Tag: bologna

Postcard from Bologna, Italy: Some of his students were clueless….

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How will the professor be remembered? As a genius plagued by lackluster students or as a pedantic lecturer boring his students to death?

Founded in 1088 and still operating, the University of Bologna is reputed to be the first university in the world. Its professors were considered elevated intellectuals in medieval times, so it was only fitting for their funereal monuments to aggrandize their academic accomplishments. Or did they?

Numerous examples of these memorials are housed in the Museo Civico Medievale. While the carvings are impressive, it is hard to determine whether the expressions on the faces of the students serve as commentaries on the quality of the student body or reviews of the professors’ lectures.

At any rate, with no ratemyprofessors.com available, the carved-in-stone critiques were executed way past the drop-course deadlines at the university.

Postcard from Bologna, Italy: A place to hang our hats

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Bologna proved a great place to hang our hats for a month – both figuratively and literally.

We always travel with our sombreros. Although they fail to make a positive fashion statement, they are dermatologist prescribed.

But in Bologna there was scarcely a need to lift them off their hooks in our apartment. Close to 25 miles of arcades shade the sidewalks in Bologna. Rain or sunshine have little impact on your wanderings except when you cross streets.

Few porticos are alike, distinguished by varied treatments of columns, ceilings and sidewalks, which often are finished in artful patterns of terrazzo tile. Arcades were incorporated into the handsome architectural schemes of palaces and allowed landowners to maximize square footage on the upper floors above the public right-of-way.

San Antonio certainly would have benefitted from a program granting air rights in exchange for sheltering pedestrians from that strong Texas sun. Instead of gracefully incorporating porticos into their designs, many of our landmark structures originally had awkward awnings tacked onto their facades. Most of these did not age well and have been removed.

Alas, in San Antonio our sombreros are mandatory.

Postcard from Bologna, Italy: Knockers and Locks

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The ancient, massive, carriage-size doors – so heavy that smaller pedestrian entrances often are cut into them – of Bologna’s numerous palaces require substantial knockers. As architectural details throughout the city reflect, residents value form as much as function.

Here are a few of the imaginative knockers and locks, some threatening in order to dissuade evil spirits from crossing thresholds, encountered during our wanderings.