If it rains at Bologna, you do not need to worry: You can endlessly walk through the city center without being exposed to rain (or sunshine). The reason for that are the Portici; arcades next to the street that sometimes are also decorated very nicely. Astonishing 40 kilometers of streets in the city center have these roofed passages. In medieval times multiple European cities had these arcades but only in Bologna they were later protected on large scale – making the city a UNESCO world heritage site today.
The Portici weren’t built to protect pedestrians: when the university of Bologna was founded in 1098 CE it became a success very fast and many professors and students wanted to move to the city. Additional living space was needed and landlords started to place columns on the public street in front of their houses and added additional rooms on upper floors supported by them. This was illegal by that time, but as it was also in public interest (by creating space for new inhabitants and protecting pedestrians) it was accepted and became the standard.
From the year 1288 on it even became a legal requirement to build a portico in front of your house. You probably can’t stroll through all 40 kilometers of arcades and want to focus on the more beautiful once: I personally liked the once near Piazza Cavour most. Other recommendations are the ones around the Basilica Santo Stefano and near the Palazzo dei Banchi. If you want to do the longest one, start at the Porta Saragozza – it leads straight up the hill to the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca and is four kilometers long.
Portici
Bologna
Italy
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