Also called 'new palace' to differentiate it from the Podestà palace, King Enzo Palace was built between 1244-46 (at the same time than the palace of Podestà, or people's captain) as an extension of Municipal buildings. Just three years later it became the 'residence' of the King taken prisoner in the battle of Fossalta: King Enzo of Sardinia, son of Frederick II.

This was the first seat of the town government, represented by the Podestà and his judges and officers.

The old seat of the Notary's guild or association as inferred by the three ink pots with quills depicted in the coat-of-arm on the façade.

Palazzo dei Banchi was the last palace to be built in Piazza Maggiore. It was supposed to hide the narrow streets of the market behind it.

The building of the Palace was commissioned by Cardinal Borromeo between 1562 and 1563 following the project by architect Antonio Morandi called Terribilia; it was to house the lecture halls for the University Study (Law and Arts). Up to 1803 it was the seat of the University and since 1838 it has housed the Civic Library.

Seat of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Crafts, Palazzo della Mercanzia has governed trading and business activities of Bologna since the late 14th century.

The palace, built for Bartolomeo Ghisilardi at the end of the century, is the exemplary model of a 15th-century's noble house from Bologna.

Palazzo Fava, located in Via Manzoni, in the heart of the ancient city, took form in the Middle Ages. Thanks to the will of the Fava family who came into possession in 1546.

Originally, the XVth century  building housed the canons of the nearby Cathedral of St. Peter. In the XVIth century, the pawnshop of St. Peter was here established (the Pawnshop was a non-profit financial institution which loaned limited amounts of money in exchange for a pledge). In the XVIIIth century, the palace was restored by the Roman architect Marco Antonio Bianchini in collaboration with Alfonso Torreggiani when other city pawnshops were added.

This building owned by Achille Bocchi (1488 – 1562) of Bologna, a humanist writer, was opened in 1546 after a project by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and soon became the seat of his Hermatena Academy.

The building was designed by Alfonso Torreggiani (XVIIth century) by will of Pope Benedict XIVth as the seat of the Archbishop's Seminary. In 1912, the building was transformed into a hotel and it is still the most prestigious hotel in the city.

It was created in the art nouveau style by Augusto Sezanne  in the beginning of the XIXth century as seat of the café and chocolate shop of the Majani factory.

On the façade of the Palace, a plaque recalls that there stood the jurist Rolandino de’ Romanzi’s medieval houses, whose pyramidal ark is located in the nearby Piazza Malpighi.

Built in the early years of the XXth century by G.Pontoni and E.Lambertini as a sign of the modern Bologna (as a matter of fact, it was called “modernissimo” that is to say very modern), the palace is on the corner of the Pavaglione  portico (XVIth century). At present, the ground floor hosts  a refined jewelry  entered in the register of historical shops. The outdoor furniture of the Art Nouveau shop windows was designed by Paolo Sironi.

Planned by L.Bertolazzi in the beginning of XXth century, the construction was one of the first department stores and one of the few buildings in Art Nouveau style in the city. The façade of the palace recalls the sezession patterns. At present, the building hosts a store of a famous American computery company.

The palace was planned by L.Repossi in the beginning of XXth century. Under the portico, there is a narrow space which, until recently, housed a store embellished by the design of Enrico De Angeli (brass, plexiglass, chroming) according to the  aesthetic researches of the fifties.

The Palace, which has a simple, severe style, was planned by  A. M. Laghi (XVIIIth century). In the façade, the coat of arms of Ferdinand VI King of Spain (1751) is placed.

The palace was planned by E.Collamarini in the first years of the XXth century. Contemporaneously, the Acquaderni Arcade was opened  under the palace, in the same place of the ancient church of Saint Giobbe.

The most important religious building in the ghetto is Buratti House, the ancient seat of the synagogue (via dell'Inferno, 16): it was built  in the mid-1800s and it was heavily restored in 1955 after being seriously damaged by the war.

