Private Half Day Bologna Food and Art Walking Tour

This guided tour will take you on a discovery of art, history and food and wine traditions. You will see some of Bologna’s most important buildings. You will visit Piazza Maggiore, the city’s main gathering place, inaugurated in the 13th century with its famous statue of Neptune, the Basilica of San Petronio, the medieval market, the Two Towers and the Archiginnasio, the first permanent home of the University.

You will see the exterior of Santa Maria della Vita.

You will visit a chocolate shop to learn about the first solid chocolate, the “black tree bark” dark crumbly chocolate, and enjoy its specialties. You will learn about the history of the oldest Italian chocolate house still in business in Bologna. After a delicious tasting of finest chocolate you will have a clearer understanding of what has made Bologna a gastronomic capital, a motherly and welcoming city, a crossroads of excellently elaborated experiences.

You will visit the oldest bakery in Bologna where you will taste the delicious “rice pudding”. There will be plenty of curiosities and anecdotes about local street food, tigelle and fried crescentine, cured meats and traditional Bolognese desserts such as pinza, certosino, raviole con la mostarda and torta di riso.

You will see the Archiginnasio, the first permanent home of the University. Strolling through the center with your guide, you will discover why Bologna has deserved recognition on a European scale as a “fat” city, as well as a “learned” one, since the Middle Ages and how the city owes this qualification not so much to specific foods as to a marked disposition to hospitality and to its function as a major commercial hub where food, goods and people of all origins have always crossed paths.

You will pass by Lucio Dalla's House.

You will visit a fresh egg pasta workshop to taste home-made egg pasta and make tortellini. You will discover the history and legends of the Bolognese tortellini, the versions of the broth, the variants of the filling, the possible wine pairings which depend on the tortellini variation. You will discover how there is actually no “pure” tradition, an original and unchanging recipe, and how the hallmark of Bolognese cuisine is the mix of elements from different cultures.

You will visit an old delicatessen shop where you will be served cold cuts and cheeses (Mortadella, Salame, Prosciutto di Parma, Caciotta, Parmigiano Reggiano) with typical bread and local wine.

You will visit a Traditional Balsamic Vinegar boutique, to learn about Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and taste it.

You will see the Two Towers. Thanks to tortellini and mortadella, among the city’s most iconic products, not to mention lasagna, tagliatelle and other delicacies, Bologna has earned international fame as a place of delights for centuries. This is confirmed by the accounts of many foreign travelers who stopped in Bologna between the 16th and 20th centuries. They all praised the city of the Two Towers as the kingdom of earthly paradise.

You will see Palazzo della Mercanzia. Of all the cities in Emilia Romagna, Bologna is perhaps the most open and convivial. It is hard not to fall in love with its porticoes, its main square and its alleys dense with trattorias and restaurants.

You will visit an ice cream parlor to savor artisanal gelato.