Bologna City of Water

"Apparently, this statement sounds singular: Bologna doesn't have a river that crosses it, nor does it have a visible system of canals or numerous fountains. So for those who visit – and even for those who live there – it's a city that doesn't show running water, but only roads of infinite porticoes and strong links to the plain and the looming hills.

The illustrated leaflet aims to demonstrate the opposite, i.e. that in the urban area of Bologna there are many examples of artificial waterways that in the past shaped its image, and that, above all, facilitated the development of industries, in particular silk production, while allowing traffic and transport through navigation, connecting to the Po and from here to Venice and lands overseas.

[…] The leaflet outlines all the remarkable places both in the urban and metropolitan areas where it is still possible to see the channelled water and the surrounding buildings governing it and drawing on its energy. The area depicted by the leaflet follows the development of the artificial water network derived from the Reno river and the Savena stream, passing through the city and flowing from the plain to Bentivoglio, a distance that can be covered on bike, for an itinerary suited to the water's flow. An invitation to rediscover drawn on a special descriptive map, designed in the old way, where illustrated real-looking vignettes aim to arouse curiosity and a desire to pay a visit, to places that are often distant – even mentally – from the routes that we travel every day." (Taken from the map introduction written by Ezio Raimondi, then Honorary President of the Istituto per i Beni Culturali della Regione Emilia-Romagna).

In 2013 the Consorzio della Chiusa di Casalecchio e del Canale di Reno, in partnership with the Istituto per i Beni Culturali della Regione Emilia-Romagna, published an updated and expanded edition of the map "Bologna città d'acque", printed by Editrice Compositori, which is still a precious resource for getting to know the city's water sites.

Map

The map is available in both Italian and English at our headquarters and at the following points of sale:

• BOLOGNA WELCOME, Piazza Maggiore 1/e, Bologna;
• Bottega di Palazzo Pepoli – Genus Bononiae, via Castiglione 8, Bologna;
• CorrainiMAMbo artbookshop, via Don Minzoni 14, Bologna;
• Librerie.coop Ambasciatori, via Orefici 19, Bologna;
• Librerie.coop Zanichelli, piazza Galvani, 1/H, Bologna;
• Museo del Patrimonio Industriale (ex Fornace Galotti), via della Beverara 123, Bologna.

For more information call us or write us at prenotazioni@canalidibologna.it.