An underappreciated Italian gem

Bologna's seemingly endless arcades radiate from the city's historic centre. Picture: Steve McKenna

Something really hits me on my first morning exploring Bologna. It's not the copious amounts of caffeine I've imbibed for breakfast, nor the slew of restaurant chalkboard menus advertising meaty, carb-fuelled temptations.

It's the arcades. Supported by pillars and columns, and decorated, in some parts, with stuccoed icons of saints and messiahs, in others with fiery political slogans (generally of the "anti-austerity" variety), these marble-floored porticoes fan out through a centro storico (historic centre) wedged within the borders of Bologna's ancient city gates.

Dating back to the Middle Ages - when an edict was passed stating that all new buildings must have an arcade - these winding walkways appear infinite but Bolognese friends assure me that if you joined them together, they'd stretch about 40km in total.

Not just for show, the arcades shelter the entrances to all sorts of places: homes, hotels, museums, galleries, bars, cafes, trattorias, gelaterias, pizzerias and myriad retail outlets, allowing pedestrians to wander, sightsee and consume come rain or shine.

I fancy that being an umbrella salesman in Bologna would be one of the toughest jobs in the world.

The capital of northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, Bologna eludes many travellers' radars but the relative lack of tourists, allied with the city's traditional Italian charms and the youthful zest generated by its tens of thousands of students, makes it a rewarding place to break up a visit between, say, Milan and Florence, or Venice and Rome.

Like Venice, Bologna has several nicknames: la dotta (the learned one - it's home to Europe's oldest university, founded in AD1088), la rossa (the red one, thanks to its left-leaning politics and the colour scheme of its buildings and terracotta roofs), and la grassa (the fat one; it's one of Italy's gastronomic capitals and spawned the saucy Bolognese-style dishes globally adored today).

Despite its wealth of covered public spaces, plenty of stuff happens outdoors in Bologna. Cyclists are ubiquitous. It's said you can pedal almost anywhere of note within 15 minutes of Piazza Maggiore, the city's heartbeat, which is home to the imposing Basilica di San Petronio (said to be the world's fifth-largest church). It overlooks an ornate fountain sporting a buff bronze statue of the Roman god Neptune.

The alfresco cafes of Piazza Maggiore are a dream for people watchers. Over cappuccino, I spy septuagenarian businessmen with ancient suits and even older leather briefcases, gaggles of hipster students, and a parade of slim, stylish women weighed down with Gucci and Prada bags.

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An underappreciated Italian gem