University of Bologna stroll

     Hello! It's been raining in the northern parts of Europe these days. I'm so grateful that the last time I went to Bologna, the weather was perfect! My main destination was the University of Bologna.

     The University of Bologna (UniBo) is the oldest university in the world. It was founded in 1088. Among its famous alumni are Dante Alighieri, Albrecht Durer and Guglielmo Marconi. It is located along via Zamboni near the city center but it also has branches in Buenos Aires and four other Italian cities.

     I expected it be very very classical with highly maintained walls and porticoes with people dressed in expensive suits or uniforms but its actually not. The entrance of colleges are full of posters and different kinds of vandals. Some are poems, anti government quotes, curses and some are graffitis.

The entrance to the Faculty of Economics 

Entrance to the theater

Humanities building entrance

Chemistry building 

Entrance to the Fine Arts Building

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The Institute of Botany

Children on a trip at Orto Botanico, UniBo's garden

The Sala Borsa or public library is one of my favorite places. It is located in Piazza Maggiore.

Sala Borsa interior. I love the atmosphere. There is a piano inside where you can play from 6 pm onwards

Posters and ads

Posters




Though UniBo is full of senseless graffitis outside, it still maintained its legacy as one of the top schools in Italy and in the world.  I would love to study a course here someday.

Buona giornata a tutti!

Christmas in Bologna

Bologna will always be one of my favorite cities. There is always something interesting each time you look at a certain direction. Last December, I went for an interesting walk around the city. Thank God there is no snow! Here are some of the pictures I took!

I went on top of the Asinelli Tower first. It is 97 meters above the ground and the view is just breathtaking! You have to pay 3 euros to enter but it is really worth it.

The San Lucca Basilica with a glorious sunset.

The city center is open for people to walk through during the weekends. I really love the atmosphere.

A wonderful view from the top of the Asinelli Tower.

The Two Towers of Bologna looking beautiful as ever.

The man inside this shop is playing the theme song of the movie Amelie on his piano. It really made me study my piano pieces again!

A tribute for Nelson Mandela in Piazza Maggiore.

A woman goes for a bike ride at Parco Margarita, Bologna's largest park.

A family plays with their dogs.

A street performer along via Independencia.

Hiking in Bologna!

    Italy is surrounded by hills and mountains. The most famous is the Apennines. Apennine Mountains are a mountain range consisting of parallel smaller chains extending 1,200 km along the length of Italy.

  When I have a free time, I would go to the mountain with my grandmother or with my cousin and spend a lot of time hiking. Yesterday, my cousin and I went for a hike in one of the mountains of Bologna. Our route is from the Bosco di San Michele to the Forte Bandiera. It is a very hot day so we brought about 3 liters of water.

Our trail started here. It is located just below the Church of San Michele

cooling canopies

During the rest of the hike, you will be guided by these signs.

These are unmatured figs that can be found along the trail.

Sigs that guide you along the way.

my cousin enjoying the view!

Beautiful villas can be seen along the hillsides.

Finally, we have arrived. In here you can see a wonderful view of Bologna and have picnics too!

A heart-shaped track ended our hike. =)

The trail is about 8 kilometers and took us about 3 hours to finish. It was a very rewarding experience! You can get more info (in Italian) here: http://www.bolognawelcome.com/da-vedere/itinerari-suggeriti/params/Percorso_3/ref/San%20Michele%20in%20Bosco%20-%20Forte%20Bandiera

in English here:

http://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/places-to-see/suggested-itineraries/params/Percorso_3/ref/