Bologna Secrets Quest: Self-Guided Hidden Gems Adventure in Italy

The Piazza di Porta Ravegnana (originariamente Porta Ravennate) is a city square in the central of Bologna, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The Piazza, located some four blocks east of the Piazza Maggiore and Cathedral of Bologna, is the site of the Two Towers of Bologna. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

The Palazzo Isolani is a palace located on located on Via Santo Stefano #16 facing Piazza Santo Stefano in the center of Bologna, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, with both Gothic and Renaissance architecture features. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

Often used for cultural events, flea-markets and concerts, it has porticos along both long sides (North-East and South-West) with the Basilica occupying the short (South-East) side. To the left of the Basilica is a complex of buildings joined by the powerful medieval Isolani family. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

From the 15th to the 17th century this space was dedicated to the silk market, while the Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio was only built starting from 1563, with the consequent demolition of the nearby block and the opening of a large space, the future Piazza Galvani, which would have given greater decoration and prominence to the building itself. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

The “Quadrilateral” is a bustling area in Bologna’s city centre with a craft, mercantile and trading tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. You cross the tall perspective archways leaving the elegant Piazza Maggiore behind you to venture into the narrow fragrant alleyways of the ancient market of Medieval origin with the characteristic “holes”. This area boasts a long tradition of specialized handicraft and commercial activities. Shops that have often been handed down through the generations sell the same category of goods or have still kept their historic architecture and furnishings. There are also examples of modern architecture that have preserved the external and internal spaces in line with the original projects, as well as a few historic chemist shops that still maintain the atmosphere of old pharmacies. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

The fountain was completed in 1565. The over-life-size bronze figure of the god Neptune was completed and fixed in place around 1567. The statue was an early design by Giambologna, who had submitted a model for the Fountain of Neptune in Florence, but had lost the commission to Baccio Bandinelli. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

The torresotto, or Porta Nova gate, belongs to the second ring of walls, the so-called Torresotti ring, completed in 1192. The ring was 4 Km long and included 16 gates and 2 posterns (small inconspicious doors). The walls were 8 m high and decorated with brick merlons (solid upright structures). Three rings of walls built over several centuries surrounded the whole city. The oldest ring, made of seleni- te (a common local stone) blocks, was made centuries earlier than the last one corresponding to the current inner ring road. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

Torre Prendiparte (Prendiparte Tower), also known as Coronata Tower, was built in the 12th century by the guelph Prendiparte family as a means of defence. ... Thanks to the typical "Bolognese" red and solid bricks and to the strong selenite blocks the tower looks like an impregnable medieval fortress. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.

Sat half way along the student street, Via Zamboni, Piazza Verdi is a hive of activity every day, thronging with students and bon vivants alike. Home to ‘La Scuderia’ Café, it is a natural meeting point and arguably the hub of ‘il giro di Bologna’, Bologna’s social scene, a constant cycle of events, concerts, markets, street performances and club nights. Besides the street parties and the cheap beer, however, Piazza Verdi is a fascinating social melting pot and offers a unique opportunity to see many different layers of Italian society overlap. Here you will have to look around to find the answer to our challenge to advance to the new location and learn the story of this place.