Duration: Half Day (2.5 hours).

Meeting point: Piazza Maggiore (main square downtown Bologna).

The tour will be done with a professional guide who is proficient in art history and who will speak English. Each participant will receive headphones to easily follow the guide during the walk.

Cost: 10 Euro per person.

The itinerary starts with Piazza Maggiore, the heart of the city, and its civic palaces, all of medieval origins: Palazzo di Re Enzo, which takes its name from the captivity (XIII century) of Enzo, king of Sardinia and son of the Emperor Frederick II of Swabia; Palazzo Comunale, the City Hall, (interior: the remains of the Roman Forum; the Farnese Room in the Legates Apartment, XVII century); Palazzo del Podestà (XIII century), the Town's Court, rebuilt under the patronage of the Bentivoglio family, the city's Lords during the XV century; Palazzo of the Notaries, seat of one of the most powerful guilds in the Middle Ages. Palazzo dei Banchi, the money changers' seat (XVI century). In the square is also the Fountain of Neptune, with the precious late Renaissance sculptures by Giambologna; we will visit then the gothic Basilica of San Petronio (on the façade, sculptures by the Sienese artist Jacopo della Quercia): inside, the precious late gothic paintings of the Cappella Bolognini and the sun-dial designed by the astronomer Cassini (XVII century).

Piazza Maggiore with the Cathedral of San Petronio.

Porta Magna of the Cathedral of San Petronio with the statues of Jacopo della Quercia that inspired the young Michelangelo.

The Neptune's fountain by Giambologna and the Palazzo di Re Enzo.

Walking along the Pavaglione Portico and its elegant shops, we reach the 16th century Archiginnasio Palace, the old University building, decorated with about 6.000 coats of arms of students. Inside is the 17th century Anatomical Theatre, where dissections were held, enriched of statues of doctors and sculptures of anatomy. Through the picturesque alleys of the Mercato di Mezzo, the old market, and its fabulous food shops, we reach the lovely Square of Santo Stefano, with the complex of Santo Stefano also called the "Jerusalem of Bologna" or "The Seven Churches", a group of small Romanesque churches. Then piazza della Mercanzia, with the gothic Palazzo della Mercanzia and some 13th century buildings with wooden porticoes. Our visit ends at the foot of the Two Towers, the symbol of the city.

The Anatomic Theater of the University of Bologna, Alma Mater. The University of Bologna is the oldest in the world, founded in AD 1088.

Piazza Santo Stefano with the complex of the Seven Churches.