Bologna is a city with a population of 374,425 inhabitants. It is capital of the province which bears the same name and also of the region of Emilia-Romagna.
Home of the oldest university in the world, (founded in the 11th century), Bologna boasts an extensive student population, which has largely contributed to the city’s vibrant and varied nightlife. Famous for its towers and arcades, Bologna’s historic centre alone has more than 38 kilometres of ‘porticos’, making it the only city in the world to be completely arcaded. The Portico of San Luca is also the longest in the world (3,5 km, 666 arcades). Bologna possesses the second largest mediaeval historic centre in Europe (after Venice), and, despite having suffered considerable damage in the Anglo-american air raids of World War II, it remains unique in its historic value thanks to a careful policy of restoration and conservation launched at the end of the sixties. The origins of the city date back to at least 1000 years BC, and throughout history, Bologna has always been an important urban centre, under both the Etruscans (Felsina) and the Romans (Bononia) and later throughout the Middle Ages when it was a free municipality (Bologna was the fifth largest European city in terms of population for a whole century).
Bologna is a very important railway and motorway hub in Italy and a primary trade fair centre. Bologna and its metropolitan area have several important industries in the fields of mechanics, foods, and electronics and it is also home to important cultural, economic, and political institutions. The city's Fiera District (exhibition area) is one of the most renowned in Europe and, in Italy, it is second only to Milan, hosting important international exhibitions such as Saie, Cersaie, Saiedue, Motor Show, Lineapelle, SANA and La Fiera del Libro per Ragazzi. Bologna also enjoys significant retail and wholesale trade (the ‘Centergross’ in the northern metropolitan area, founded in 1979, was the largest in Europe for several years).
Bologna is at the centre of a so-called metropolitan area which includes numerous provincial municipalities and totals more than 750,000 inhabitants, although during the day the number of people present in the area is estimated to be closer to a million.
Located between continental and peninsular Italy, Bologna is the fulcrum of national travel and transportation, being the rail and motorway nucleus of Italy. While the city lies on the southern extremes of the Padana plane, it is strategically located and passing through Bologna is almost unavoidable. It in fact lies at the centre of North and South-linking communication systems, whether you are travelling in the direction of the Adriatic coast from Turin or Milan, through the Veneto region and down to Puglia or, more importantly, in the direction of the Tyrrhenian coast from Genoa to Rome, or across the Apennine ‘backbone’ in the direction of Florence and Rome.
Nowadays, in an era dominated by mechanical engineering, Bologna is very much enjoying a climate of conceptual innovation, which has brought about many successful, entrepreneurial initiatives. An encouraging scenario indeed since it demonstrates how there is no unique recipe for success. On the contrary, Bologna is living proof that it is possible to explore different roads and experiment. In fact the a number of important worldwide manufacturers have made the area between Bologna and Modena their home and have risen to success in this manner - Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini, Maserati to cite but the most important - creating a sort of ‘Motor Valley’.
