Sightseeing and Foodie Treats: A Big Short Break in Beautiful Bologna

THE MUST-SEES OF BOLOGNA

This private walking tour of the medieval city starts in and around Piazza Maggiore. The oldest building here is the 13th-century Palazzo del Podestato, which was Bologna’s chief magistrate in the 15th century. Palazzo Re Enzo, in Piazza del Nettuno, near the Neptune Fountain, appeared shortly afterwards. You’ll also have the opportunity to visit the city’s art collection in the Palazzo d’Accursio, a building which dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Highlights of the museum include the Farnese Room, with its historic frescoes, and the 16th-century chapel, decorated by Prospero Fontana. Round off your tour of the city with a visit to the Basilica of San Petronio, a beautiful partially-marbled building dating back to the 14th century; the frescoes by Giovanni da Modena (1379-1455) illustrating Dante's Divina Commedia are particularly impressive.

MUSICAL BOLOGNA

Bologna is no less of a musical city than Milan or Naples, so seeing the side of the city is a must for culture buffs. Head out with a private guide to visit some of Bologna’s best musical sites. First up is the oratory dedicated to Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, which is home to 16th-century frescoes illustrating the life of this Roman martyr (while you're in San Giacomo Maggiore, you can also see the paintings of Lorenzo Costa, The Triumph of Death and the Bentivoglio altarpiece). Continue on to the 15th-century Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi, which boasts a famous organ. The rest of the tour can be spent seeing any other sites you fancy ticking off: the baroque municipal theatre in Piazza Verdi, the conservatory library in Piazza Rossini and the International Museum and Library of Music in Palazzo Sanguinetti.

WITH A FEW MORE DAYS... VISIT RAVENNA

Easily accessible on a day trip from Bologna, Ravenna is well worth visiting if you’re able to lengthen your stay in Emilia-Romagna. The mosaic treasures contained in Ravenna’s Palaeochristian monuments are a source of wonder that can be found in every corner of the city. There are the depictions of Saint Paul and Saint Peter with delicate doves (symbols of baptism) in the fifth-century mausoleum of Galla Placidia; the processions of martyrs and Christian virgins in the sixth-century Byzantine basilica of Saint Apollinaire the Ninth; the sixth-century Byzantine apse of Saint Apollinaire in Classe; and the baptism of Christ in the sixth-century Byzantine baptistery of the Arians. Round off your stay with a visit to the neoclassical tomb of Dante, located just north of the Basilica of San Francesco.