Giorgia Zanotti

I am a PhD student in medieval history at the University of Bologna, the oldest university in Europe, and I pay my rent by guiding. I am not ashamed of it. Bologna has 62 kilometres of porticoes, a UNESCO site since 2021, and I have walked most of them. My walks go under the arcades and up the towers. The Asinelli tower has 498 steps and I climb it about three times a week. We look at the anatomy theatre in the Archiginnasio, where students watched dissections in the 1600s, the little window on Via Piella that opens onto a canal, and the small secrets Bolognese kids learn at school, like the arrows stuck in the portico ceiling on Strada Maggiore. I lived in Granada for a year, so I also guide in Spanish. My tours are quick and full of facts. If you want to slow down, just say so. My sessions now run live on video from Bologna: I carry the phone, you watch from wherever you are and ask anything.