The Porticoes of Bologna: a stroll through history
3 minutes
With one of the largest and best-preserved medieval city centres in Europe, Bologna is world-famous for its porticoes, which in 2021 were recognised by UNESCO for their artistic and socio-cultural value.
What are the Porticoes of Bologna and where are they located?
With a total length of 62 kilometres (42 kilometres of which lie in the historical centre), the porticoes of Bologna, together with the city’s towers, are the symbol of the city and have been the most popular social hub of the capital of Emilia-Romagna for centuries.
The most famous and longest portico in Bologna is the Portico of San Luca, at 3,796 metres long, with no fewer than 666 arches, while the Portico Dei Servi, which extends towards Porta Maggiore, holds the record for the greatest width.
Strolling through Bologna’s streets, you find yourself surrounded by these architectural masterpieces, built since the 12th century out of brick, stone or wood.
From the architraved porticoes of Santa Caterina to the porticoes of Palazzo della Mercanzia, Via Santo Stefano and Pavaglione, you can explore from one to the other, enjoying the beauty of a city that has charmed the locals and tourists alike for centuries.
History and information on the Porticoes of Bologna
The porticoes date back to the expansion of medieval Bologna, when the opening of the University in 1088 attracted students and academics from around Italy and the world. This sharp increase in population made it necessary to expand the living space and local commercial and artisan activities, without taking away public land and useful city spaces.
The porticoes were the ideal solution, allowing the upper part of buildings to be extended, while offering shade and shelter from the weather. The porticoes, which had sprung up almost spontaneously, were regulated from 1288 with a proclamation that required the addition of porticoes to existing houses and stipulated that new buildings must be built with a portico.
UNESCO recognition
In 2021, UNESCO listed 12 of the most significant sections of the Porticoes of Bologna as a World Heritage Site, recognising them as an identifying element of the city of Bologna.
What to see in the Bologna porticoes
Bologna's porticoes are a unique selling point for tourists and a city meeting place where the city can be experienced as it has been for centuries.
Piazza Santo Stefano, one of the most beautiful in the city, is a triumph of porticoes. From this symbolic place in Bologna, walking along Via Santo Stefano itself, you can stroll among the elegant porticoes to Piazza Santo Stefano on one side and the Palazzo della Mercanzia, overlooking the piazza of the same name, on the other. Between the cafés and restaurants, here you can marvel at the different styles of Bologna porticoes, from the Middle Ages to the late 19th century.
From Piazza della Mercanzia you can head down Via Zamboni and continue your journey through time, admiring the neoclassical style of Palazzo Malvasia in successive steps, the late Renaissance porticoes of Palazzo Magnani and the Doric arches of the portico of Palazzo Malvezzi. The same goes for the section of the Via Galliera porticoes.
The portico of the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi is the largest portico in the city, built around 1300 to accommodate citizens who could not attend religious ceremonies because they had not yet received the sacrament of baptism.
After seeing the wider portico, you have to rush to admire the narrower one, in the Zaragoza district of Bologna, just 95 centimetres wide.
A stone's throw away is also the porticoed street of Santa Caterina, a rare and precious testimony to the architecture of popular areas in the Middle Ages.
The porticoes of Piazza Cavour and Via Farini will make you hold your head upwards to admire the decorations dating back to the end of the 19th century, while the nearby Pavaglione portico will leave you speechless: it is considered "the" portico of Bologna, a majestic example of a Bolognese architecture that includes sections belonging to different palazzi.
In the Santo Stefano area, the richest district of monuments, museums and gardens in Bologna, you have to pass through the Maraccano portico, a great vault built by order of Giovanni II Bentivoglio.
The porticoes of Bologna, however, do not stop at the historic centre.
The longest in the city is the San Luca portico, which, from Porta Saragozza, accompanies you for almost four kilometres of magnificence to the Madonna di San Luca Sanctuary at the top of the Colle della Guardia.
The portico of the Certosa di Bologna, connected to that of San Luca, dates back to the Napoleonic period, and is still one of the rare examples of a modern-day sepulchral portico.
A hybrid space between public and private, the porticos of Bologna possess that intriguing mix of world and home in which it is easier to get to know each other, to squabble but also to fall in love.
