The porticoes of Bologna shelter this medieval city from the elements and protect the ancient palaces from ruin. Beneath the archways, you will find a wealth of art and history.
In the heart of Emilia-Romagna sits the city of Bologna, the region's capital -- a medieval city known for its splendorous art, fierce battles and rich cuisine. Its historical center is rife with ancient palaces and 40 km of portico. As visitors walk throughout the city, they may happen upon old frescoes beneath the portico, depicting some of Bologna's darker history. On occasion one may see a stray arrow stuck in one of the ceilings of the old wooden porticoes, and suddenly ancient history doesn't seem so ancient after all.
At present, the porticoes shelter the Bolognese inhabitants and guests from the glaring sun in summer and pounding rain in spring and fall and protect shopkeeper's goods from spoilage by intense heat. It is quite possible that with a good city map in hand, visitors may see the entire city and climb up into the hills surrounding Bologna, all under the protection of the city's porticoes. The only sometime drawback to taking in all the natural splendor of the portico is that most of the sidewalks are marble and when wet, they are quite slippery. Also, gaping holes from missing marble are scattered along the way and one misstep can lead to a twisted ankle. It is best to keep one eye on the art, and the other eye on the sidewalk.
Construction of the portico took nearly one quarter of a millennium. The oldest part runs alongside the 14th Century Basilica of S. Maria dei Servi and its basically simple portico, built in 1393. The newest part runs along the facade of the temple and dates back only to 1521. If we take a walking tour of some of the portico, we find a city and inhabiting families revealed through the construction of the palaces, but most notably the portico. In 1567, a government edict mandated that wooden pillars holding up the porticoes be replaced by stone columns in order to decorate the city for everyone's enjoyment, and today, many of the portico are numbered, making it easier to find historical sites and family histories. At no. 28 along Via Rizzoli, we find an enormous coat of arms bearing the heraldry of the Bourbons, the crest of Ferdinando VI, King of Spain and the Toson d'Oro, a symbol of knighthood bestowed on foreign kings. The Spanish coat of arms evidences a strong Spanish presence in the city in 1367.
Further down, under the portico on Via dei Guideui, we come to the "door" to the Jewish Ghetto. When we reach #3 Via dell'Inferno, we can look up and see another strange reminder of Bologna's not so civilized past, a spy-hole. At one time a law prohibited the Jews from leaving their homes after sunset and from having windows on the ground floor. In this same area, you will find a few strange vaults that join the first floors of the buildings. They are most definitely passages, perhaps not secret passages, but necessitated by Jewish families forbidden to meet after hours in the street.
A few steps further on, the porticoes of Via del Carro lead to a large vault with an enormous mask on Via Zamboni. An ancient Bolognese tradition explains the giant mask was used by the Malvasia family to pour wine on the crowd below during the family's large feasts. The Malvasia home hosts neo-Palladin style porticoes and the architecture of Francesco Tadolini.
A few meters from the Malvasia house, lies the portico of the Church of S. Giacomo Maggiore. The 13th Century facade of this church blends beautifully with the 15th Century portico which features elegantly tiled friezes, including the profile of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, flanked on one side by angelical arches and on the other by the Church of S. Cecilia.
A walk near the Palazzo del Podestà , finds heavier constructed columns with a definite Roman influence. As you get closer, you notice the porticoes' marble slabs all appear different from one another. An entire series of small ashlars decorated with the crest of the Bentivoglio family (the financiers of the construction), resides on the pillars.
Located in the now fashionable area of Bologna centro is Piazza Cavour, home to the present day shops of Giorgio Armani, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton. Once a visitor tears their eyes away from ogling fashions and looks up, they are surprised to find of the most resplendent sights of the city under very simple portico columns. Brilliantly illuminated at night, the ceilings of this portico house beautiful paintings so vibrant in color, one might think they were painted only yesterday. A first-time visitor's walk is always slowed when they happen upon these portico by accident and you hear the frequent clicking of cameras along this portico.
One of the most interesting porticoes is at #19 at the 12th Century Casa Isolani. The oak-beamed portico stands on a plaster base and it known as the portico of the "three arrows," because if one looks up, you should find three arrows stuck into the black wooden ceiling. As you walk along other porticoes, many of the heavy wooden doors also have pock marks in the them from arrow wounds. It is interesting to note that most of the ancient doorways have been preserved quite well and still retain their enormous doorknockers, probably due to the fact the portico has protected them from extreme weather conditions.
One cannot conclude any history of Bologna's porticoes without mentioning the 666 archways of the portico of the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin, the very famous San Luca, guardian of the city of Bologna. Rising 289 meters above sea-level, this portico starts at the Meloncello gateway to the city designed by Carlo Francesco Dotti (1678-1759). Every year thousands of pilgrims make the (on average) three hour journey on foot to climb the sacred hill. If it were not for the shelter of the portico, many could never complete the journey.
The porticoes are ever changing. Restorationists work constantly at keeping the porticoes in good repair without compromising the individual artistry given them by the families of this medieval city. Frescoes are restored when the city is able to afford artists, which is unfortunate as many frescoes have been blurred by unwise painters. Still others retain their detail and thus depict, an ancient, but not always civilized and easy time in which to live. If you have a chance to visit Bologna in your lifetime, be sure to allow extra time to stroll slowly beneath these marvelous outdoor art galleries, and don't forget to look up, you just might see an arrow.
