Bologna: Sightseeing when the Book Fair is over

For my final post about Bologna: a short list of things-to-do when you have a break from the Book Fair.  I had about three days to explore the city on my own.  Here are some of the places I visited.

A Classon family tradition, when we travel anywhere, is to seek out the highest accessible point in the area, and climb.  In Bologna, that point is the Torre Asinelli.  The "two towers" for which Bologna is famous (Asinelli and Garisenda) were built in the 12th century, when Bologna had many more towers still standing.  Most of those towers were taken down over the years, but Asinelli still stands, all 334 feet of it.  Garisenda is the shorter of the two--it was deconstructed in the 14th century when things began to lean (about 11 feet from the perpendicular).

 

 Here's a closer shot of one of the "leaning towers" of Bologna (Garisenda):

 To climb Torre Asinelli, you need strong quads, good wind, and the ability to deal with narrow wooden staircases winding around a nasty abyss.  (500 stairs up, and 500 back down)
This staircase is kind of like the Amalfi Coast highway:   a one-lane street for two-way traffic.

 But here is the reward, a gorgeous view of the terra cotta roofs of Bologna:

 

And here is Piazza Maggiore, the heart of central Bologna, from the tower:

 One of the best things about Bologna is its manageable size.  You can walk from one end of the old city to the other in a few hours, which leaves plenty of time for lingering.  Bologna residents love to linger and talk.  (Note the building porticoes--almost all the sidewalks in Bologna are covered, so you don't need an umbrella!)






The University of Bologna is the "oldest continually operating university in the world."  The week of the Book Fair was "Baccalaureate" or graduation.  Students dress up, sport laurel wreathes, drink out of wine bottles on the street, and parade around singing (easier to do after a bottle of wine). 

 Old vs. newer Bologna (one of the original
city gates):











And the famous Triton fountain near the Piazza Maggiore, with the breast-squirting mermaids (a favorite meeting spot): 

Other things to do (when you're not eating or shopping) include visiting the many beautiful churches, a handful of interesting museums, the modest botanical gardens near the University's science buildings, and take day trips out of the city (I didn't have time for that).  Bologna seems a very livable city and I hope to go back soon.

Bologna 2011: Food

After the Book Fair, what is there to do in Bologna?  Plenty.  I'll get to history & sightseeing at a later date, something I explored on my own since most of my friends were booked with business meetings most of the day (plus, they'd all been to Bologna many times and had no interest in climbing Torre Asinelli with me).


No, Bologna BF regulars get those meetings out of the way ASAP to get to the important stuff:  food, shopping...and food shopping.  Let's face it, this is Italy, home of PASTA:

 

With so much pasta to choose from and only a week in Bologna to try it all, decisions are grave and long-debated.  Here, Doug Cushman deliberates between fresh tortellini and tortelloni di zucca (pumpkin):

We ate mostly at trattorias, where meat (mostly beef or pork) is traditional, but where seafood is not commonly found.  However, the markets do carry fresh fish:

And almost every night we got together for dinner.  My favorite meal was at Trattoria Da Silvio, where the food just kept coming.  Here is the bloated, sated group after umpteen courses (I lost count of the desserts) and a digestif of homemade limoncello (l to r: Doug Cushman, me, Bridget Strevens-Marzo, Angela Cerrito, Erzsi Deak):

Don't we look happy?

For the in-betweens, our favorite coffee shop.  We liked the name:

 

And then more food shopping!  Gifts to bring home: the chocolate Easter eggs packed in colorful boxes...or the huge eggs on the stainless steel counter in the back, neither of which would fit in my tiny suitcase.  Oh well.

But most important, spending time with friends:

Bologna: Take Me to the Fair

The Bologna Book Fair 2011:  
Spread throughout multiple "Fiera" buildings, at least five football fields in combined size (really, only five football fields?), the fair is a Function-Junction of children's book publishers, agents, authors, illustrators, marketers (etc.) from around the world.  I was a visitor--no business to transact--so I was able to wander...and wander...and wander...through the hundreds of exhibits.  My experience was a visual one, so I will tell it with photos.


 Thanks to Bridget Strevens-Marzo for this proof of my attendance:

I returned the favor (this is Bridget): 

Bridget's new book (she's the illustrator; the text is by Kristy Dempsey) 

is MINI RACER.

For information on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Racer-Kristy-Dempsey/dp/1599901706/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302739804&sr=1-9

Erzsi Deak (center) was busy wheeling and dealing (and translating):

Angela Cerrito is smiling here because she just received 

her first copy of her book, THE END OF THE LINE, 

published April 1, 2011 by Holiday House:

 

A description of THE END OF THE LINE from Amazon.com:

  "Gripping and suspenseful, this powerful, no-holds-barred novel by an exciting new talent goes deep inside a young boy's mind. Thirteen-year-old Robbie is locked in a room with nothing but a desk, a chair, a piece of paper, and a pencil. He s starving, but all they ll give him is water. He is sure he s in a nuthouse or a prison. Actually, he s at Great Oaks School, aka the End of the Line. Kept in solitary confinement, Robbie must earn points for food, a bed, even bathroom privileges. He must learn to listen carefully, to follow the rules, and to accept and admit the truth: he is a murderer. Robbie s first-person account of his struggles at the school at times horrifying, at times hilarious alternates with flashbacks to the events that led to his incarceration."

Brian Selznick (in glasses, third from left) talked about his new book coming out in September:  WONDERSTRUCK (Scholastic Press). The moderator (left of Brian) asked questions and the other two people translated into French and Italian and English.  As you might imagine, this took a loooong time.

My prize for most imaginative conference room goes to Werkhaus from Germany for their innovative VW bus design:  ( http://www.werkhaus.de )

 And this photo gives a sense of the crowds:

That was the Fair.  More on Bologna in future posts.