Church · Piazza Maggiore, Emilia-Romagna
Basilica of San Petronio
The Basilica of San Petronio is a Gothic basilica on Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, dedicated to Petronius, the city's patron saint.
Bologna is a city and comune in Italy and the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region; the Comune di Bologna says its porticoes were entered on UNESCO's World Heritage List on 28 July 2021 as a serial site of 12 groups.
Country
Italy
Type
City
Understand the place
Not only where to go, but what to eat, what things cost, what visitors get wrong, how accessible Bologna is, which scams to recognize and what is genuinely worth your time.
The complete guide
Start with the parts of Bologna that matter most to your trip, then move into the practical details.
Experiences & attractions
Attractions, experiences and places actually worth your time.
Eat like you understand the place
Signature dishes, local drinks, markets and eating well.
Where to stay & explore
Where to stay, wander and choose the right area for your trip.
Beyond the destination
Nearby places worth a day out from here.
Bring home the right things
What is genuinely worth buying and where to look.
After dark
What the evenings are like, and where to spend them.
Family travel
Family logistics, strollers, transport and practical planning.
When to go
When to visit and what the seasons really feel like.
Know before it happens
Common tourist traps and how to avoid them.
Money & budgeting
Budgets, payments and everyday prices.
Transport
Public transport, taxis, walking and common pitfalls.
Travel for more people
Mobility, transport and sensory accessibility.
Understand before you arrive
Local expectations, religion and visitor etiquette.
The details that matter
Connectivity, health, photography and useful local details.
Find your fit
Solo, women alone, older visitors, LGBTQ+, pets, remote work, budget and luxury.
Travel that holds up
Tourism pressure, supporting local people and animal welfare.
Traveler experiences
Traveler reviews will appear here after moderation.
Worth the drive
Distances are straight-line, not driving time — mountain roads in this region are often twice as long as the map suggests.
Church · Piazza Maggiore, Emilia-Romagna
The Basilica of San Petronio is a Gothic basilica on Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, dedicated to Petronius, the city's patron saint.
Historic site · Piazza Galvani, Emilia-Romagna
The Archiginnasio is a sixteenth-century palace on Piazza Galvani in Bologna, built as a single seat for the university and now home to the Archiginnasio library and an anatomical theatre.
Historic site · Piazza di Porta Ravegnana, Emilia-Romagna
The Two Towers are the Asinelli and Garisenda towers, a pair of medieval towers at Piazza di Porta Ravegnana in the centre of Bologna.
Church · Emilia-Romagna
The Basilica of Santo Stefano is a complex of churches at Via Santo Stefano 24 in Bologna, known as the Seven Churches and served by a Franciscan fraternity.
Gallery · Emilia-Romagna
The Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna is a national picture gallery at Via delle Belle Arti 56 in Bologna's university area, in a 17th-century former Jesuit novitiate.
Gallery · Tuscany
The Galleria dell'Accademia is an art museum on Via Ricasoli in Florence where Michelangelo's David and his unfinished Prisoners are displayed.
Explore deeper
4 guides
Italian food is organised around places, and Italy's protected food names write much of that into law: 331 agricultural products carry a DOP or IGP name, and four more are protected as traditional specialities. This guide explains what DOP, IGP and STG mean, why a city's name on a label is not the label's area, and how Naples, Bologna, Modena and Siena show up in the register.
XTOUR plans Italy around city bases rather than regions: Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Palermo, Genoa, Bolzano, Pisa and Siena. This guide says what each base is for, which major sites are in a city and which are only reached from one, and where XTOUR's more detailed guides take over.
Tuscany is one of Italy's twenty regions, not a city: Florence is its capital, and Pisa and Siena are separate towns inside it. This explainer sets out how Italy's regions, provinces, metropolitan cities and municipalities fit together, why the English and Italian names differ, and why XTOUR records cities rather than regions.
Continue exploring