Porticoes of Bologna

What are portici?

Portici (Italian) or Porticoes (English) are covered walkways supported by arches or columns to one or both sides. These are a very distinctive feature of Bologna’s urban identity, and something architecturally unique in the world. You can’t miss them, as they are everywhere around the historic centre, spanning a total length of 62km across the entire city.

In addition to their undeniable visual appeal, they also serve a functional purpose, providing shade to pedestrians as well as cover from rain. If you visit Bologna in the summer time, you will be forever thankful for these architectural wonders.

As of July 2021, The Porticoes of Bologna are a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the only one in Bologna, and pretty much the most recently listed UNESCO World Heritage Site at the time of writing.

Origins

Bologna’s earliest portici date back to early medieval times, around 11th century. They appeared as a consequence of a sudden need for housing development within the city centre. This was particularly important in Bologna due to a rapidly growing student population, following the foundation of the prestigious University of Bologna in 1088. The only way to address this housing issue without affecting the city’s existing infrastructure was having houses expand on their upper level. As these properties extruded towards the streets, columns were needed to support the weight, creating the iconic portici.

The first portici were made of wood, but almost all of these had to be replaced in later centuries, as a result of new legislation. Today, the columns are made of stone or brick, however some wooden ones remain - check out Palazzo Grassi on Via Marsala or Le Tre Frecce on Corte Isolani.

Each building has its own style of portici, so rather than hunting down someone else’s favourite portici, just go for a walk around Bologna’s beautiful historical centre and you are bound to come across a good mix. Here are some worthwhile entries:

the wooden portici on Via Marsala

the many portici around Piazza Maggiore

the ornate portici around Piazza Cavour and Via Farini

the porticoes along Via Santo Stefano (try to find the devil’s head!)

Portico della Morte on Via de' Musei

last but not least, Portico di San Luca - but this one actually deserves its own post…

Check out my map to help you navigate the city in search of portici - and more!

See map

Portico di San Luca

The longest and most spectacular portico is actually just outside of the city centre. This portico is 3.5km long and connects Porta Saragozza, one of the old city gates, to Santuario della Madonna di San Luca, a beautiful basilica sited atop a hill, overlooking the city. Note though that the interesting section of this portico starts at Arco Del Meloncello, so the ascent is actually around 2km.