Dating to the 13th century, the Palazzo del Podestà was the original residence of Bologna's chief magistrate. Beneath the palazzo there's a whispering gallery where two perpendicular passages intersect. Stand diagonally opposite someone and whisper: the acoustics are amazing.
Palazzo del Podestà
Bologna
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
28.32 MILES
Hidden behind a colourful patchwork of warped homes, this low-slung, wood-beamed, delightfully uneven medieval walkway dates to 1290. It's unique in Italy…
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17.08 MILES
If peeking at the assembly lines at Ferrari and Lamborghini is like glimpsing inside a well-oiled machine, a day behind the scenes at Pagani is like…
27.32 MILES
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0.15 MILES
The 15th-century Palazzo Casa Fontana poi Gamberini – the fascinating, pricier-than-the-Colosseum home of eccentric Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla …
0.3 MILES
Bologna's most unique religious site is this atmospheric labyrinth of interlocking ecclesiastical structures, whose architecture spans centuries of…
0.07 MILES
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Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna
0.35 MILES
This mouthful of a museum inside Palazzo Sanguinetti – the former home of Napoleon's Italian minister – chronicles six centuries of European musical…
23.94 MILES
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Nearby Bologna attractions
0.02 MILES
This 13th-century palace is named after King Enzo, the illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who was held here by papal forces between 1249…
0.04 MILES
All roads lead to pivotal 13th-century Piazza Maggiore, flanked by Basilica di San Petronio, Europe's sixth-largest basilica, and a series of impressive…
0.04 MILES
Adjacent to Piazza Maggiore, Piazza del Nettuno owes its name to this explicit bronze statue sculpted by Giambologna in 1566. Beneath the muscled sea god,…
0.07 MILES
The palace that forms the western flank of Piazza Maggiore has been home to the Bologna city council since 1336. A salad of architectural styles, it owes…
0.07 MILES
Bologna's hulking Gothic basilica is Europe's sixth-largest church, measuring 132m by 66m by 47m. Work began on it in 1390, but it was never finished, and…
6. Santuario di Santa Maria della Vita
0.08 MILES
In the heart of the Quadrilatero, this 17th-century shrine is one of Bologna's most beautiful and important, not only for its 13th-century foundation by…
0.08 MILES
To the east of Piazza Maggiore, the grid of streets around Via Clavature (Street of Locksmiths) sits on what was once Roman Bologna. Known as the…
0.09 MILES
On the 2nd floor of Palazzo Comunale you'll find the art gallery Collezioni Comunali d'Arte with its interesting collection of 13th- to 19th-century…