Bologna

/beuh lohn"yeuh/; It. /baw law"nyah/, n.

1. Giovanni da /jee'euh vah"nee deuh/; It. /jaw vahn"nee dah/, (Jean de Boulogne, Giambologna), c1525-1608, Italian sculptor, born in France.

2. a city in N Italy. 484,406.

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City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 369,955), capital of Emilia-Romagna region, northern Italy.

Located north of Florence, it lies at the northern foot of the Apennines. Originally the Etruscan town of Felsina, it became a Roman military colony с 190 BC. It was subject to the Byzantine exarchate of Ravenna from the 6th century AD. It became a free commune in the 12th century. Incorporated into the Papal States in 1506, it was the scene of the crowning of Charles V in 1530. After a brief period of French occupation, it was restored to the Papal States in 1815, and in 1861 it was united to the Kingdom of Italy. The University of Bologna is Europe's oldest university. The city is a road and rail centre for traffic between northern and southern Italy. It is the site of excellent medieval and Renaissance architecture and is famous for its cuisine. It was governed by communists in the second half of the 20th century.

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▪ Italy

Latin  Bononia 

 city, capital of Emilia-Romagna region, in northern Italy, north of Florence, between the Reno and Savena rivers. It lies at the northern foot of the Apennines, on the ancient Via Aemilia, 180 ft (55 m) above sea level. Originally the Etruscan Felsina, it was occupied by the Gallic Boii in the 4th century BC and became a Roman colony and municipium (Bononia) c. 190 BC. It was subject to the Greek exarchate of Ravenna (6th century) and then passed to the papacy. It was occupied by the Visigoths, Huns, Goths, and Lombards after the barbarian invasions. After a feudal period, Bologna became a free commune when the emperor recognized its rights in the early 12th century. The conflict between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines (two parties in medieval Italian politics) led to the city's domination by a series of signori (lords)—the Pepoli, Visconti, Bentivoglio—before it was incorporated into the Papal States by Pope Julius II in 1506. Thereafter it enjoyed more than three centuries of peace and prosperity. Papal rule was interrupted only by a brief period of French control (1797–1814) before Bologna was garrisoned by the Austrians (1849–60) and was united to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. Occupied by German troops from September 1943 until it was recaptured by Allied forces in 1945, it suffered heavy air and artillery bombardment.

      The arcaded streets of the central part of the city, built on the old Roman town, still preserve a medieval aspect, characterized by the leaning Asinelli and Garisenda towers (300 ft [91 m] and 150 ft, respectively, and both built in 1109–19). Among numerous medieval palaces (palazzi) the most notable are the Palazzi Comunale (town hall), Podestà, Mercanzia (chamber of commerce), and Re Enzio (where King Enzio, son of Emperor Frederick II, was imprisoned from 1249 until his death in 1272). The Palazzo Bevilacqua (1477–82), with a magnificent inner courtyard, is one of the finest in Bologna. The seat of an archbishop, the city has many magnificent churches, including S. Petronio (begun 1390, never completed), where the emperor Charles V was crowned by Pope Clement VII (1530); S. Francesco (1236–63; restored after World War II damage); S. Domenico, formed in 1221 to house the tomb of the saint; the Baroque S. Pietro Metropolitana cathedral; and Sta. Maria dei Servi. S. Stefano is the name given to a group of four Romanesque churches of the 11th to 13th centuries erected on the ruins of a pagan temple and incorporating earlier foundations.

      The university (Bologna, University of), one of the oldest and most famous in Europe, dating from the 11th century, attained its greatest renown in the 12th–13th centuries. It originally had no fixed location; lectures were generally held in the great halls of convents until the Archiginnasio Palace was erected under Pius IV (1562). The university moved to the Palazzo Celesi in 1803; the Archiginnasio was restored after World War II. The university's most eminent teachers included Irnerius and Francesco Accursius (Accursio), noted jurists; Ulisse Aldrovandi, Marcello Malpighi, Luigi Galvani, and Giosuè Carducci. Famous natives of Bologna include Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of radiotelegraphy, and the popes Gregory XIII, Gregory XV, Lucius II, and Benedict XIV. Bologna is noted for its great communal and university libraries and others with special collections, such as that of the conservatory. The Civic Museum, founded in 1712 and accommodated since 1881 in the Palazzo Galvani, contains important remains of past civilizations, including collections from the Umbrian (Villanova) civilization and the Etruscan necropolis. The art gallery houses a fine collection of paintings of the Bolognese school (the Carracci, Francesco Albani, Guido Reni, Domenichino, Guercino, Francia, Pellegrino Tibaldi) and numerous other works, the most famous of which is Raphael's “St. Cecilia.”

      Bologna is of paramount importance as a road and rail centre through which must pass most traffic between central and southern Italy and the north. Until World War I the city was chiefly dependent upon agriculture based on the surrounding fertile plain. Although still an important agricultural market and food-processing centre, Bologna also has developed into an important industrial centre; its chief manufactures include agricultural machinery, electric motors, motorcycles, railway equipment, chemicals, and shoes. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 373,743.

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