February 7, 2026

Bologna, Italia

This is supposed to be a nice tranquil day of rest and relaxation. Sleeping wasn’t an option for Grace and I. The front desk had suggested we should be downstairs and ready to go at 04:15 to help insure we can get a taxi to take us to the train station for an 05:00 train.

We both arrived downstairs at 04:10. They called for a taxi. The first one decided not to come. They called another one. They may have called a third or fourth one, before one agreed to come and get us. It had gone 04:30 be the time we got into the taxi. The ride to the train station at this hour of the morning was very quick. We were at the train station about 04:45. Grace’s train was posted on the board with a platform for departure, so we made our way to the platform.

The Bologna train station is a good-sized train station and not compact like Milano Centrale or Torino Porta Nuova. There is an underground passageway beneath the tracks which gives you access to the different platforms. And like any big city there are some homeless people choosing to occupy some of that space to spend the night out of the cold breezes of the night. There were also a good number of police and station security on site. They were visible even before we entered the station.

Grace and I waited for her train to arrive. It was on time at 05:06. She said good-bye and boarded the train. As the train pulled out of the station I headed back to the main part of the station and outside to the taxi stand. Fortunately, for me there were a number of taxis in line. It is even a little early for me to have a conversation, but the taxi at the head of the line had a driver named David. He wanted to talk all the way to the hotel. Some English and some Italian. I did my best to be polite. David dropped me off in front of the hotel on the closed street, having driven around the barriers. For this I was grateful, it meant a hundred less meters of walking.

It was back to the room. Sleep didn’t happen, even though I tried. So, I took a nice long warm bath, shaved and got dressed. Then I headed downstairs for breakfast about 07:00. The breakfast room is very nice and they had a great selection of food. However, it is morning and all I really wanted was a cappuccino and brioche. They made the cappuccino and I chose a brioche and got a small jar of peach jam. They didn’t have any apricot.

I enjoyed the cappuccino and brioche, then went back and got a yogurt and some berries. I relaxed and enjoyed a second cappuccino. I took a banana and a mandarin orange back up to the room for Mary.

It had gone 10:00 when we decided to go out for a walk. We walked up Via dell’Indipendenza to Piazza Maggiore and hung a right on Via U. Bassi. Together with Via Rizzoli, Via Ugo Bassi occupies at least a portion of the ancient Roman decumanus maximus, or the main east-west artery of the a city city. It intersected with the cardo maximus (most likely the current Via Galliera/Via Val d-Aposa) at what is now the Piazza Maggiore but once was the Roman Forum.

The present appearance of the street dates back to things that happened in World Wars I & II. Bologna is and was the capital of and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region. Because of its proximity to the Brenner Pass, one of the major passes of the Eastern Alpine range and the one with the lowest altitude among the Apline passes in the area which is quite literally between Austria and Italy, it was a strategic military important city. It contained the marshalling yards used for German troops and supplies. You have probably guessed it suffered hundred of air raids during the war. The present appearance of the street is a result of the remaking of the city after both wars.

The street is named after the martyred patriot, Ugo Bassi, whose bronze statue, by C. Parmeggiani (19th Century), is in the middle of the street. During the first Italian war of independence, fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Torino) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire, and other Italian states not so inclined to be unified, Ugo Bassi, the Italian Barnabite priest, who championed independence and served as a chaplain to Garibaldi’s forces, was captured and executed by Austrians in Bologna. Today, the street has the Palazzo d’Accursio on one side and various stores on the other.

Eventually the Palazzo d’Accursio ends and then both sides are, at least on the ground level various stores. Via Ugo Bassi ends at a small square right near the Mercato delle Erbe (literally vegetable market), which is the largest covered market in the historical center of the city. Here you can buy fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese and wine and much more. Since 2014 part of the market was transformed int include a food court and restaurants. We walked through the mercato and looked at the menus at a few of the restaurants.

We then continued walking down Ugo Bassi to Piazza Malpighi and turned left. We crossed the street and saw a store that looked like it had men’s coats, similar to the long black one I currently have. The current coat is 25 years old or older and is probably two sizes too big. I was thinking about having a new lining put in it, the outside is fine. However Mary believe it would cost several hundred dollars to do that. I have to agree. So, we found the entrance and walked into Stay.

