-ofthe- beaten-path locations. I recommend you take this walk that made me appreciate and love the city where I live even more than before.

Autore: Luca Londrillo per Bologna Connect