Photos: Liridon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 MenkinAlRire, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Fred Romero from Paris, France, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo credits
Photos: Liridon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 MenkinAlRire, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Fred Romero from Paris, France, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Bologna porticoes and towers walk
Your local guide
Giorgia Zanotti
View profile
Highlights
- The Asinelli tower and the leaning Garisenda
- A canal window hidden on Via Piella
- Porticoes of wood, brick and marble
- Santo Stefano's cluster of mediaeval churches
- Old arrows marked into the Strada Maggiore portico
About this tour
This session walks Bologna's porticoes and towers, following the city's covered streets from one century to the next. The camera looks up at the Asinelli and Garisenda towers, finds a canal window on Via Piella, and moves through Santo Stefano's cluster of mediaeval churches before reaching old marks in the portico of Strada Maggiore. Each stop shows a different age of the same covered city.
After a sound check, the walk covers the stops above in order, with the guide answering questions about the porticoes and their construction as they come up. A short list of where to find the canal windows and the oldest porticoes goes out once the call ends.
This suits anyone with an interest in mediaeval architecture and how a whole city ended up under sixty kilometres of covered walkway. It also suits anyone who has walked under the porticoes without knowing their different ages and materials.
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 7 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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The Two Towers 21 min
The camera looks up at the Asinelli tower, four hundred and ninety-eight steps to the top, standing beside the more sharply leaning Garisenda, and the guide explains why the two lean at such different angles.
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Via Piella and the porticoes 21 min
On Via Piella, the camera looks through a small window onto one of the city's last visible canals, then follows porticoes built from wood, brick and marble across different centuries.
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Santo Stefano and Strada Maggiore 21 min
At Santo Stefano, the camera moves through the cluster of connected mediaeval churches known as the seven churches, then finds the old arrows marked into the portico of Strada Maggiore.
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Your questions 14 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 6 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Mortadella and Quadrilatero, 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 12 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 Basilica di Santo Stefano and The Porticoes of Bologna 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.
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 and you ask anything as we go.
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: Mon 26 Oct · 12 seats left From 24,00 €
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