Bologna

Bologna is situated in Northern Italy. It is the largest city in this area. It has the population of little under 400, 000 people. The climate is humid subtropical. That means that it has hot humid summers and mild to cool winters. The average temperature in August is 37 C and in winter -1C.

Bologna is world famous for its porticoes. They are arcades that began to be built in 11 th century. In total there are 38 km of porticoes in the citys historic centre. So , no matter what the weather is like, tourists can walk around the city. The most popular walk is to the top of San Luca. Along the path there are 666 arcades but the reward at the end is the beautiful sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca. If one doesnt feel like hiking up the hill, there is always an excellent choice of restaurants and bars that serve local drinks and dishes. Namely, Bologna is considered the food capital of Italy. Many have heard of Bolognese sauce a meat based pasta sauce for example, but not many know that Bologna is home to tortellini, tagliatelle and lasagna. Also, mortadella sausage comes from Bologna. As for drinks, Bolognese like to drink spritz which is served as an aperitif. It is a drink made with Prosecco and Aperol. After a good meal a tourist can enjoy a walk in the historic centre of Bologna. There are several museums and galleries that are attractive to tourists. There you can see cultural heritage from Etruscan, Celtic and Roman to modern times. The most popular is National Art Gallery of Bologna where you can see works of el Greco and Titian, Tintoreto and many other famous painters. If you are not a museumgoer, there are many historic streets full of old buildings and palaces from past centuries. We must not forget the fact that Bologna is a university centre. The University of Bologna is the oldest existing university in the world which was founded in 1088. Many famous and important people were students at this university such as: Dante, Petrarch, Erasmus of Roterdam to name just a few of them. The University of Bologna is still one of the most respected institutions in Italy.

There is a wide range of events to visit during the whole year from different music festivals to exhibitions, theatre performances and film festivals. The most cheerful month is February when in Bologna as well as in whole Italy Mardi Gras or Carnival is celebrated. Everybody dresses up, puts their masks and enjoys the fun time. Another interesting event happens on the last Sunday in May. It is a Medieval celebration that includes horse races and a parade. But the most important festival is definitely the Festival of San Luca on Ascension Day in May. To celebrate it, an icon of San Luca is brought from the colonnade through the city and to the San Pietro Cathedral. In this way, a viewer gets a true taste of the city's cultural heritage.

Current major of Bologna is Virginio Merola, a member of the Democratic Party who assumed office in 2011. Majors are elected once in five years. Bologna is not only a cultural centre but economical too. Its economy is characterized mainly by agroindustry ( Segafredo Zanetti being one of the biggest companies there. Its core business is coffee production). Bolognas economy also includes car industry (Lamborghinis headquarters are in Bologna) as well as strong financial, insurance (Unipol) and retail ( Coop Italia, Conad) activity.