The Palace that today is called Sanguinetti, from the most recent family owner's name, is the result of the difficult evolution of that zone settlements, from the Middle Ages till today, and it shows evidence of every single transformation it underwent.

The Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna was founded in 1666 by the noble Vincenzo Maria Carrati, based in his family’s palace, located at what is now Via Guerrazzi 13. “Unitate melos” has been the Academy’s motto ever since its foundation.

The Davia Bargellini palace in Strada Maggiore, housing the museum with the same name, is one of the major non-institutional buildings of Bologna for its size and loftiness of structure.

In 1793 Bolognese architect Angelo Venturoli opened in Strada Maggiore 45 the construction site of a magnificent house for the princely line of the Hercolani family, which was completed in the early 19th century.

At the start of via Castiglione in the very heart of town two historical palaces of the Pepoli family face each other across the street. The noble family rose to local fame with the taking of power by Taddeo in 1334 (contemporary to the fall of Cardinal Bertrando del Poggetto).

Heart of Genus Bononiae, Palazzo Pepoli. Museo della Storia di Bologna houses a museum dedicated to the history, culture and transformations of Bologna, from the ‘Felsina etrusca’ to modern times.

The palace, designed in the mid 16th century probably by Pellegrino Tibaldi with the contribution of Bartolomeo Triachini, who is attributed in particular the inner courtyard, became the new seat of the National University, after the reform of Napoleon's period (1803).

The building made in the late 15th century shows a quadrangular layout and three fronts enlivened by a harmonious double open gallery.

The palace, seat of the Provincial administration, called "Palace of the dark arcade" derives its name from the typical dimness of its arcades.

Superb palace built in the old Strà (street) S. Donato, thus attesting the social rise of the Magnani family present in Bologna since the 13th century.

Together with few other noble dwellings - such as for instance Casa Isolani and Casa Reggiani - the palace is one of the few surviving examples of Medieval urban configuration.

Palazzo Isolani was built between 1451-55 by Pagno di Lapo Portigiani da Fiesole in a style marking the transition between Gothic and Tuscan Renaissance.

This building was home, private oratory and bank of the Jewish Sforno family coming from Barcelona that moved to Bologna in the 15th century.

The Cassa di Risparmio of Bologna commissioned the building of its prestigious headquarters to one of the protagonists of Italian Eclecticism, Giuseppe Mengoni, well known for the construction in the same year (1868) of the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in Milan. In less than five years the construction of the imposing building covered by variegated marble with iron and cast iron trimming was terminated and it stood on today's via Farini.

Palazzo delle Poste (post office palace) was designed in 1903 by the engineer Emilio Saffi.

The building of this magnificent palace opening on via D'Azeglio was commissioned between 1477 and 1482 by jurist Niccolò Sanuti and his spouse Nicolosia to an architect and workers perhaps from Tuscany or Ferrara. Its many stylistic choices, such as the lack of arcades and the use of smooth-angled ashlar similar to the Diamonds' Palace by Biagio Rossetti in Ferrara are not typically Bolognese.

Current seat of the Court.

Besides MAMbo (Modern Art Gallery), Museo Morandi (Morandi Museum), Villa delle Rose (Gallery) and the Museum dedicated to Ustica, the Istituzione Galleria D'Arte Moderna di Bologna (Institution of Modern Art Gallery of Bologna) has got a new space: the house where Morandi lived and worked almost all his life.

The Carducci House building dates back to the 16th century and witnesses an over two century-old history as a cult place. It is placed in the glacis of the ancient city walls between Porta Maggiore and Porta Santo Stefano.

Casa Isolani is one of the rare examples of civilian buildings from the 13th century.

This complex was founded in 1364, by Cardinal Egidio Albornoz, to host Spanish students enrolled in the famous university town.

The villa was built by Antonio Aldini, minister of Napoleon during the years 1811-16, according to a plan by Giuseppe Nadi.

