I Sette Segreti di Bologna

Today I ventured on my own to Bologna, a day trip that I've been wanting to do for a long time. Unfortunately, I neglected to check the weather before leaving the villa at 6:15am, and by the time I had walked all the way to the train station, it had started to rain. I thought, "Well, Bologna is two hours away by train, so maybe it won't be raining there!" Ha. I stepped off the train into a relentless downpour. Luckily, the coat I was wearing happened to be waterproof. But even so, it wasn't enough to protect me from the monsoon, so I reluctantly paid 5 euro for what turned out to be Italy's least effective umbrella. The Italian word for umbrella is ombrello, and all I could think was, "more like ombrell-no, amIright?" (...yeah, I know. I'm a weirdo.)

After wandering around in the rain for about an hour and finding nothing that looked remotely like central Bologna, I decided I should find a map. I bought one, and then ducked into a cafe to escape the rain and to grab a cappuccino. After studying the map, I realized I had been wandering on the outskirts of town down what seemed to be a highway. No wonder I hadn't seen anything interesting. I figured out how to get into the center of town, and then scoured the map for the locations of the seven secrets.

I know what you're thinking. "Kristen, what are the seven secrets?!" Worry not, people of the internet! I will tell you! (Disclaimer: If for some reason you don't want the mystery to be destroyed, then you should probably stop reading here.) According to legend, there are seven hidden secrets to discover in Bologna. I was intrigued by this idea when it was brought to my attention by Genevieve, so I did a little research before my visit. While in town, I successfully found five of the seven, which I count as a victory, but I don't want to leave you hanging, so I'll also tell you what the other two supposedly are. The five I did see aren't difficult to find, but if you didn't know where to look, you would likely never notice them.

1. Little Venice

This was the first secret I stumbled upon. Bologna sits on top of a series of canals that were constructed during the twelfth century. There are many places around the city to see these underground waterways, but the most beautiful and the one that most closely resembles the canals of Venice is the Canale delle Moline, which you can see from Via Piella. Supposedly there's a window you can open to see it, but I found the view just over this wall.

Canale delle Moline

2. Panis vita, Cannabis protectio, Vinum laetitia

At the end of the arcade on Via del Indipendenza leading into Piazza Maggiore, the words "Panis vita," "Cannabis protectio," and "Vinum laetitia" can be seen on the floor and ceiling. The Latin translations are, "Bread is life," "Hemp is protection," and "Wine is joy." Though marijuana is now illegal in Italy, the wealth of Bologna is partially due to the cultivation of hemp. Also, in the 1600s, the drug was considered valuable for the protection of the body, which is probably why these words are painted on the ceiling surrounded by marijuana leaves.

Left square: floor design. Right rectangle: ceiling design.

3. The Fountain of Neptune

This, in my opinion, was definitely the funniest secret. In the center of Piazza Maggiore stands a fountain featuring a large statue of Neptune. At the time the statue was created, there were regulations placed on how large its genitalia could appear. In order to sneakily rebel against these strictures, the artist designed Neptune's outstretched hand such that from a certain angle behind the statue, his finger appears to be...not a finger. 

La la la...

4. The intersection in Palazzo del Podesta

Under the dell'Arengo Tower in Palazzo del Podesta, there is an archway with four corners. Each corner transmits sound to the one diagonally across from it. The corners have blackened from the number of visitors who have spoken into them over the years. According to legend, this intersection was built during the Middle Ages so that lepers could confess without infecting the priests. When I found the intersection, I was alone so I wasn't able to try it for myself, but I stood and watched giggling couple after giggling couple give the trick a try, and from what I gathered, it does indeed work.

Top: One person in each corner. Bottom left: A couple stands together in one corner. Bottom middle: The roof of the intersection. Bottom right: The blackened wall.

