Look! The Porticoes of Bologna Italy

The porticoes (covered walkway arcades) of Bologna have been used for over 1,000 years to protect pedestrians from rain, snow and sun. The porticoes have become part of the city's planning and are Bologna's distinctive architectural trait. Bologna, unlike other medieval cities, made its porticoes mandatory for all streets useful to the public. The law passed in 1288 is still in place, which means new buildings, every those built for private use, must incorporate porticoes for public use. More photos and info below the jump...

Some wood porticoes still remain from the 1300's, but as of 1567 all new Bologna porticoes were required to be made from stone. The styles of the porticoes vary, reflecting the time they were built and the architects (many famous) who designed them.

For more information on Bologna's porticoes, see the Unesco World Heritage website.

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Comments (7)

Yaaay, Bologna! My favorite Italian city (but I'm certainly not biased or anything since I only did my year abroad there)! Those porticoes are great and you really find yourself missing them when it's raining/snowing and you're on one of the few sections of street w/out a portico overhead! The only thing they do NOT protect you from is dog poop - of which there is a LOT, even on the gorgeous marble sidewalks... :P

One of my favorite cities -- when I was there I recall reading that there are more that 21 miles of these! It's also the center of the Italian communist party, and a big university town -- so it has a "lefty" edge about it. Also home to a platinum taglitelle -- the standard by which all taglitelle is measured!

The other cool thing about Bologna is that a coffee is always served with a small glass of water -- a Viennese tradition, but not seen elsewhere in Italy. (They are not that far apart via train.)

Que bella!

I was there for a conference a few years ago. I saw a gorgeous photo opportunity and waited for twenty minutes hoping that a guy who was just standing in the walkway, not moving, would leave! I finally had to take the picture because I was going to be late ... but it still turned out to be a beautiful picture, I think.

I keep thinking I'll get ambitious someday and photoshop him out of the walkway.

Hi! I live in Bologna, I was born here...and I'm still here.
Thank You for the post...

I love Bologna. I can trace family roots back to a little town not too far from the city. The porticoes are indeed wonderful.

I also believe Bologna has some of the finest food in all of Italy.

Torino has 18 kilometres of such porticoes as well... They are wonderful! (I say this because Torino is one of our favourite weekend escapes from Geneva).

http://www.comune.torino.it/canaleturismo/en/curiosity/porticos.htm (this site says 16 km, but the others all say 18...?)