Where does bolognese originate from? Bologna! Did we find somewhere to have bolognese? No. Today was a good chance to get off the feet for a while and let Trenitalia trains do some of the travelling for us.
Under 2 hours from Venice it was a direct train from Mestre to Bologna (around 18 Euro return each). On arrival the train station is huge and chaotic. Bologna is a main intersection point for trains across the country. It was a MAD rush in there!
We had decided to only stay for a couple of hours as we had already had 3 huge days in Venice and Mestre. Our holidays are never lazy ones that’s for sure. We tend to be exhausted by the end of them so today was a bit of a “down” day for us. Having said that we did put in quite a bit of walking yet again.
The highlights for Bologna would be the covered walkways. Apparently there are 40 kilometres of these. I could imagine during the intense heat of summer or the snowy days of winter these walkways would continue to ensure that Bologna keeps on shopping. Surely Bologna should be a key spot on your places to visit if you are after a shopping spree. Fashion is high on the list here. However, fashion at a much better price than Venice. Same stores just minus the tourist price.
Another highlight was the “Teatro Anatomico” that we came across in the university sector. Bologna is home to the worlds oldest university of the Western World founded in 1088. The anatomy theatre was incredible with rich wood sculptures, seating and with the marble autopsy table in the centre of the lecture theatre. The wooden stalls surround the tables where the students sat and the lecturers stall at the head of the room. The stall is flanked by incredible wooden carvings of two men. However the carving details a view of man without skin so you can see the muscle, ligatures, spine. This may sound perverse but it is indeed truly beautiful. The wooden ceiling is adorned with carvings of the star signs.
It has been very cold the last 3 days and today was no exception. There is a cold Arctic front pushing its way across Europe with snow falling in the alps and drops of 15 degree differences between last week and this week. Chilly!
We ended up staying about 3 hours here even so I would recommend it as a stop if you are into your shopping. You get a much better feel for what Italy is from a day to day point of view. Students are in vast numbers here, it is an affluent city that just ticks along. Cars, scooters, buses, trams, pedestrians and bicycles bustle for position in every direction. It is pure madness. I can only imagine what a really large city like Rome would be like. I was quite thankful to get back to Venice Island where cars are absent. Bliss.
