In 2025, the year of adventure, we are off once again. It took 36 hours to get here, but we are in beautiful Bologna, Italy, starting our month-long journey to cap off my 65th year and celebrate 30 years of partnership.
Travel was long and crowded but what a reward at the finale to fly over the Alps! I’d never seen this view before of the snowy mountains, green valleys and Alpine lakes.
Bologna is famous for its porticos, and our first experience of them did not disappoint. They are everywhere, and whether original or restored, graffitied or adorned more civilly, they are delightful.
Bologna dates back to the Etruscans, but was rebuilt layer by layer by the Celts, Romans and all the centuries of Italians thereafter. From the 12th through 16th century, it was like Venice a city that used canals to transport people and merchandise. Although the canals have been paved over, you can still see a few of the remnants.
Also prevalent everywhere are the walls, towers and porticos that once protected the city from invaders.
The Garisenda tower was built in the 12th century and is now leaning more than the one in Pisa.
Not surprisingly, the city is filled with churches and cathedrals.
This is Basilica Collegiata Santi Bartolommeo e Gaetano, consecrated in 1516.
It is painted on all the walls and ceilings and lit mostly by many domed windows.
Basilica di San Petronio is enormous but unfinished. Its construction began in 1390 funded by civil monies to honor the patron saint of Bologna. But because it was intended to surpass St Peter’s in Rome in size and grandeur, the Pope stopped the project and its funding. Although many of its walls remain unadorned, it is super impressive in its size and imposing views, and remains important to the identity of this city.
Perhaps my favorite part is this meridian line in the floor that serves as a sundial around noon when light through a tiny hole in the ceiling shines a circle of illumination on the line corresponding to the time and day.
The line also marks the date according to the zodiac. An odd blend of science, religion and spirituality.
