Best Bologna Porticoes: Stroll Through History

Bologna’s porticoes are more than just covered walkways; they are a journey through centuries of history, art, and culture.

With over 40 km of these iconic structures, now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they offer a unique way to explore the city.

Here are 12 must-visit porticoes that showcase Bologna’s charm.

Not even a meter large, that’s the smallest portico of Bologna.
It’s easy to get physically too close to strangers while walking there, hence the street’s appellation “Bad Name”, which turned into “No Name”.

Since you are there, take a look at the window of Flo Fiori, one of the best shops in Bologna and spend your memorable lunch at Osteria Bottega.

Salaborsa Library is one of the most lively places in the city, set in the former town hall stables.

The inside was realized with iron and glass at the end of the 19th century with its three porticoes overlapped, all painted.

Walk all around the place, it's full of hidden wanders.

Follow the enchanting rhythm of the arcades of Via Saragozza.
After almost 4 km you arrive at San Luca Basilica, the panoramic sanctuary on top of the hill.
It sounds challenging, but the reward is astounding.

You can still stop at Bar Billi for a memorable Bologna breakfast with cappuccino and brioche before the rise, or a spritz once you've done your job.

From Latin America’s struggle for freedom to the most modern demonstrations, these bricks have joined the clash.
These daubed walls still keep students' ideas since the 1960s.

Get a beer or a glass of wine with the students, and you will know why everyone has wanted to study in Bologna since middle age.

I could've named it "the romantic" or "the largest".
But Portico dei Servi and its Basilica are mostly famous for its Christmas market that every December fills the arcades with handmade artworks.

For a coffee or a bite or Bologna street food just to go Piazza Altrovandi.

A trimmed and adorned façade in the front, a bunch of confused poor windows in the back. This portico was built just to put an elegant cover on the rowdy and smelly roads of the Quadrilatero market.

Jacopo Barozzi made it, yes the same guy of Barozzi cake.

In one of the parts of shopping in Bologna, full of banks and fancy cafés, you feel the vibes of modernity strolling under a marvelously frescoed portico, the only one with painted vaults.

Definitely one of the most famous Bologna porticoes, and one of my favorite.

What if you lived in middle age, your neighbors were ready to kidnap your children, and the arcades stopped you from seeing who was knocking at your door?

Better to make a hole in the floor and spy downstairs!

Outside the city center, made only in 1962 but still on the UNESCO World Heritage list of candidates.

This portico reminds a leaving train and it's the symbol of the Barca neighborhood.

Teatro Comunale was the most astonishing Renaissance mansion in town.
Then it was destroyed by the fury of the people and now it's one of the best theaters in Bologna.

Listen up: the rehearsals are boosted on the outside and you can hear them under the portico.

Bologna University is the oldest in the Western world and used to have its venue next door at Archiginnasio.

So many students have passed under the arcade of this bookshop, whose stands on the outside look like Paris' bouquinistes.

It's one of the best bookshops in Bologna, but not the only one to put on your bucket list.

Tall, time-worn, wooden columns and a secret: three arrows were stuck in the ceiling during a failed kidnap mission, back in the 15th century.

Bunches of people are looking upwards every day to count them all.

Can you see all three of them?

Want to explore Bologna’s porticoes with a local expert?
Join our Bologna tours to uncover their secrets and hidden stories!

[Photo credits: Giovanni Racca, Lorenzo Gaudenzi, moke076, Davide Alberani]