DSIGN.IT/printed May 2014/tipografia metropolitana Bologna
originally had a loggia twice as long as the current one) and of the
opposite Boncompagni houses, a typical example of residential
architecture of Bologna from the 13th century, adapted to the
culture of the end of the 19th century.
Via S. Caterina
10. The portico of San Luca
Casa Grassi
8. The commercial portico
of Via dell’Indipendenza
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Tourist Information
ph. +39 051 239660 - +39 051 6472113
ni
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Aeroporto G. Marconi, via Triumvirato 84
San
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touristoffi[email protected]
Piazza Maggiore 1/e
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www.bolognawelcome.it
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In some areas of the city that expanded during the 14th century
there are still long porticoes, well preserved and built according
to monastic allotment plans. They are also to be found in the
following streets: Mirasole, Tovaglie and Solferino, San Leonardo,
Centotrecento and Santa Caterina. In particular Via Santa Caterina
is characterized by a portico architecture that is extremely simple,
with no arches and with architraves, a functional solution for the
production and artisan activities that were carried out there.
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9. The porticoes of
Via Santa Cristina, a residential
working class area
Texts: Francesco Ceccarelli - University of Bologna
C.
viale
With the opening of Via dell’ Indipendenza (1888), a new type of
portico is introduced, mainly for commercial purposes. The new
buildings that were designed for this road that connects Piazza
Maggiore to the new railway station and for via Rizzoli and Ugo Bassi
define modern spaces, and are different from the structures of more
traditional porches, considered dangerous or unhealthy. Porches get
higher and wider and their design is influenced by Neo-Renaissance
or Neo-Gothic models, with floral decorations, as is the case with the
portico of the Majani palace by Augusto Sezanne, at no. 4.
The portico of San Luca
Outside Porta Saragozza, the portico of San Luca stretches along via
Saragozza and via San Luca and was built between the 17th and the
18th century as a covered devotional route to the sanctuary of the
Holy Virgin of San Luca, starting from the initial loggia (the so-called
“Bonaccorsi arch”) that is placed on the borderline of the walled-up
town. The portico, which is 3,796 metres long and is divided into 15
pilgrimage stations, was built in the second half of the 17th century
(from 1674) and designed by Gian Giacomo Monti. It consists of two
different parts: a flat part (1.520 m) and a hilly one (2.776 m, that
was completed only in the early 18th century under the supervision
of Giovanni Antonio Conti). The two parts are connected by the
Meloncello arch, built by Carlo Francesco Dotti in 1732.
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The porticoes, nominated as Unesco “world heritage
site”, make the city of Bologna unique in the world.
Lights and shadows, deep architectural perspectives,
different columns and capitals create fascinating and
extraordinary urban images.
1. The porticoes of Piazza
Maggiore and the seat of the
old University
This magnificent square, which started being built in the 13th century,
is characterized by porched buildings on three sides. The gothic
arches on cross-shaped pillars of Palatium Bladi on the western side
were brought back to light by restoration works in 1885-1887. The
impressive portico of the Bentivoglio family’s Palazzo del Podestà on
the northern side was built at the end of the 15th century (from 1485)
on the previous Palatium Vetus. The portico of the Banchi, designed
by Jacopo Barozzi (Il Vignola) and built from 1565, stands out on the
eastern side. Here, in the loggia, the early 15th century groin vaults
can still be clearly seen. The whole sequence of porticoes which starts
from Piazza Maggiore, on the side of Basilica di San Petronio, and
ends in Piazza Galvani is also known as Pavaglione (a dialect word for
the pavilion of the silk cocoon market). The portico of the Banchi is
followed by that of the Hospital of Death, an old residential care centre
from the late Middle Ages which is now the seat of Museo Civico;
next to this is the portico of Archiginnasio, the seat of the university
during the Counter-reformation years. This elegant portico, with its
30 arches that extend for 139 metres, was built by Antonio Terribilia
in 1563 and was the partial remake of the previous 15th century loggia
of the Schools of San Petronio; its 15th century vaults are still visible.
