by Elizabeth McDowell

The Learned. The Red. The Fat.

These are the names that the people — and history itself — have bestowed upon the city of Bologna.

Within the walls of Bologna, that include Le Porte, symbolic thresholds which serve as physical bastions that rise high above both cobblestone and asphalt alike, there is a mosaic of both history and revolution, of both culture and rebellion.

The Learned.

The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, is the beating heart of Bologna. Known as the oldest university in Europe, and some say, in the world, it is also where Galileo Galilei himself tried to obtain a position as mathematics professor but was turned down. Pensa te!

There is also a museum open to the public in Piazza Luigi Galvani called the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio, a part of the university. Caravaggian, in contrast, its colors wild and bright, and the visuals breathtaking, weird and wonderful. A white marble slab is also there where Bartolomeo da Varignana performed live autopsies, and you can still see this fascinating artifact at the university.

The Red.

While the hills of Bologna are famous for the picturesque panoramas (which I highly recommend visiting if you have time — easily accessible by taxi or, if you prefer some calf-strengthening, on foot under the 666 porticoes toward the beacon on the sky, San Luca), it is also known for the Massacro di Marzabotto, or the Monte Sole massacre. Between September and October 1944, German SS troops killed around 780 civilians in anti-partisan retaliation in the hills south of Bologna. This makes it the largest single massacre of civilians in Western Europe during World War II.  

Bologna was one of the most important centers of the Italian Resistance during World War II. In fact, its partisan activity was so significant that Bologna earned the Gold Medal of Military Valor — la Medaglia d’Oro al Valor Militare —one of Italy’s highest honors

In post-WWII Italy, Bologna became known for developing progressive policies in housing, culture and public services. The city was one of the first European cities to experiment with free or heavily subsidized public transportation in the 1970s. Bologna also became known for Radio Alice, a free, anarchist radio broadcasting art, poetry, and political satire. Part anarchist experiment, part poetic outcry, Radio Alice burned as a torch of defiance after the death of Francesco Lorusso, a student and activist shot by police on March 1, 1977, in Bologna. Lorusso’s killing sparked riots, inspired a generation of artists and radicals, and shaped Bologna’s history and culture so deeply that its influence carries on even today.

Bologna is also where my favorite comic artist and symbol of this era, Andrea Pazienza, trained and lived. His Pentothal series is set in the world of the university students living in Bologna —cramped apartments, highly creative, and highly politicized — it captures the surreal humor and despair of the ‘77 movement.

The Fat.

Bologna, “The Fat,” does not refer to gluttony, but rather gratitude: a city that understands appetite as art, and every meal as a small act of belonging and familiarity.

One of the most famous examples is the story of the humble yet intricate tortellino. According to legend, an innkeeper in the nearby town, of Castelfranco Emilia, peeked through a keyhole and caught a glimpse of the goddess of Venus’s navel. So awestruck by its perfection, he recreated it in dough… and the tortellino was born. 

In Bologna, there is even a Confraternita del Tortellino: a real brotherhood founded in 1974 which aims to protect the authentic recipe of the tortellino bolognese, which they have formally registered. The traditional method for preparing and eating tortellini is tortellini in brodo (in broth). But in the chilly winter months, you can also find them swimming in a rich plate of cream.

Then there are crescentine. Crescentine are small, warm, golden pillows of fried dough beloved in Bologna and Emilia-Romagna. They are known by different names depending on the province — for example, gnocco fritto in Modena and Reggio Emilia. Locals drive up into the hills with friends to ‘Il Nonno’; as a traveler, you can take a taxi. You breathe in panoramic hills as the sun goes down, they bring out trays of salumi, soft squacquerone — a soft, fresh cheese from Emilia-Romagna which means ‘to melt, or to sag’, slightly tart yet sweet, which spreads across the crescentine, still warm, and melts just right under your slices of fresh prosciutto or salame.

And finally: Tamburini, on Via Caprarie. I would equate it to something like Katz’s Delicatessen in New York in terms of its legendary status — a sort of food temple and social hub. You’ll find students, professors, and tourists alike, standing with their trays at the counter, a glass of Lambrusco in hand, as they order lunch for that day, or pick up lasagna to go for dinner that night.

Bologna may be relatively humble compared to its cosmopolitan counterparts, but it is filled with heart, history, and, perhaps most famously, culinary delights. As the Confraternita del Tortellino’s own motto states: “In study, at the table, Bologna teaches.”

About the author:

Elizabeth McDowell lived in Bologna, Italy, for nearly ten years, earning her CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) through the University of Cambridge, completed at International House Rome. A bilingual creative and translator, she began her career in Bologna, translating Italian literature and pedagogy. She also became involved in filmmaking and the short-film circuit, with her short films screened at various film festivals in Rome and Bologna. Her early work as a translator and collaborator on independent Italian documentaries led to screenings at both the New York International Independent Film Festival and the Rome Independent Film Festival in 2006 — a formative moment connecting her creative and linguistic worlds. As for Italian comforts back in Minnesota, she enjoys cooking her favorite Italian recipes and listening to De Andrè and Battiato, and watching Nanni Moretti, Fellini, and her Italian comfort film, "Dillo Con Parole Mie".