I explained I was looking for a new coat, but the length was important. I said I saw one that looked about right in the window next door. They spoke amount themselves for a while trying to decide which customer to help. Finally, they found a young man who went next door and got a couple coats. There was a very nice one that fit perfectly. It was listed as 675€. After recovering, I asked if it was on sale. Yes, of course, 20% off.

Well, that brought the price down to 540€. One of the many things I love about Europe and Italy, in particular, is that the price you are quoted is the price you pay. No adding 10% for sales tax. One thing that is different in Italy is, that once you buy something it is yours, no refunds or refunds.  So, of course, I very carefully inspected the entire coat. I found one of the buttons wasn’t attached by sufficient thread, and another had a loose thread. I told them these have to be fixed. They agreed to send it to their tailor to repair them.

It was about to go 13:00. They close for lunch between 13:00 and 15:00, like every good Italian shop. I told them we would go for a walk and have our lunch and return after lunch. They said they would be back as early at 14:30 if I wanted to return then. We agreed to return and they agreed to have the threads on the buttons strengthened.

We decided it was time for lunch as well. We had seen a restaurant we though we would like next to the mercato, so we headed back there. On Via San Gervasio next to the mercato is 051 Osteria San Gervasio. This is where we stopped and had lunch. Standard Bolognese fare: bruschetta al pomodoro, and insalata mista, both shared, then tortellini in brodo for me and tortellini alla crema di parmigiano for Mary, which I ate about a third of. While I like the tortellini in brodo a lot, the tortellini in the creamy parmigiano might be better.

After lunch we want for another walk. This time we got to Piazza Malpighi and took a right turn instead of a left and went down Via Guglielmo Marconi. Yes, the same Marconi, inventor and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. The man largely credited as the inventor of the now not so modern radio. American’s call him Giovanni but his full name was Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi.

We were on the hunt for two things. First was a heart shaped cake pan so we could make a heart shaped cake for Luisa and Amadea for Valentine’s Day. Second, was a foldable “extra” luggage bag which we like to have in case we buy things, like a cake pan, that won’t fit into our luggage. Well, we found Bag’S Store and a very patient young woman, who took the time to let us go though several bags. We removed the stuffing to see how well they fold. We decided on one, and then decided on a different one, like I said she was very patient. We did end up buying a bag from her. Not exactly what we wanted but something that would work ok.

We continued walking and stopped at several different stores which may have had a heart shaped pan. We had just about given up when we found one more possibility. It was a good choice to stop. They had a pan that had six small heart shaped places about the size of a cupcake. Perfect for entertaining Luisa and Amadea. And now we had a bag to put it in.

We headed back in the direction of Stay, this time walking further down Piazza Malpighi. We came to the “Tombe dei Glossatoni: or Tombs of the Glossators. The 

glossatori (glossators) were an influential school of jurists and legal scholars, primarily active in Bologna, Italy, during the 11th and 12th centuries. They are considered the founders of the Law Department of the University of Bologna, which is recognized as the oldest university in the world. The term comes from their practice of adding glosses—explanatory notes, comments, and interpretations—to the margins or between the lines of the Corpus Iuris Civilis (Justinian's legal code), which they rediscovered and reinterpreted to adapt ancient Roman law to medieval needs. One has to wonder if this is where the term glossary comes from.

Why was this noticed? There are two very visible elevated monumental tombs next to the sidewalk. They appear to be two sarcophagi, or stone coffins, which are raised on pillars above your head. We have seen this only one time before in Verona for members of the ruling family. We could easily see two tombs and read the writing. These two were Accursio & Francesco D’Accursio.  

We made our way back to Stay arriving just as it had gone 14:30. They were just turning on the lights and getting ready to get back to work. We reexamined the coat to make sure the buttons were indeed repaired. Paid for the coat and headed back to the hotel for well deserved nap.

We joined V and Ali in the bar, Café Marinetti, downstairs in the hotel for a drink. They are going to “I Carracci” restaurant here in the hotel for dinner tonight. After they left for their dinner, we ordered a toast from the bar to share for our dinner. It is all we really needed after the big lunch. And that pretty much ends the night for us. It is off to bed.

Buonanotte e Ciao,

Enrico e Maria