Photos: karel291, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 MenkinAlRire, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Dennis Radaelli, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: karel291, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 MenkinAlRire, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Dennis Radaelli, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Piazza Maggiore and the unfinished facade
Your local guide
Marco Rinaldi
View profile
Highlights
- An unfinished facade, plainly visible
- Marble giving way to bare brick
- One of the largest church buildings anywhere
- A square shaped by blocked ambition
- History read straight off the stone
About this tour
This session looks at Piazza Maggiore through the story of its unfinished church. You see the clear line where the marble facade of San Petronio stops and plain brick takes over, and the square's full scale from its centre. The camera stays wide enough to show how the basilica dominates its surroundings despite never being completed as planned.
We spend most of the time on the facade itself, since the join is easy to miss unless someone points it out on camera. I explain the political reasons the original design was cut short, then take questions about the square more broadly.
It suits anyone interested in unfinished or altered buildings and the politics behind them. It also gives useful context before a session on the porticoes or towers nearby.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 5 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Bologna before heading out.
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San Petronio's facade 21 min
The lower half of the facade is finished in patterned marble, and the camera holds on the join where the stone simply stops, plain brick left exposed above it ever since.
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Piazza Maggiore's scale 21 min
From the centre of the square, I turn slowly to show the size of the basilica against the surrounding palaces, and explain why a bigger design was blocked entirely.
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Your questions 9 min
Time to ask anything about Bologna: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 4 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Lasagne alla bolognese and Università, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Rome time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 10 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Bologna, showing you San Petronio's facade and Piazza Maggiore's scale live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need to know the history already?
No background needed. The guide explains everything as it comes up.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk Bologna live with my phone.
Times shown in Rome time (CET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Only travellers who booked and paid through Locals Guide and whose tour took place can leave a review, within 60 days of the tour. Every review is marked "Verified booking". We check reviews before they appear and publish positive and negative ones alike; we remove only reviews that break our rules (insults, personal data, unrelated content). Guides cannot pay for, edit or hide reviews, and ratings are the plain average of all published reviews.
Next: Wed 28 Oct · 10 seats left From 20,00 €
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