Bologna, one of the most ancient cities of Italy, beautifully situated on a fertile plain at the foot of the lower slopes of the Apennines, 82 miles N. of Florence, and 135 SE. of Milan by rail. An irregular hexagon, it is inclosed by a high brick wall, 5 to 6 miles in extent, with twelve gates, and is intersected by the canal of Reno, while, on either side, the rivers Reno and Savena sweep past its walls. The streets in the newer parts of the city are spacious and well paved, with rich and varied colonnades, affording shelter alike from sun and rain; in the older portion, the streets are narrow and dirty, and the arcades correspondingly low and gloomy. The city is adorned with many fine palaces of the nobility, which are rich in fresco-paintings by the great masters. Pre-eminently worthy of notice are the Palazzo Pubblico, and the Palazzo del Podestà. The former contains some fine frescoed rooms and galleries; the latter is interesting as having been the prison and death-scene, in 1272, of Enzo, the son of the Emperor Frederick II., and also as containing the archives of the city. There are numerous and important charitable institutions. The great feature of Bologna, however, is its religious edifices, which are remarkable both for the beauty of their architecture, and the abundance and splendour of the art-treasures they contain. It has more than 70 churches, the most remarkable of which are San Stefano, which is rich in relics, Madonnas, and Byzantine frescoes of the 11th and 12th centuries; San Petronio—which, though unfinished, is the largest church in the town—a noble specimen of Italian Gothic, with a meridian traced on the floor by the astronomer Cassini, and numerous masterpieces both in sculpture and in painting; San Domenico, where the founder of the order lived and died, and where his tomb has been richly ornamented by Michael Angelo and others; and the cathedral dedicated to St Peter, also rich in works of art. In the centre of the city are two remarkable leaning towers, constructed about the beginning of the 12th century: the Asinella, with a height of 274 feet, and an inclination of 3 feet 4 inches, and the Garisenda, with an elevation of 137 feet, and a lean of 8 feet 2 inches. The university of Bologna, the oldest in Europe, claims to have been founded in 425; it certainly dates as a law-school from the 11th century. Its reputation early became so great, chiefly on account of its school of jurisprudence, that students from all parts of Europe were attracted to it. In 1262 the number receiving instruction is stated to have been 10,000, and it was found necessary to appoint professors specially for the students from each country. Medicine has long been the principal study, and the discovery of Galvanism by one of its professors has shed a lustre on the university, which is also celebrated as the earliest school for the practice of dissection of the human body, as well as for the fact, that for centuries learned female professors have prelected within its walls. Though the students now number less than 1500, the university still holds a first rank among Italian educational institutions; its eighth centenary was celebrated in 1888. Bologna also possesses an academy of music of some note (1805), at which Rossini studied. The university library contains 160,000 vols. and 6000 MSS., many of which are very rare and valuable, and there is besides a city library of 120,000 vols. The Accademia delle Belle Arti is particularly rich in the works of those native artists who founded the far-famed Bolognese school of painting, and it has also some fine specimens of other schools. Bologna has given 8 popes and more than 200 cardinals to the Church. There are some important manufactures, including silk goods, velvet, crape, wax candles, musical instruments, chemical products, paper, cards, and sausages almost as celebrated as its paintings. Pop. (1872) 115,957; (1881) 103,998; (1891) 147,000.
Bologna owes its origin, which is said to be much more remote than that of Rome, to the Etruscans, by whom it was called Felsina. It was afterwards, as Bononia, the chief town of the Boii, from whom it was taken by the Romans and made a colony (189 B.C.). After the fall of the Roman empire, it passed into the hands of the Longobards, from whom it was taken by the Franks. Charlemagne made it a free city, and the citizens were afterwards invested with the choice of their own judges, consuls, and magistrates. The feuds of the Guelph and Ghibelline factions led in 1506 to the downfall of the republic, and the supremacy of the papal see. In 1796 Bologna was taken by the French, and was constituted the chief town of the Cisalpine Republic; in 1815 it reverted to the pope. In 1848 the Austrians vainly attempted to obtain possession of the town; in the following year, however, they captured it after a ten days' siege. From the commencement of the Italian campaign of 1859, the Bolognese gave an active sympathy to the national cause; intimated their intention of placing themselves under the rule of Victor Emmanuel; and when the question of annexation to Italy, or separate government, was submitted to the universal vote of the people, in March 1860, the votes for annexation were 1000 to 1.—The Province of Bologna forms part of the compartimento of Emilia. It is very fertile, and its numerous small streams and canals are largely utilised in the irrigation of rice-fields. Large numbers of silkworms are reared. Area, 1432 sq. m.; pop. (1892) 486,059. See Burton's Etruscan Bologna (1876). For the Bolognese School of Painting, see CARACCI, PAINTING.