A Photographer’s Walk Through Bologna

There are two ways I tend to photograph a city. The first is the deep dive: I arrive with a plan ( of sorts ), chase the morning shots with perfect light, often with no-one in them, visit the landmarks that catch my eye, explore the side streets and wait for the evening light in the main squares. I spend a few days trying to understand the place.

The second way is simpler: I give myself a couple a few hours and just start walking and taking wherever inspiration leads me and take photos along the way. This post is about that second kind of visit.

I’ve been to Bologna many times over the years. When I was based in Florence, it was an easy trip. A quick train ride and suddenly I’m wandering through one of Italy’s most interesting cities. Somewhere along the way it also became a place I passed through often enough that I stopped treating it like a destination – to me it felt like an extension of where I lived.

Strangely, though, every time I visited, I never really took many photos. I was was visiting for other reasons- meeting friends, grabbing lunch at Taberna del Re Vallot, or on my way somewhere else. The camera stayed in the bag, or stayed at home.

Eventually I decided enough was enough.

Basta.

I’m going to Bologna, and I’m actually going to take some proper photos.

So that was the objective this time. Not a deep exploration of the city and certainly not a comprehensive guide. Just a few hours of wandering with no real plan other than to follow whatever caught my eye.

Bologna sits in Emilia-Romagna, a region many Italians consider the culinary capital of the country. It’s where dishes like ragù alla bolognese and tortellini come from, and if you spend any time here, you quickly realize food is taken very seriously.

It is also home to the University of Bologna, founded in 1088 and generally considered the oldest continuously operating university in the world. For nearly a thousand years students have been arriving here to study, eat well, and fill the streets with energy.

But the thing you notice first when you walk through Bologna isn’t the food or the university.

The thing that first drew my creative eye in Bologna, though, was the porticos.

Bologna has the longest system of covered walkways anywhere in the world. More than sixty kilometers stretch across the city, with around forty kilometers in the historic center alone. Interestingly they began in the 11th century as illegal wooden extensions to allow extra housing space for the growing numbers of university students. Now they are a UNESCO-listed feature of the city. The columns repeat far into the distance, shadows move slowly across the pavement, and even when it rains you barely notice.

The longest of them climbs the hill toward Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca along the famous Portico di San Luca, a covered walkway that runs for almost four kilometers under more than six hundred arches. It’s an amazing place to spend time playing with perspectives and repetitions.

In my opinion, the porticos are one of the reasons Bologna is such a good city to explore without a plan on a rainy day. You can wander almost anywhere and stay dry, letting curiosity decide where to turn next.

Eventually, every wandering path leads toward the heart of the city. In Bologna, that means Piazza Maggiore, where everything suddenly opens up. As you step into the square, one of the first things that pulls your attention is the Basilica di San Petronio

What makes the basilica so interesting is its facade. The lower portion is detailed and decorative, but the upper section looks almost unfinished. If you’ve seen old images of Florence’s cathedral before its facade was completed in the nineteenth century, they look really similar. The only other example I’ve come across that feels somewhat similar is the cathedral in Faenza.

In the warmer months, the square fills with life. Events, outdoor cinema, and just people sitting, talking, studying… it becomes less of a landmark and more of a living room for the city.

Some other notable sights in Piazza Maggiore are the Torre dell’Arengo, which rises above Palazzo del Podestà. It was built in the 13th century as the civic tower used to call Bologna’s citizens together during major public events, and the Palazzo d’Accursio which has served as Bologna’s city hall since 1336. On its facade stands a statue of Pope Gregory XIII ( photo not shown here, my bad! ), who was born in the city and later introduced the Gregorian calendar that most of the world still follows today. The Torre dell’Orologio tower holds a huge 15th-century clock that has been ticking since 1451 when the building was refurbished by designs by architect Fioravante Fioravanti.

Peaking out over the tops of the buildings in the piazza you can also see the dome of the Santuario di Santa Maria della Vita, which almost begs you to go have a visit 😉

Directly next to Piazza Maggiore is another smaller square called Piazza del Nettuno, which contains one of the first landmarks that caught my eye, Fontana del Nettuno. The bronze statue stands proudly above the square, surrounded by smaller figures and the gentle flowing water. It’s one of those pieces of Renaissance sculpture that feels both theatrical and yet perfectly chill at the same time. 

