A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ITALY: EMILIA-ROMAGNA REGION
Buon giorno again! Welcome to the third installment of my Italian travel guide series. :) Can you believe I only have ONE more to go with a video release?? This time around I’m going to tell you about two separate parts of my trip that happen to be in the same region because we backtracked at one point. You see, we drove straight to Bologna after renting the car and only stayed for one night. After about a week we visited the Emilia-Romagna region one more time to briefly explore the gem of a city that is Ravenna. I decided that it made the most sense to combine these two cities into one post since they conveniently happen to be an hour away from each other. Without further ado, let’s explore the Emilia-Romagna region!
Bologna:
Oh Bologna, how I love you so. The capital of the region is home to the oldest university in the world, and the vibrant night life will prove that to you. I swear nothing closes before 3 a.m. in this town. All of the streets are lined with gorgeous arched porticos that make you feel like you’re walking through the halls of another century. Soon enough you’ll find yourself wandering the prettiest outdoor markets you’ve ever seen, which are always bustling with locals and tourists alike. My only complaint about this place is the graffiti, which sadly is everywhere. But not to worry, you can go distract yourself looking through all the pretty antique shops and flea markets nearby. ;)
Stay—
Before we drove to our rented villa outside of Florence, we stayed at the Hotel Corona D’Oro for one night. Warning: this place is really hard to find. Once you finally get there, you’ll be glad you basically drove in circles for a half an hour in a car that’s more like a bus in a city that has streets that are more like walkways. Fun times. ;) Trust me, it’s worth the pain because this place is great. The rooms were very pretty and had views of the busy cobblestone streets that Bologna is known for. The concierge itself deserves 5,000 stars because they were so incredibly helpful. The man we got a few recommendations from actually pointed us in the direction of hands down the best gelato we had the entire trip. You probably think I sound crazy since I had only been in Italy for about 5 hours by this time, but take my word for it. Bologna is known for it's food, so I think that adds some justification to my craziness.
Eat—
Ristorante Teresina: What a great start to our Italian food escapade! Surprise, surprise the man at the concierge told us about this sweet little spot which was a mere 2 blocks away from our hotel. The place is tucked into the cutest alley you’ve ever seen, and was lit entirely by tiny wall lamps and tea lights. The food was very traditional Tuscan cooking, and the standout dish was definitely their Tortellini en Brudo. For those of you wondering what that possibly could mean, it’s essentially baby tortellini filled with meat in a salty broth. If you’re still confused then think of it as the best chicken noodle soup you’ve ever had.
Cremeria Funivia: Here we go, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The best gelato I’ve ever had in my entire life is made right in the center of Bologna. There was a line out the door at midnight! That’s got to say something about a place, doesn’t it? I was completely lost when we got there though, because all of the flavors were in Italian and no one spoke a lick of English. It was okay because I just used my best judgement, which probably wouldn’t have mattered anyways since every flavor we tried was incredible. I’m still unsure exactly what I ordered, but I’m pretty sure one was coffee with marscapone and the other was stracciatella. Whatever it was, it was fantastic.
Simoni: We spent half of the next day in Bologna just wandering around all the different sights in the city. We found ourselves in the main marketplace (per usual) and starting sniffing around for food come lunch time. Every place we saw was packed tight, but we managed to get a table at a place called Simoni which served everything from assorted charcuterie boards, to paninis, to parmesan cheese tasting plates. The best part about it was that everything was so reasonably priced as well as outstanding quality!
See—
Piazza Maggiore: This was the first piazza I ever visited in Italy! Ah memories. :) And way to start with a bang! This piazza was pretty big and had a lot going on in it. In one area you have the San Petronio Basilica, a HUGE Gothic church, in another you have the Fontana di Nettuno (which OF COURSE was under construction), each of which is surrounded by busy cafes and other gorgeous buildings. PS: Not exactly sure what happened to my photos from here. I promise I took some but I guess they didn't download. :(
Torre degli Asinelli: Another first! This time it was my first GIGANTIC tower of many that I would climb during my stay in Italy. I climbed a tower as big or bigger than this one in almost every place we visited. It was quite a trek (pun totally and completely intended). ;) Anyways, this tower was especially crazy for a couple reasons. First off, it was incredibly narrow for a good majority of the climb. Secondly, once I made it up I looked around and only saw orange. It seems like everyone in Bologna has an orange roof. The city has plenty of towers to climb but the tallest in the city has the best views, of course.
Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio: What would a trip to the founding university town be without a little history lesson? Don’t worry it’s far from boring. The anatomical theatre is one of the main historical rooms in the medical school. The entire place is filled with wood ceilings and benches, but in the middle of it all sits a giant marble table where the bodies used to be dissected (sounds gross but come on it’s kind of cool). The theatre was almost completely demolished in WWII, but luckily an incredible restoration team brought it back from the rubble.
Archiginnasio di Bologna: This building is one of the most important in all of Bologna. It used to be the main building for the university and it contains the school’s unbelievably vast library (in Italian Biblioteca Comunale dell’Archiginnasio and nope that's not a mirror). The walls are filled with thousands of coat of arms of the students who served in any representative way at the university. Beats any of the wallpaper you see in the stores today, I can tell you that. And guess what’s attached to this building? Our favorite anatomical theatre in Bologna, that’s what. ;)
Old Market in the Quadrilatero: This area of Bologna is reserved for food. Everyone you see is either buying, browsing, or eating. Located right behind the Piazza Maggiore, you’ll find yourself transported back to medieval times. As you weave through the narrow paths and alleys you’ll see countless vendors selling their fresh produce (flowers too) and the restaurants that buy from them.
Ravenna:
Ravenna is the true gem of the Emilia-Romagna region. This teeny-tiny city is one of Italy’s best kept secrets (that’s actually not secret at all), housing the world’s most beautiful Byzantine mosaics. It was definitely worth backtracking for. I’d seriously drive any amount of time to see those mosaics anyday. Just a fair warning, the photos do not do them justice, which means you just need to go visit them one day. ;)
Eat—
Due Dame: I’m just going to say it one more time before I get way too annoying, Ravenna is tiny. But, they happen to have one big main square that is pretty hard to miss. In this very square is where we had some wonderful antipasti. The burrata with fig jam and also a fantastic plate of local ham kept me happy till dinner. :)
See—
Sant’Apollinare Nuovo: This gorgeous church is wrapped in mosaics supported by huge marble columns. My favorite mosaic register depicts the male and female martyrs in procession, each of which has their own unique expression.
Battistero Neoniano: This was just about the tiniest baptistry I’ve ever seen. Despite it’s size, this place carries a lot of history within it. It was actually partly built on the site of a Roman bath and it is also known as the Orthodox Baptistry, distinguishing itself from the Arian Baptistry built for the King who came to power 50 years after the construction of the building.
Mausoleum di Galla Placidia: Another one of the eight UNESCO sites in Ravenna, this one is definitely the most delicate and well-preserved. You’re actually only allowed to be in the structure for five minutes at a time, so there is not too much breathing in the room. The darkness just makes the experience so much more dazzling though because the dim lights give the place a very peaceful/calming vibe. The mosaics also look beautiful as they glitter from the real gold tiles.
Basilica di San Vitale: This was by far my favorite Byzantine mosaic site in the city. My eyes didn’t know where to begin because it was so overwhelming. I loved how I could clearly see a divide between the two styles and time periods. On one side of the arch you can see the glittering tiles of the 6th century Byzantine mosaics, and on the other you can see the Baroque fresco that was painted in the 17th century. The contrast is so incredibly fascinating, and I nearly sprained my neck from looking up in awe for so long.
Although I didn’t spend way too much time in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, I feel like I saw enough of it to appreciate it’s glory. Oh don’t worry, I’ll definitely be back. Having a little taste of it this time around was just enough to keep me satisfied. I loved everything about the cities we visited and I can’t wait to do some more exploring. The last of my Italian guides is coming up in a few weeks so be sure to join our mailing list to be the first to know. Ciao bella! :)
xoxo,
Emma