The Squares of Bologna

PIAZZA GALVANI  Behind the majestic Basilica of San Petronio, nestled between the elegant architecture of Via Farini and the historic porticoes of the city centre, one finds Piazza Galvani — one of the most refined and historically rich corners of Bologna. Once known by various names — Piazza dell’Accademia, dell’Archiginnasio, delle Scuole, della Pace, and more popularly as Piazza del Pavaglione...

PIAZZA LUCIO DALLA one of the most recent urban plannings in Bologna, is situated in the heart of the Bolognina district, just steps away from the Central Station (Stazione Centrale). This area was formerly home to the Fruit and Vegetable Market on Via Aristotile Fioravanti. Inaugurated in 2022 and named after the famous Bolognese singer-songwriter, the square is part of an ambitious urban redevel...

PIAZZA LIBER PARADISUS In Bologna, just beyond the central station and leaving behind the chaos of the busy avenues, there is an oasis of modernity and light: Piazza Liber Paradisus. Located in the heart of the Bolognina district, this square is one of the city’s most recent and symbolic urban spaces, a place that remarkably blends history and innovation. Its name is rooted in a historical documen...

PIAZZA DEI TRIBUNALI located behind the Basilica of San Domenico, was opened between 1826 and 1827, when the block in front of Palazzo Ruini was demolished. The order was given by Felice Baciocchi, who at the time owned the palace. He was a politician and the husband of Elisa Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon. However, the new square did not turn out to be very large because Baciocchi lacked the funds...

PIAZZA ALDOVRANDI is located in the heart of the Santo Stefano district and is recognizable  by its long and narrow shape, stretching from north to south. Like the nearby Via Petroni and Via Guerrazzi—of which it serves as a sort of hinge—the square was created by filling in the ancient moat that once bordered Bologna’s second city wall, dating back to the 11th century and partially destroyed by F...

PIAZZA CARDUCCI Piazza Carducci is located in the heart of the Santo Stefano district and tells a story deeply intertwined with one of the greatest names in Italian literature: Giosuè Carducci, the first Italian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1906. Carducci lived in Bologna for most of his life and taught Italian literature at the University for over forty years. For him, Bologna was...

PIAZZA VIII AGOSTO La piazza si trova nella zona nord-orientale del centro storico di Bologna, nei pressi di Porta Mascarella e lungo l’asse viario che conduce alla Stazione Centrale. È una delle piazze più vaste della città e la sua storia è strettamente intrecciata agli usi collettivi e alla vita sociopolitica di Bologna, in epoca ottocentesca e contemporanea. È circondata da edifici realizzati...

PIAZZA VERDI  It is dedicated to the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi and is located in the historic centre of Bologna, at the heart of the university district. For a long time, the square was not officially recognised in the city’s street naming system and was considered part of Via Zamboni; it was formally named after the famous composer only in 1951. It emerged in the 15th century as an open spa...

PIAZZA MALPIGHI Located in the Porto-Saragozza district, Piazza Malpighi is named after the 17th-century physician and anatomist Marcello Malpighi. A key junction in the city’s traffic network, it is where several major streets converge— Ugo Bassi, Marconi, San Felice, Pratello, Sant’Isaia, Nosadella, Barberia, Porta Nova, and Piazza San Francesco. The square stretches along what was once the west...

PIAZZA MINGHETTI is one of the symbolic sites of Bologna’s urban transformation during the post-unification period. Located in the heart of the city, very close to Via Farini and just a short distance from Piazza Cavour and Piazza Galvani, it represents a refined junction between the medieval historic center and the bourgeois architecture of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Dedicated to Marco Mi...

PIAZZA DEL BARACCANO In the heart of the Santo Stefano district, just beyond the live arteries of Bologna’s historic center, lies a discreet yet evocative square: Piazza del Baraccano, a collection of historic, civil and religious buildings located near the Margherita Gardens. It includes the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Baraccano and several structures along Via Santo Stefano and facing the squar...

PIAZZA SAN FRANCESCO In the heart of Bologna’s historic center, just a short walk from Via del Pratello and Via Ugo Bassi, one finds Piazza San Francesco, dominated by the majestic Basilica of the same name—one of the greatest masterpieces of Gothic architecture in Emilia-Romagna. Construction began in 1236, only ten years after the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, when the Franciscan friars arri...

PIAZZA SAN DOMENICO Just a short walk from Via Garibaldi and Piazza Cavour, in the heart of medieval Bologna, lies Piazza San Domenico, one of the city’s most charming historic spaces. The square takes its name from the monumental Basilica of San Domenico, a masterpiece of Italian Gothic architecture begun in 1236 by the Dominicans on the site of the earlier church of San Nicolò delle Vigne. This...

PIAZZA CAVOUR Conceived from the very beginning as the city’s new “elegant drawing room”, Piazza Cavour was designed to gracefully host the new national and local institutions, particularly the banks. Its main entrance is from Via Farini, planned during the same years and today one of Bologna’s most refined shopping streets. The square is named after statesman Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, the f...

PIAZZA SANTO STEFANO  is also known as the Square of the Seven Churches and it takes its name from the religious complex of Santo Stefano, an extraordinary example of medieval architecture. The square is dominated by the basilica of the same name, built over an ancient pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, and is surrounded by elegant noble palaces featuring medieval and Renaissance porticoe...

PIAZZA DELLA MERCANZIA  is located just a few steps from the Two Towers, at the intersection of the ancient Via Emilia (now Strada Maggiore) and the Via Salaria to Ravenna (now Via San Vitale). The square developed as early as Roman times and, during the Middle Ages, became the heart of a bustling market that extended to the Asinelli and Garisenda Towers. At the centre of the square stands the  Pa...

PIAZZA RAVEGNANA The square, named after a gate in the first circle of city walls that opened toward Ravenna, is one of Bologna’s most iconic places. It is located in the heart of the historic city center and serves as a hub for several major streets: Via San Vitale, Strada Maggiore, Via Rizzoli, Via Zamboni, and Via de’ Giudei. Already documented in the 11th century as the Trivio di Porta Ravegna...

PIAZZA DEL NETTUNO  In the vibrant heart of Bologna, just a few steps from Piazza Maggiore, lies Piazza del Nettuno—one of the city’s most significant urban spaces in terms of artistic, political, and symbolic value. The square is named after the monumental Fountain of Neptune, familiarly called “il Gigante” (the Giant) by the people of Bologna. It was created between 1563 and 1566 by the Flemish...

PIAZZA MAGGIORE   In the heart of Bologna lies Piazza Maggiore, one of the most iconic and meaningful urban spaces in medieval and modern Italy. Since its creation in the 13th century, it has been the main stage for the city’s political, religious, and social life. The square was officially established in the early 1200s, when the city’s government decided to create a public space to represent civ...

Introduction to The Squares of Bologna Walking through Bologna means crossing centuries of history, preserved not only in its buildings and porticoes but, above all, in its squares. These are living spaces where the city reveals its true self: a harmonious blend of culture, spirituality, politics, and daily life. Its squares—whether vast or intimate, monumental or secluded—tell the story of the ci...