Visiting Bologna

	SIGHTSEEING IN BOLOGNA Villanovian civilisations, Etruscan mysteries and Roman remains can all be found in Bologna, along with the world's oldest University, numerous medieval towers and churches with their suggestive Romanesque or superb Gothic atmospheres. The old city centre, with its narrow streets, hidden gardens, magical towers, markets and workshops which co-exist with the glitter of the exclusive shopping areas, beckon visitors to calmly gaze around after hours spent in the Exhibition Centre. Naturally, underneath the porticos, the longest in the world, which, in any season, make for easy living in the city, and even stretch out as far as the surrounding hills, to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of San Luca which dominates Bologna.
	SHOPPING IN BOLOGNA To go shopping or visit the artistic beauties of the city? Time to enjoy the splendour of Piazza Maggiore, with Palazzo Re Enzo, the 15th-cent. Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo dei Banchi, the Gothic Basilica of San Petronio, Palazzo dei Notai and then away, under the Portico del Pavaglione, Bologna's best known shopping area. Here, and in the nearby streets, shop windows constantly give life to a permanent show of clothing and footwear by Italy's top designers, jewellery, furnishing items and household goods, and Italian-design objets d'art of all kinds. Just a short distance from Piazza Maggiore, a Roman theatre, brought to light by recent excavations, represents the centre point of an ultra-modern department store. Prestigious workshops stand near the magic atmosphere of the "Seven Churches" complex of S.Stefano, which developed around a 5th-cent. settlement.
	BOLOGNA THE LEARNED In the 11th century what is now the world's oldest University was founded in Bologna. Celebrating the pomp of the "Almer Mater Studiorum", are the tombs of the ancient glossarists, in Piazza S.Domenico and Piazza S.Francesco, the Baroque Aula Magna of Santa Lucia, once a basilica and the Archiginnasio, with the wood Anatomy Theatre and its sculptures of the "flayed". Places not to be missed during any learned journey through Bologna are the National Art Gallery - which houses works by Raffaello, Giotto, Carracci, Guido Reni, Guercino and Tiziano - the Civic Archaeological Museum where some of the world's most important collections of Egyptian, Villanovian and Etruscan artefacts are kept, the Municipal Art Collections and the Giorgio Morandi Museum.
	HOTEL AND RESTAURANTS IN BOLOGNA The need to offer an international standard of welcome to a large business clientele attracted by Trade-Fairs has helped expand hotel accommodation in Bologna, with an increase in the overall number of rooms, and constant attention for service, quality and accessory amenities. Famous for its hospitality, Bologna satisfies all tastes. International cuisine, exotic specialities, nouvelle cuisine and dishes of other regional cultures co-exist in great harmony under the porticos, but for those with more traditional tastes, the highway is marked by tortellini, tortelloni, fresh pasta, green lasagne, Bolognaise sauce, Bologna sausage and ham.
	BOLOGNA FAIRGROUNDS The packed calendar of international events hosted in Bologna's Exhibition Centre represents Bologna's window onto the world and the city's stage for a never-ending business pilgrimage from every corner of the globe. Very rationally organised as regards the distribution of space and services, Bologna's trade-fair district is just 1 km from the city centre, 4 km from the airport and 2 km from the railway station (Bologna is Europe's largest railway junction) and offers extensive car-parking facilities.
	G.MARCONI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Bologna airport ensures daily links with the rest of Europe, and consequently with the world as a whole, besides naturally with major Italian cities. The airport is just 4 km from the Exhibition Centre and an Aerobus connects the airport to the city centre and the Exhibition District.