Bologna

Our final stop in Italy was Bologna. This city seems to shut down in August but there was enough for us to do to fill the day before our flight out the next morning, and enough restaurants open that we were able to get several excellent meals. Not as much of a tourist magnet as Florence and Venice, Bologna still had plenty to see for those interested in history and architecture, and it was mercifully less crowded.

We started the day by climbing the Asinelli Tower, and from the top, we were able to get magnificent views of the city.



We then walked around the buildings of the university (the oldest continuously operating one in the world) before visiting the archeological museum, shown in the photos above. Bologna has an impressive number of museums, and most of them are free to the public. However, finding one that is open a good number of hours during the day in the month of August is another matter.

The thing I liked best about Bologna (apart from the food) was simply walking around the streets, soaking in the atmosphere of this very, very old city. It was a great way to end our Italian vacation.