5. The arrows on Strada Maggiore

At the entrance of Corte Isolani, a small alley of shops and restaurants located on Strada Maggiore, there is an archway. The ceiling of this archway consists of old wooden beams dating back to the 1400s. According to legend, a duke of Bologna once resided directly above this archway, and one night, three thieves came to shoot arrows into his home, but they got distracted by naked women in a nearby window and accidentally shot their arrows into the wooden beams on the ceiling instead. There are supposedly three arrows, but it was pretty dark from all the rainclouds, so I could only clearly see one.

Since the photo is so dark, I added the yellow circle to help you see the arrow. You may still need a magnifying glass.

And now for the secrets that I failed to find...

6. The broken vase at the top of Asinelli Tower

There are two tall towers in the center of town (known most creatively as "the Two Towers"), and there is supposedly a broken vase at the top of Asinelli Tower, the taller of the two. I saw the towers, but was unable to climb to the top due to the weather conditions. Fun fact: The shorter tower, Garisenda, leans considerably by comparison.

Two different views of the towers

7. Bread is Resistance

Bologna is home to the world's first university. "Panum resis" is supposedly written on a table somewhere at the university. I saw the outside of many of the university buildings, but was unable to go inside. Nevertheless, this inscription is assumed to mean that knowledge should be the source of every decision.

Photo collage of the University

I had a lot of fun on my little scavenger hunt for the secrets. Aside from that, I visited the Basilica di San Petronio, which may or may not have been the city's "duomo." There were some beautiful stained class windows and some really cool old music notation in the church's museum. I wandered around seeing a lot of shops and street vendors, and I enjoyed the most delicious and most messy nutella crepe. Worth it.

The altar and stained glass windows of the Basilica

Today's excursion was just what I needed to unwind from the most overwhelming week we have had thus far at the accademia. There was a dearth of sleep and an excess of stress for all as we tackled each day's challenges one at a time. We triumphantly turned in our final philosophy papers on Tuesday. I wrote about Guy Debord's "The Society of the Spectacle." Though I'm no philosopher, I think my paper turned out pretty decently. We then performed our final Italian skits on Wednesday morning. My group did six sketches from The Amanda Show in Italian (Il Bagno delle Ragazze, Blockblister, Un Momento di Hillbilly, Va Bene Kyle, Il Punto di Mudi, e Giudice Trudice). It was a lot of work, but it was so much fun and ended up being hilarious. Our final commedia scene presentations were Thursday evening. We had been workshopping these same scenes since before going to Venice, so a lot of time was devoted to making sure they ran smoothly. I played Colombina opposite M.E. as Pantalone, and I was very proud of the way our scene turned out. Then on Friday, we had our voice final with Marjana. Group A and Group B each learned two folk songs, and we ended up singing those four songs, along with a fifth that we had learned as a large group, all together for the final presentation, with personal monologues tying the songs together. The songs are so powerful and emotional that we all found a great cathartic release in performing them together after a long and trying week.

Other than copious amounts of homework, the only other notable events between my last entry and today would be eating dinner in town last Friday night with Amanda and Genevieve and getting picked up by Kevin, our voice teacher for the first half of the semester, on our way into town. It was the best car ride any of us had ever had. Then on Saturday, Amanda and I went to the weekly morning market, and that night, a bunch of us watched the Return of the King. Sunday night, the school sponsored event of the week was a showing of La Vita e Bella, a very famous movie that was filmed partially in Arezzo. I had watched it with my family before coming abroad, but it was so exciting to watch it again and recognize many places around the beautiful town that has become my home. This week, I saw Bridesmaids for the first time (I know, I know, what took me so long), and it was hilarious. Last night, the music students performed their showcase at a church in town. The church was absolutely freezing, but they all played and/or sang beautifully, so I was very glad I went.

This coming Monday is our Italian final exam and our movement final, during which we will present choreographed pieces that we are building in pairs. It's hard to believe that classes are ending, and it's even harder to believe that I have to say goodbye to Arezzo in two weeks. I feel like I just got here. Here's hoping the clock answers my plea and slows down a bit. A la prossima!