Italy always pulls at our heartstrings. Any image or mention of the country has us reaching for our wallets and our passports, no matter what. Rome and Venice are the stars of the country of course, with all of the plusses and minuses that follows in its trail. But there are so many other treats, big and small, in the rest of the country as well.
One such place is The Basilica of San Petronio, a minor basilica and church of the Archdiocese of Bologna located in Bologna, Emilia Romagna, northern Italy. It dominates Piazza Maggiore. The Basilica is a vast Gothic basilica located in Bologna, Italy. It’s dedicated to the city’s patron saint, the 5th-century Bishop Petronius. The city council decided to construct it in 1388.
The basilica was intended to be a large Latin cross church, topped by a dome and flanked by four bell towers, but technical and economic difficulties prevented the completion of the project. Our loss.
The construction took over three centuries and was financed entirely with public money. The basilica was not created to be the cathedral of Bologna, but as a civic, state, and municipal temple. The basilica contains twenty-two square-shaped side chapels, all of equal size, which hold valuable works of art.
Want to see all of Bologna? Our affiliate friends Get Your Guide can get you there. Click here to book
Stay at the lovely and central apartment in Bologna, Sant’Orsola Holiday home in Bologna with kitchen and balcony, courtesy of our affiliate friends VRBO. To look and book, click here.