Bologna: 90-Min Audio Guided Walking Tour of History & Hidden Gems

Bologna boasts of being the city that hosted the first university in the Western world and one of the largest in Europe! With more than 100,000 students from all over Italy and the world, it deserves its important reputation.

On your left is the National Pinacoteca of Bologna. A pinacoteca is simply a museum of paintings, and this one is one of the main museums of the city.

On this lively street, part of the University of Bologna, you have on your left an imposing building that runs almost all the way along.

Here you are in the Giuseppe Verdi square, named after one of the world’s greatest opera composers, and you face the communal theatre, coloured with a bright pink and supported by 13 columns.

This church, which translates into French gives the church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur, was built between 1267 and 1315 in a Romanesque style, first of all, as evidenced by its gabled facade.

Only a few meters from the two iconic towers is the elegant church of Saint Bartolomé and Saint Gaétan. Characterized by a beautiful Renaissance style, it was built from 1516 in place of an old church that had been there since the 5th century.

Come on, another place in Bologna that really deserves a look! Meet here with the two towers of Bologna, which are among the great symbols of the city! Because yes, Bologna is a city that had, in the Middle Ages, more than a hundred towers, of which about twenty are still standing today.

Here you are in a street that has more than 2,000 years of history! The Strada Maggiore already existed in the Roman period since it was part of the Emilia Way, or Via Aemilia after its real name, a way built from -187 BC. C. to connect the current cities of Piacenza and Rimini, passing through Fidenza, Parma, Modena or Bologna.

Here you are in front of the entrance to Corte Isolani, marked by one of the oldest houses in Bologna! To discover it, you have to look up and follow the beams that appear in front of you to notice this small house that comes straight from the 13th century.

A place that changes and is just as essential as the others! Admire these beautiful buildings that surround it: behind you, where you come from, it is the palazzo Isolani that imposes its imposing Romanesque-Gothic architecture.

On this square you can see the soaring Palazzo della Mercanzia. It was in 1391 that it was born, all brick and pietra of Istria, limestone rock that strongly resembles marble.

Impressive place, isn’t it? Here you are in the heart of Bologna, in the main square which boasts some of the most beautiful monuments of the city.

On Plazza Maggiore, you don’t know where to look because there are so many things to discover! Let's start with the Basilica of San Petronio, on your left.