By the way, have you noticed that in Bologna they have a fountain dedicated to Neptune (also known as Poseidon), and in Florence they also have a fountain dedicated to Neptune in Piazza della Signoria, directly next to their Palazzo Vecchio as well? I wonder why that is. If you know, please let me know in a comment below – I’m very interested! Cheers to you either way sea king 😀

 

Okay, Bologna, before we move on to the next part here, I just have to say.. that you have Two Towers. So is this in any way an inspiration for LOTR? I mean, I’m just saying…..

Okay jokes aside, Bologna really does have two towers that are located immediately next to each other, and one of them is leaning quite a bit. In fact, when you look at it you’ll also see that it appears to be leaning even more than its more famous cousin – the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Italy is actually filled with these leaning towers, and many of them are simply just not making headlines – which doesn’t make them any less interesting to see and stumble upon 🙂 People in the medieval cities built sometimes hundreds of them, often as symbols of wealth or power. In bologna there may have been almost 200 of them, but only around 20 remain standing to this day.

In my opinion, Bologna’s pair is among the most striking. The taller one, Torre degli Asinelli, rises above the surrounding streets and has been part of the skyline since the 12th century. Then, right beside it stands Torre Garisenda; they lean so dramatically it seems almost crazy. A really long time ago I climbed the towers, and to say it was a tad bit nerve-wracking ( In a: what were these people thinking, but this is awesome kind of way ) would be an understatement.

The internal staircase is made of tiny wooden steps that seem to get more and more sketchy as you climb. It’s the kind of climb where I spent most of the time just trying to not fall, or think about what might happen if I did.

Naturally I don’t have photos from inside. When you’re climbing something like that, the camera is the last thing on your mind lol.

Now that we’ve finished with talking about the amazing two towers in Bologna, and the also a bit nerve-wracking experience climbing the tower with epic views of the town ( Seriously, totally worth it when its open to be climbed again. I think it’s currently ( as of 2026 still under renovations ) , let’s ground ourselves and head back to being reunited with the earth again, shall we?

What I mean is, let’s continue our walk through Bologna’s streets, stretch our legs, grab a coffee, and move on with our adventure ( to the Shire?! I kid, I kid )

Walking through Bologna’s streets in some ways resembles the backstreets of many other Italian cities I’ve photographed over the years. The textures, the brick, the worn shutters, the quiet corners where light slips in unexpectedly. That’s part of what makes photographing them interesting. But no matter how many Italian cities I visit, they only look too familiar if you don’t really spend enough time finding all the wonderful ways that they are truly unique.

To that end I enjoy working in these alleyways and streets that sometimes feel all too familiar, because the challenge is, and what I take very seriously as a photographer wanting to do each location justice, is finding the small details that make a place distinct. The goal is for someone to look at the image and feel that familiar sense of an Italian street, while still being able to say, somehow, that’s definitely Bologna.

 

All in all, this miniature adventure was a long time coming, and I already can’t wait to visit Bologna again to capture even more of what she has to offer. As I reviewed my images from this shoot in particular, I also started making a list of all the other places that I want to photograph in the city so that I can share some more light on why Bologna is such a vibrant and interesting place to visit. But for this trip, I honestly just relaxed, let my camera wander, and didn’t stress about it. Bologna is the kind of place that rewards that approach. The porticos guide you forward, the side streets pull you sideways, and before long you realize you’ve spent hours wandering without ever really deciding where to go.

Sometimes the best photographs happen that way. 

If you’d like to learn more about the places mentioned here, you can explore their official pages:

• Fontana del Nettuno
• The two Towers: Torre degli Asinelli and Torre Garisenda
• Palazzo d’Accursio
• Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca
• University of Bologna

If you feel like contributing to what I might capture in Bologna during my next visit, please leave a comment below about some of your favorite spots or look out points that you’d love to see me capture through my lens. There is a very good chance that I end up capturing your recommendations, and sharing them here in a future blog post, and on Social media <3

For everyone else – thanks as always for being here. Cheers until next time!

Scott