The Villa is located in the Camaldoli estate purchased by Annibale Marescotti in 1616. A few years later, in 1690, after Raniero's death, the noble building and its gardens became the property of the Aldrovandi family. In the late 18th century the villa became the property of Marquis Mazzacorati. Now the villa houses the Historical Museum of Toy Soldiers "Mario Massacesi".

The villa, old summer residence mentioned in 18th-century land registers as Casino Cella, from the name of its first owners, was built in the second half of the 18th century in the place of a previous countryside residence belonging to the Spannocchi (family originally from Siena). Due to its flower garden the villa took the name of Villa delle Rose. Its garden still houses several sculptures from the early 20th century by Romagnoli, Baruzzi, Montaguti, Legnani, Drei and Boni.

The villa is located in the old estate of the marquis Zambeccari and replaced the building called Casino Zambeccari already mentioned by sources dating back to 1774. Since 1990 the villa has housed the Historical Museum of Tapestry "Vittorio Zironi".

Villa Impero was built in the early 19th century by Marquis Mazzacorati after a project by Francesco Tadolini as a building to be used for party and ceremonies for the extant Neo-classical Aldrovrandi villa at Camaldoli.

Parco Talon takes its name from this Villa

The nearly 40-km-long  porticoes make the city of Bologna unique in the world and have been nominated as  a UNESCO World Heritage Site . With more than 600 arches and a length covering 3,796 meters , the portico of San Luca  links the town  to the Sanctuary on the top of the Colle della Guardia.

Vault under the Palazzo del Podestà. It originally housed the city market and the benches of the notaries; later on, blasphemers were set on the pillory and hangings were performed under its arches.

Was completed in 1732 by the architect Carlo Francesco Dotti. From this point diverge the three main porticos of Bologna: To the north, passing alongside the stadium to the Certosa (municipal cemetery); To the east, leading to the Saragozza Gate and the center of the city; To the southwest, the Portico of San Luca, leading up to the Madonna of San Luca Sanctuary.

The layout of Bologna's 16th century ghetto can still be precisely traced amid the narrow streets in the medieval heart of the city under the Two Towers.

An archway on one side of Piazza Galvani in the Corte de' Galluzzi

This is the heart of the city and surrounded by important buildings: the Basilica di San Petronio, and on the right side of the church, Palazzo dei Notai, Palazzo d'Accursio, Palazzo del Podestà and the spectacular façade of Palazzo dei Banchi.

Piazza Nettuno is adjacent to Piazza Maggiore. It took its name from the statue of Neptune. Here is also located the library Salaborsa that opened for the first time in December 2001.

One of the most characteristic square of the city, where the complex known as Seven Churches, the Basilica of Santo Stefano, is located.

In Piazza Ravegnana are located Two Towers, and the statue of San Petronio, the patron saint of the city.

Piazza Galvani is located at the back of Basilica di San Petronio in front of Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio.

Piazza Verdi is located in the city center and it is crossed by via Zamboni. It is not far from “Due Torri” (Two Towers), the symbol of Bologna.

The square of the ghetto can be divided into three different areas: two of them overlook onto via Valdonica and via Marsala respectively, and the third one is the yard of San Martino church.

Initially named to Re Umberto I, took place at the end of the last century the ancient gardens of Garagnani. On the square is the building that hosted the regional workshop for a long time, Benedetto XV, who now has moved into the hilly area of Barbiano.

Square dedicated to the Italian poet Giosuè Carducci. Here both Museo del Risorgimento and Museo di Casa Carducci (Resorgimento Museum and Carducci's house) are located.

The name of the square comes from the day, in 1848, of a famous battle in which Austrians were beaten by the citizens of Bologna after a riot. Before the use of this appellation, people called it simply “piazza del mercato” (marketplace), for it used to host the local livestock market every Saturday of August from 1251 on. At present, every Friday and Saturday the square hosts the historical market "La Piazzola" with more than 400 stalls.

Via dell'Inferno was the main artery where many twisted streets ended: via de' Giudei, vicolo di S. Giobbe, vicolo Mandria, via del Carro and via Valdonica.

