Fat Red Bologna

Why go to Bologna, a city named for deli meat?

To eat, of course!

A mortadella (aka bologna), provolone and pistachio sauce sandwich.

Buongiorno from Bologna, Italy. Two croissants and coffees for about $8.

Bologna is nicknamed “La Grassa” The Fat One because of its rich cuisine.

The Emilia-Romagna cities of Parma, Modena and Bologna are famous for production of Parma ham, Parmesan and Grana Padano cheeses, balsamic vinegar, mortadella, sausages, other cheese and dairy products, fruit and vegetable conserves and stuffed pasta.

Italian regions are known for a particular specialty pasta. Bologna’s is the stuffed tortellini and the larger tortelloni.

Everyone’s heard of Spaghetti Bolognese, but in Bologna, the famous Bolognese ragu sauce would never be served over spaghettii. Instead it’s served on tortellini and the wider tagliatelle egg pasta.

Lasagna, veggies and an un-named pasta dish.

Like true Italians we mostly strolled, ate, napped and ate again. Before finishing one meal we start planning the next!

Lauded by many as the “best food city in Italy”, Bologna has a food market that dates back to medieval times, when local butchers and bakers would hawk their products along the narrow alleyways.

We walked through colorful produce stands.

And we found amazing gelato, €4 for 4 flavors.

One of the original gates of the walled city of Bologna.

Bologna has a well-preserved historical center and is famous for its towers, churches and porticoes.

Bologna has over 23 miles of covered porticoes.

Bologna’s porticos were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.

It doesn’t cost anything to wander and admire.

There are not very many tourist attractions in Bologna except for climbing a tower or two. The tallest one is Asinelli Tower, approximately 230 feet.

The iconic Two Towers of Bologna – Asinelli and Garisenda Towers were constructed between 1109-1119.. The shorter tower is leaning by nearly the same degree as the more famous and taller Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Basilica di San Petronio, Piazza Maggiore, Bologna.

Bologna has another nickname, “La Rossa” – The Red One for its red tiled rooftops and leftist politics. I like to think it’s so named because of the warm reddish hues of her buildings.

Bologna has one other nickname. La Dotta or “The Learned One” because the University of Bologna, established in 1088, is considered to be the world’s oldest continuously operating university,

The Cost of Travel

The two of us spent 877.93 for 6 nights in Italy – a daily average of $146.32.

Accommodations: $568.05 for Casita Linda AirBnb, $94.68 per night.
Food: $246.12 including gratuities an average of $41.02 per day. We are budget travelers; we made coffee in each morning and ate at markets, take-outs and cafes versus osterias, trattorias, or ristorantes.
Transport: $29.42 incudes one city bus ride and $26.78 for a taxi to the airport.
Entertainment: $28 includes one ticket to the Ravenna mosaics, and the $16 for two train tickets from Ravenna to Bologna.
Miscellaneous: $6.34 to store bags for 2 hours in Ravenna.

Hand-made pasta! We watched this pasta maker rolling out his pasta, piping the cheese filling and folding the tortelloni by hand. He then cooked us two entrees pictured below to take-away.

We ordered his tortelloni filled with herbed ricotta and served with butter and herbs and his tagliatelle with ragu. €9 each.

Six days was not enough time to get our complete fill of Italian food, but we had to move on. Time (and money) were running out.

We brought this tasty feast from the market to eat in our apartment.

We flew to Barcelona, Spain for one night in order to embark on the last leg of our four-month trip, a 14-night Transatlantic Cruise home to the USA.

We’ll Meet You in the Morning once we’re back on land. Bon voyage!