The

Porticoes A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

are an important cultural and architectural heritage of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and represent a symbol of the city together with the numerous towers. No other city in the world has as many porticoes as Bologna: all together, they cover more than only in the historic center, but can reach up to if those outside the medieval city walls are also considered. On account of their cultural and artistic significance, in 2021 the porticoes of Bologna have been declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

The porticoes of Bologna were built almost spontaneously, probably in the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, as a projection of private buildings on public land, in order to increase living spaces. The first historical evidence dates back to 1041. In a first period the houses were increased by the expansion of upper floors and the creation of wooden projections. Over the years, the jetties increased in size and it was necessary to build support columns from below to prevent them from collapsing, thus creating the worldwide famous arcades. In the following centuries the success of the arcades was determined by the need to cope with the strong increase in the presence of students and scholars at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in contin ...

, but also with immigration from the countryside. The expansion of the porticoes began in 1288, when a notice from the local municipality established that all new houses had to be built with a portico, while those already existing that did not have one were required to add it. During all the Middle Ages, the arcades were made of wood, then, following a decree issued on 26 March 1568 by the pontifical governor Giovanni Battista Doria and the so-called ''gonfaloniere'' Camillo Paleotti, they were rebuilt with bricks or stones. Despite this, some buildings with wooden porticoes still survives today, like those in via Marsala or in Corte Isolani. The Portico of San Luca is the city's and world's longest. It connects Porta Saragozza (one of the twelve gates of the ancient walls built in the Middle Ages, which circled a part of the city) with the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, a church begun in 1723 on the site of an 11th-century edifice which had already been enlarged in the 14th century, prominently located on a hill ( high) overlooking the town, which is one of Bologna's main landmarks. The windy 666 vault arcades, almost four kilometres () long, effectively links the Sanctuary of San Luca to the city centre. Its porticos provide shelter for the traditional procession which every year since 1433 has carried a Byzantine icon of the Madonna with Child attributed to Luke the Evangelist down to the Bologna Cathedral during the Feast of the Ascension.Il Portico di San Luca, il più lungo "corridoio" mai costruito al mondo
''Guida Bologna''

Gallery

File:Bologna san luca-6.jpg, Portico of San Luca File:I portici di Bologna.JPG, Porticoes in via Farini File:DSC04575-01.jpg, The "Portico of Death" File:Portico del Pavaglione - Via dell'Archiginnasio (4).JPG, Portico of Pavaglione File:Bologna elegant Arcade.jpg, Portico of Malvezzi Campeggi Palace File:DSC06397-01.jpg, Portico of Bianchini Palace File:Walkway, Bologna.jpg, Portico of the Bank of Italy Palace File:I colori di Via Farini.jpg, Porticoes in via Farini File:Portico di San Leonardo (1).JPG, Porticoes in via San Leonardo

References

External links

UNESCO World Heritage: The Porticoes of Bologna
{{World Heritage Sites in Italy World Heritage Sites in Italy Bologna Emilia-Romagna