Luxury lairs of the 1500s

The number of monstrously large 16th-century palazzos in Bologna is mind-blowing. You can't walk 50 meters without passing one, and after awhile you almost stop noticing them. A few of the old palaces sit empty, but most have been repurposed into flats, or offices for lawyers or trade unions (an unsurprisingly large number of these).

Palazzo Torfanini with its 16th-century portico.

The door was ajar, so I walked inside.

Some are open to the public for a small fee. The one-percenters back then could do whatever they wanted, apparently, but still, I can't believe the scale of these residences. Huge staffs must have been employed to tend to them, and today you'd need a drone camera to put their mass in perspective.

Casa Delle Tuate at No. 6 Via Galliera.

Some of the grandest of these Renaissance-era homes line Via Galliera, which was the principal north-south artery before Via dell'Indipendenza was carved out in the late 1800s. You can see several of them in just a two-block stroll heading north from the intersection with Via Manzoni. They're a little chipped and faded now, but worth exploring.

Classy terracotta window carvings at Palazzo Felicini, Via Galliera 14.

Opposite the Casa Delle Tuate is one of my favorites ― the elegant Palazzo Dal Monte. I wonder if any of these properties ever go on sale.

At Via Galliera 8 is the Palazzo Aldovrandi Montanari. Man, this thing is as big as the Pentagon. Interestingly, no portico. It has been divided up into apartments and offices.

Across town, the hulking Palazzo Monti takes up nearly an entire block of Via Barberia. I love how it has been allowed to age naturally.

Much older palaces also share the city's streets, of course. Here, a sturdy archway leads into the 13th-century Palazzo Grassi, shown just before sunrise at Via Marsala 12. The fact that it is now a private club for military officers kinda makes me want to barf.

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Street art

Mostly playful and juvenile, without the polish and ambition of Porto, yet still one senses that important urban psychodramas are being played out on the ochre walls of Bologna. A mask falls away from a modern-day Madonna living two lives. Unlock your brain and start thinking for yourself, urges a hollow, floating head on Via Manzoni, his eyes, mouth and skull open, providing a kind of hieroglyphic blueprint for doing so. Stickmen cops shoot at one another because ... well, there's a backstory there surely. The impulsive brushstrokes of the neighborhood tribalist are found here in great numbers of course. As in Amsterdam, Brussels and almost every major Western city, they become almost invisible after a couple of days. More accomplished works can be found on the rolling shutters shopkeepers pull down at night, many on the city's west side. A marimba-playing boar by Andrea D'Ascanio, aka Sardomuto. He's from Sardinia. The next four are by Aless...

Bar De Marchi

My slender experiences in Italy lead me to believe that the word "bar" signals that a place serves coffee and snacks, and that it also happens to pour wine, beer and aperitifs. This chill pub on Piazza San Francesco got my business today. It is gearing up for a big Liberation Day party coming up Thursday to celebrate the collapse of Fascist rule and the end of the Nazi occupation. Sounds like a simple victory lap in a neighborhood rife with antifa-friendly graffiti, but maybe not. Takeaway alcohol sales have been banned on April 25 previously, so maybe things have gotten out of control, not sure. Motorists in the Pratello are warned that all traffic will be prohibited, and even bicyclists in the neighborhood are advised to vacate the racks. Don't know what that will accomplish or where they’re supposed to put their bikes. On a sunny day, Bar De Marchi is a great place for a cold Pignoletto or a Campari spritz. If you order a birra, they’ll pour you a Dolimiti Pi...

Lagniappe

Not exactly a con, but not the real thing either. Spitballin' Larry King-style while waiting for the water to boil: 1. The men's shoe game is strong : suede brogues and slip-on drivers, leather Common Projects sneaks. The gals not so much; lotsa Chucks and flyknit this-and-that nursing kicks. 2. There's a difference between tortellini and tortelloni. The 'loni is bigger. When they rise to the top, they're done. Ninety seconds max. 3. Weed is legal. Well, it's more like hemp. I don't think it has any psychoactive properties. A bridge to the real stuff; won't be long. Gotta go.

336 hours in Bologna

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