Italy: A Mini-Pilgrimage Through the Porticoes of Bologna
Join my husband and me as we eat bolognese, walk the porticoes, and learn the correct way to say, "Ciao."
My husband and I arrived in Bologna late one evening in October. Lucky for us, the Italians eat late, and we were starving after an extremely long, twenty-ish hours of traveling from the states to Italy with several hours of layover in London, England.
So off we set to find a restaurant. We settled into a table outside of what was actually a butcher shop that transformed into a restaurant at night called, Bottega Rannochi. We enjoyed a lovely bottle of pinot grigio from Trentino, a board of meats (mortadella, salami, prosciutto) and cheeses (pecorino, asiago, and others). Plus we ordered a plate of tagliatelle (long egg noodles) and bolognese sauce (also called “ragù alla bolognese” by the locals, or simply ragù). Because when in Rome Bologna…
I failed at taking pictures this night mainly because we were exhausted, suddenly realizing we spoke very little Italian, and our main goals were 1) food and 2) sleep.
Side note: our waiter knew we were American within 5 seconds of meeting us by the way we said Ciao. We have since corrected this. And by the time we were leaving Italy, we fooled several people into thinking we spoke better Italian than we do simply by greeting them properly in Italian. We’ll call this a “win” for this trip, but we do plan to learn more Italian for future trips.
Side note to the side note: It’s all in the lips and giving Ciao the proper number of syllables. I’m not sure how we pronounced it that night, but I can tell you it’s not pronounced “Chow.”
Why Travelers Shouldn’t Overlook Bologna
We hadn’t always planned to visit Bologna, but because of the timing of flights available from London, we ended up in Bologna, and we weren’t sorry. Bologna is truly a gem that many travelers skip, and they really shouldn’t.
It’s a completely walkable town. The train system is easily accessible, so it’s a great spot to stay and take day trips elsewhere. The food is superb, with a near-unlimited supply of restaurants. It’s not a crowded city like many of the more touristy stops. The people are extremely friendly. (Italians, everywhere, are a friendly and kind bunch.)
And even now, as I write this from our last stop—Sicilia, Italy—Bologna was home to our favorite bakery. (Actually, Sicilia was pretty damn good as well!) Of the three mornings we woke in Bologna, we visited La Borbonica all three mornings for a cappuccino and a cornetto.
Side note: One cappuccino and one cornetto (a large croissant filled with something absolutely glorious like Nutella or vanilla cream) costs roughly €3.80. Yes, you read that correctly.
In addition to loving Bologna for a morning cappuccino and cornetto, Bologna was also my favorite spot for an afternoon/evening aperitivo, though there were several close seconds. Maybe Bologna wins out because it was my first, and you never forget your first.
Italy is filled with what I like to call “pocket” bars and restaurants, cozy little spots to grab apertivos and/or meals. But the place above was a perfect location for a pre-dinner drink.
The Portico di San Luca
Because our time in this city of porticoes was limited, we knew immediately the one thing we wanted to do in Bologna (besides eat bolognese): We wished to walk the Portico di San Luca to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca on top of the Colle della Guardia hill. A mini pilgrimage of sorts.
First, a little history…
The walk begins at the Porta Saragozza (seen above). From here you walk the Portico di San Luca, a 4 kilometer covered portico—the longest in the world—that boasts more than 600 arches and connects the city to the Sanctuary of the Madonna. This, along with other porticoes around Bologna, was included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2021.
The Madonna di San Luca sits on top of the Colle della Guardia hill 289 meters above sea level, giving you a 215-meter elevation gain on the walk. Yes, much of it is uphill!
But there are also stairs! I’m not sure that helps… It’s definitely a workout, and many people along the route use it as exactly that. We did. Thank goodness we enjoyed a cappuccino and a cornetto first.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca
At the end of the walk, you’re rewarded with a beautiful Basilica that has served as a place of worship for centuries.
It is also home to many works of art, but it also holds the image of the Virgin with Child behind the main altar, surrounded by extraordinary marble. This is the treasure that many people go to the church to see. It’s also similar to the image you will see all over Italy.
After our trek, we enjoyed a downhill trek back to the city center. As you can imagine, it took a lot less time to walk down than it had taken to walk up. We celebrated our long walk with a well-deserved gelato.
And then after a much needed shower, we headed to dinner. Because our first choice was too crowded with a very long wait, we went to an extremely popular restaurant among fellow travelers, with high ratings, and were actually disappointed. This would serve as one of our first lessons in Italy, a lesson I thought Mike and I had learned pretty well over the years. You never go to the most popular restaurant. The wait staff rushed their customers. They turned over tables at record speed. And the food was simply mediocre. After this night, we were near-perfect at making sure restaurants had the right “vibe” before we entered for dinner, something I will attempt to describe in future articles about our trip across Italy.
All in all, Bologna was a perfect spot to begin our Italian adventures. The AirBNB host welcomed us perfectly, and we loved where we stayed. The food was incredibly good. And we admired the architecture of this beautiful, walkable city that is bathed in terra cotta.
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