How to spend your 25 April long weekend in Bologna

If you have already planned to spend the weekend of April 25 in Bologna or are still deciding, here is an overview of everything you can do in the city, including events, visits, itineraries, exhibitions, tours, and much more.

• Choose an exhibition for the weekend

It’s a spring full of exhibitions in Bologna—pick your favorite and come visit it. 

1. Frida Kahlo. The gaze as identity
The more than 70 photographs on display at Palazzo Pepoli go beyond biographical narration and explore how Frida Kahlo contributed to the creation of her own myth.

2. Italbasket, over 100 years of an endless blue
To celebrate the opening of MUBIT, the first permanent museum dedicated to Italian basketball, Italbasket tells the story of the Italian Basketball Federation.

3. Viva Varda! Cinema is female
The Galleria Modernissimo hosts a major exhibition dedicated to a unique figure in the history of cinema, art, photography, and political and cultural activism between the 20th and 21st centuries.

4. Banksy Archive 01 - The School of Bristol 1983–2005
Hosted at Palazzo Fava, the exhibition offers an in-depth reconstruction of the origins and development of Banksy’s imagery.

5. The memory of the future / Glossary of Peace
The meeting between the words of those who experienced the Second World War and the images created by students of the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna becomes an opportunity to enter the perspective of those who lived their childhood between 1943 and 1955.

-> Discover all the other spring exhibitions

• Initiatives in lasting memory

Commemorations and celebrations in the city:

• 9:30: in the Cloister of the Basilica of Santo Stefano, wreath-laying at the plaque of the War Fallen.
  
• 10:15: in Piazza Nettuno, flag-raising ceremony with military honor guard and wreath-laying at the Shrine to the Fallen Partisans. Speakers will include: the Mayor of Bologna Matteo Lepore, the president of the provincial ANPI Bologna Anna Cocchi, and the president of the Emilia-Romagna Region Michele de Pascale.
  
• 11:30: musical performance by Modena City Ramblers.
  
• 12:00: in the garden of Villa Cassarini at Porta Saragozza, wreath-laying at the plaque in memory of the homosexual victims of Nazifascism.
  
• 16:00: at the Monumental Cemetery of the Certosa, the guided tour “Free in the sky of Glory” will take place to remember men and women who fought for the values of freedom and democracy and contributed to the birth of the Republic.

From April 21 to 25, the flags of the Partisan Brigades will be displayed from the windows of Palazzo d’Accursio. On the Storia e Memoria di Bologna website you can view all the flags.

The Cineteca di Bologna celebrates the 81st anniversary of Liberation with the series Viva la libertà, from April 18 to 25 at the Cinema Modernissimo. The films in the program form a mosaic of perspectives: discover the program on the official website.

Learn about the places of the Resistance and the memorial stones of fallen partisans where wreaths will be laid in the city’s districts. View the map.

Discover the initiatives of the municipalities of the Metropolitan City for April 25.

• Go for a walk in the greenery

With the arrival of the warmer season, it’s finally time to enjoy the outdoors and immerse yourself in nature. Bologna, with its hills and parks in the first slopes surrounding the city, is also an ideal destination for venturing along trails, breathtaking views, and green meadows.

-> Looking for park outings around Bologna?

• San Luca is a must-see

A symbol that welcomes you to Bologna, whether you arrive by car, train, or plane, San Luca stands on the Guardia hill and is easy to reach.

You can walk there under the world’s longest portico, take a public minibus, or ride the San Luca Express, a small tourist train that will take you to the top in a convenient and fun way. 

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