Bologna is the regional capital of Emilia Romagna,
and a compulsory point of passage between the North and South of the
Peninsula. An Etruscan and then Gallic settlement, it was first a colony
and then a Roman Municipality.
During the Middle Ages Bologna
proclaimed itself a Free Common and reached the top of its power in 1249
with the victory of the Fossalta battle where King Enzo, son of the
Emperor Frederic II, was made prisoner. Within its walls, the first
University of the world saw the light in the XI century. Seigniories
followed one another until the town in the XVI century fell once and for
all under the influence of the Papal State while at the same time
maintaining its own ancient magistracies, first of all the senate, and
its own ambassador in Rome.
In the charming historical center, among the
best preserved in the world, many ancient palaces and churches stand and
witness the cultural relevance that Bologna has had in the course of the
centuries.
A most modern Fair District, an efficient Congress Palace,
up-to-date welcome structures crown a rich group of industrial companies
of primary importance in the mechanical sector and in the field of
agricultural and food processing, etc.
Just taking a walk along the nearly
70 kilometers of porticoes that decorate Bologna's streets allows to catch
aspects of a life full of moods, to follow shopping itineraries in
glamorous boutiques or in large and small street markets, also for food,
to know a many-sided reality, culturally and economically at home in XXI
century Europe.