The ghetto is an ideal place for a relaxing stroll through its peaceful and hidden alleys, starting from via de' Giudei, which was the entrance for people coming from piazza di Porta Ravegnana.

Piazzetta Marco Biagi is located in the Jewish ghetto, between via dell'Inferno and piazza San Martino.

The only original entrance to the former ghetto which still exixts today is the vault connecting San Donato church (18th century) to the ancient Manzoli-Malvasia palace built over the remains of a 13th century house, of which only a few door arches remain.

Via Indipendenza is the main street of Bologna. Now via Indipendenza is the heart of the shopping area

Charming stretch of street which currently houses the homonymous bar, it derives its name from the presence of some florists’. In the back of one of these, in November 1794, two university students - Luigi Zamboni (from Bologna) and Giovanni Battista De Rolandis (from Asti) – prepared an attempted insurrection against the papal government, soon failed.

Together with Via Rizzoli, Via Ugo Bassi occupies a portion of the ancient Roman main road ax, namely the urban stretch running in the direction west-east of the Via Emilia (189 BC).

A plaque, located on the façade of the present building (the original plaque of 1886 is kept inside the door) recalls the presence here of the
Hotel del Pellegrino from 1500 to 1930.

The cafés, banks and shops of Via Rizzoli are  the contemporary image of the street that two thousand years ago was already present with  the name of Via Aemilia.

Via Luigi Zamboni is a historic street located in the center of Bologna and heart of university life. It crosses Piazza Verdi and Largo Respighi where there are Teatro Comunale and the offices of many faculties.

Via D'Azeglio, with its luxurious shops, is the fashionable meeting point of the city.

The name of “via Riva di Reno” derives from Canale di Reno, an underground channel that has been covered after WWII.

So named because old access point to the Port Canal, the port for river traffic from Bologna (on channel Navile). The eastern section of the road was named in 1801 via dei Murelli, in memory of the retaining walls were put up for the safety of pedestrians in the second half of the sixteenth century.

Could they called the "Door to the channel" because it entered the city next to the channel with its branches Savena that provided water power and its driving force in dozens of factories where he worked both wool and silk .

It could be called the “Porta della rocca ostile” for the closeness to the castle wanted by Cardinal Bertrando del Poggetto and erected between 1330 and 1333 just on the right.

Originally Porta Lame had a covered bridge house and, in 1334, two drawbridges were built, one for carts and one for pedestrian crossing.

Nowadays Porta Maggiore is also known with the name of Porta Mazzini. It rises at the east-end of the historic city centre, along the Via Emilia, just at the crossroads between Strada Maggiore and Via Mazzini, into the third and last circle of walls dating back to the second half of 13th Century.

This gate rises at the end of Via Mascarella, just before Ponte Stalingrado. It was built in 1300 and belongs to the third and last circle of walls dating back to the second half of 13th century. Some remnants of the original construction, revised and reduced in 16th century, are still visible

Also known as Porta Zamboni, the door, which "closes" the University area of the city

Porta San Felicewas built in 13th century, and in 1334 it was equipped with a fortress and a drawbridge. The gate was first renovated in 1508, and then in 1805, on the occasion of Napoleone’s visit. Other renovation works date back to 1840, when some swallow-tailed merlons was added to its walls.

Porta San Vitale was built in 1286 together with the adjoining capitain and guards’ quarters and with a great tower, which was demolished at the beginning of 16th century. In 1952 it was deprived of its forepart, or ravelin, and it came in its present forms.

The ancient Porta Santo Stefano it connected to Via Toscana, in the direction of Florence. It was demolished in 1843 and reconstructed by the architest Filippo Antolini, by command of Pope Gregory XVI.

It may also be called the “Porta Sacra” or the “Porta dei pellegrini” for its fortunes, in particular from 17th century on. In fact, it was a reference point for believers who reached the top of the Colle della Guardia to worship the icon of the Beata Vergine di San Luca.