24 April – 02 May 2026

Piacenza

24-26 April 2026

We stopped midway on the drive from Antibes to Bologna in Piacenza, south of Milan. Our Airbnb hosts wondered why we chose Piacenza. It boasts handsome Renaissance buildings in pristine condition but attracts few tourists. We explored from Friday night to Sunday morning, walking and hanging out for aperitifs near the main square. Upscale shops, well-dressed residents, students, good food. The major mercato on Saturday attracted hordes of shoppers, but otherwise the city is a fairly quiet, even sleepy, place.

(After listening to French for a week, Bonnie’s language skills collapsed. When she opened her mouth to order in a restaurant she couldn’t predict whether French, English, or Italian would come out.)

Lodging

Our apartment was a ten-minute walk to the center of town where most of bars and local social life are located.

The attraction of this apartment was the free street parking directly in front! And no ZTL (traffic limited zone). Clearly not a big tourist town.

Drinks, Then Dinner

Saturday Mercato

We were delighted to wake up Saturday morning and discover a market just outside our apartment building door. The stalls stretched for at least a quarter of a mile down a lovely linear parkway on top of the old Renaissance city wall. So many clothes for sale! Here we saw a different mix of residents that included many immigrant families. After walking back and forth along the full stretch, we headed to the closest restaurant for lunch and found ourselves in an unexpectedly sophisticated place. Sometimes a random choice is great.

XNL—Modern Art Museum

Bonnie’s research identified one museum nearby—XNL. We had no idea what to expect. They do not have a permanent collection, only temporary exhibitions. The theme of the current show is clouds and it was delightful. Each artist pursued their own interpretation, from seeing clouds form to being enveloped by clouds. It reminded us of the Exploratorium. Clever. Playful. Nicely done.

A Stroll, Drinks, and Dinner

Breakfasts

Bologna

26 April – 02 May 2026

The next leg of our Italian trip was a simple 1.5 hour drive from Piacenza through the flat green farmland of the Po Valley. To stop for lunch we were expecting an Autogrill, but Eataly muscled them out at the highway stop.

Bologna

We are fond of Bologna and looked forward to six days there. This is Bonnie’s third trip and Robert’s fourth. Not many must-see museums and churches here, but interesting, great food and varied streets that range from slightly sketchy to elegant. The population of 400,000 includes an astonishing 95,000 students at the university—the oldest in Europe—and the student energy is infectious.

Robert first visited Bologna in 1972. He took the train from Florence specifically to have lunch. A stranger at the communal table recommended tortellini in brodo (broth). Good call. A must to order when you are here.

Because we have visited before, you will not see many touristy items in this post. Although we did take a walking tour and visit several museums, most of our time was spent strolling, window shopping, people watching, sitting down for aperitifs, scouting out restaurants that serve local cuisine, and occasionally getting into a great conversation in Italian with a local resident. The ratio food and drink photos here in the blog might be misleading. We don’t spend all of our time eating and drinking!

An urban designer and an urban geographer can spend hours looking at buildings, pavement, lighting, people, paint colors, and retail uses. We also set ourselves little errands, like finding stamps or a sharpener for Bonnie’s eyebrow pencil. These can take ages but are a fun way to explore the city.

Porticos

Bologna is known for its miles of covered walkways—porticos. A few of the ancient wood ones remain, but most are elegant, arched marble with varied decoration. The porticos allowed property owners to add more building space above the sidewalk. In the 1200s the city began to require porticos for all new construction. They have specific minimal dimensions, enough to allow you to ride your horse.

Lodging

Our spacious apartment in Bologna was tucked just off the main square. The ideal location made up for its frumpiness. Because we couldn’t drive into the center of Bologna, our strategy was to find an outlying parking lot at a slightly lower cost, unload our bags, and call a taxi. It took quite a while, but after we gave up on the taxi and called Uber, it worked.

Rambling Stroll

Terrazzo Terrazzo!

A Stroll, Drinks, and Dinner

Lunch

Walking Tour

A stroll, drinks with snacks, no dinner

Da Cesari Again Yes. Second time at Cesari. One more to go.

A Drink with a Former Prime Minister

As we were sipping aperitifs Bonnie was startled to see a former prime minister (and later head of the European Commission) sit down at the next table. Romano Prodi. Left wing, academic, economist, Bologna resident. One of the good guys.

Bologna City History Exhibit

Under the Library

Thank you Kathleen B for the suggestion.

Muses Civico Archeologico

Gelato

We found this place by accident. After standing in a long line that barely moved, Bonnie called it quits. However, we “stumbled” across it later that evening when the line was practically non-existent, resulting in a cup of gelato for each of us.

Clock Tower

At Kathleen B’s suggestion, Robert made reservations to climb to the top of the clock tower that faces the Piazza Maggiore. Well worth the price of admission and the climb up the stairs. The climb required his signature on a release form because of the condition of the last few flights of aged steps.

Last Dinner at Da Cesari

Colazione

Postcards

Robert’s friend, Mike McAdoo, asked us to send postcards, and we, too, thought it would be fun to return to earlier days of travel and send a few. Not so easy. In some cities it is difficult to find any postcards. Then we hunt for stamps. Robert assumed we just go to a tabaccheria, but after striking out at several we hunkered down for an extended search. Then where to mail them? Post boxes apparently no longer exist. We found a branch post office but were confronted with lines of people waiting for things like paying utility bills, picking up pension checks, and mailing packages. Not a mail slot in sight. We took our postcards to Ravenna in hopes of finding a post office there.

Next stop—Ravenna!