by the high portico on sandstone columns with a ribbed shaft. Then there is
a long sequence of buildings which nowadays are known as “Case Tacconi”,
with the striking triumphal arch-shaped facade of the late 15th century, at
number 15, built according to models from Ferrara, followed by the front
part of the houses that once belonged to the Beccadelli family, with peculiar
spiral-shaped brick columns. On the eastern side of the square the beautiful
Renaissance portico of palazzo Isolani, at no. 18, was built in the second half
of the 15th century by Pagno di Lapo Portigiani, from Florence.
3. The portico of the Baraccano
Conservatory
Only a few porched buildings, massively restored or largely rebuilt,
of the medieval Foro dei Mercanti near Porta Ravegnana is left. The
irregular space is dominated by Loggia della Mercanzia (1384), a
masterpiece of late Gothic architecture, with a majestic portico
with large groin vaults supported by cluster columns. On the wider
part of the street the wooden porticoes of the Seracchioli houses,
a stylistic reinvention of the past century (1928), give a Neo-Gothic
style to the whole area.
One of the most peculiar Renaissance porticoes in Bologna is that of
the Conservatory of Putte del Baraccano: a wide loggia, built during
the reign of the Bentivoglio family, consists of majestic stone columns
whose shaft is decorated with an elegant moulded disc.
4. The porticoes
of Strada Maggiore
On Strada Maggiore, which runs along the route of the Via Emilia inside
the city walls, there are some of the most characteristic examples of
monumental porticoes of the whole town.
The interesting wide portico that stretches along the northern side of
Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi was built from the second half of the
14th century and maybe designed by Antonio di Vincenzo. It has large
groin vaults placed on thin marble columns, with a characteristic ringshaped connection in the central part of the shaft. On the southern side
of the street, at no. 19, the high wooden portico (higher than 9 metres)
of Casa Isolani, restored in 1877, is one of the best preserved examples
of a portico from the late Middle Ages. Another peculiar portico is that
in front of the entrance of the baroque Church of San Bartolomeo,
near the two towers. It is located in a loggia of the unfinished Palazzo
Guastavillani (16th century). Its magnificent pillars have refined (but
now severely damaged) Renaissance sandstone decorations.
Porticoes of Piazza Santo Stefano
2. The porticoes
of Piazza Santo Stefano
An enchanting sequence of porticoes from the late Middle Ages and the
Renaissance runs along the two sides of Via Santo Stefano, in the square that
dates back to the Middle Ages and is dominated by the religious complex
of the same name. On the western side the portico of Palazzo Bolognini
Amorini (no. 9-11) is followed at no. 13 by Casa Bianchi, easily recognizable
5. The “Carrobbio” area
of Porta Ravegnana
San Giacomo Maggiore. Photo: Adriana Verolla
6. The portico of San Giacomo
Maggiore and Via Zamboni
The porched buildings in via Zamboni used to be noble residences or
religious structures and today they house university departments
and other public institutions. Past the small San Donato square
the neoclassical Palazzo Malvasia has elegant porches dating back
to different ages. Then there are the late Renaissance porches of
Palazzo Magnani, planned by Domenico Tibaldi, and the Tuscanic
arches of the portico of Palazzo Malvezzi. On the opposite side of
the street, past the majestic 16th century portico of Palazzo Malvezzi
de Medici, the spans of the Renaissance portico of the church of
San Giacomo Maggiore extend one after another. The refined
portico of San Giacomo was meant to be a ceremonial path, leading
to the Domus Magna of Giovanni II Bentivoglio (which was where
the Teatro Comunale now is and was destroyed in 1507); it was
built between 1477 and 1479 by expert stone specialists, such as
Tommaso di Filippo da Varignana.
7. The wooden porticoes
of Via Marsala
Santa Maria dei Servi
The stretch of via Marsala between via Oberdan and via Piella
is characterized by the wooden porticoes of Casa Grassi (which