L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano SIMONE SANNIO A lthough the city of Bologna is located almos t a hundred kilometers from the nearest sea, one of its most recognizable symbols, namely Neptune with its trident, is clearly related to water: so much so that, as far back as the 16 th century, the Roman god of the sea was immortalized by the famous sculptor Giambologna in a gorgeous fountain still located in the eponymous Piazza del Nettuno, just next to the Piazza Maggiore main square. All of this should not come as a sur- prise. After all, even though it seems almost quaint now, during the Middle Ages the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region was a real "City of Water," full of waterways and canals that ran through the heart of it. Most of the features that made Bologna look like a "Little Venice" have since disappeared, but fortunate- ly enough a few of them still sur- face in unexpected locations. Let's take a tour of the city's secret corners to find out more about its past and present! The first place you should go if you are looking for the traces of the Bologna that used to be is undoubtedly Via Piella. Here, just a few steps away from the old city gate called Torresotto dei Piella (or Porta Govese), you can take the mos t charming glimps e over w hat's left of Bologna's "Little Venice" from a tiny window (finestrella) over- looking one of the few surviving canals. Even though other exam- ples of the city's "P iccola Venezia" may not be as visible as the lovely "finestrella di Via Piella," there is definitely more to dis cover in th is part of Bologna's historic center. First of all, you can en joy other charming views over the same uncovered stretch of the Canale delle Moline (Moline Canal) from either Via Oberdan or the bridge in Via Malcontenti. In addition, you can also take a look at the nearby Via delle Moline and Via Capo di Lucca (formerly Via dei Molinari), at w hos e inters ection another stretch of the canal comes to the s urface, if only h idden and locked among the houses. As suggested by the terms m olin e (mills ) and m olinar i (millers), the ancient city canals flowing through this area were mostly used as an energy source to move the many local grain and silk mills: not surprisingly, it appears that – between the 14 th and 17 th century – Bologna had more than a hundred watermills, which provided the basis for its important textile industry as well as its flourishing trade. This part of the city, however, was not only notable for the detached houses that were once inhabited by millers: most of all, this was and still is the point where the only natural s tream running through Bologna, called torrente Aposa, met the canal system by flowing directly into the Canale delle Moline. Just as it was the case with the ancient canals, though, most of the river has been covered with asphalt and now runs underground, in the vicinity of the chiesa di San Mar- tino all'Aposa: in recent years, excavations have even revealed the remains of a Roman bridge under Via Rizzoli, in the point where the ancient Via Emilia crossed the stream, not far from an underground Roman aque- duct. An overview of the Moline Canal area and its former func- tion might suffice to be con- vinced about Bologna's privi- leged relationship with water. Yet the Canale delle Moline was by no means the sole nor the mos t relevant canal. S ure enough, much more important were the Canale di Reno and the Canale di Savena, both of which s upplied w ater to the city, including all of its other canals and its moats , by draw ing respectively from the Reno river (running west of Bologna) and the Savena river (running east of the city). At the same time, we must also remember the Canale Cavaticcio and the Canale Nav- ile. Whereas the former's impor- tance was due to the presence here of the Porto Naviglio, one of the most prominent Italian river ports, the latter canal was instrumental in that it linked the city of Bologna with the Po on the one side and the Adriatic Sea on the other: to put it differently, back in the old days it was possi- ble to reach Ferrara and Venice by boat. As striking as it may seem, it was only after the Second World War, in the 1950s , that Bologna's centuries-old water- ways and port were definitely dismantled. Nowadays, the green area along the Via del Porto where the Naviglio had once stood is part of the Parco del Cavaticcio: most importantly, in this park you can still find the so-called Salara, an 18 th century salt warehouse that is the only building of Bologna's ancient harbor left standing. As for the surviving canals, even though they are no longer visible in the city center (except for the afore- mentioned Canale delle Moline), some portions of them continue to flow aboveground outside the ancient city gates: for example, the Canale di Reno running alongside the Certosa (Charter- house of Bologna) and a long s tretch of the Canale N avile going from the Parco di Villa Angeletti to the Corticella neigh- borhood. Nonetheless, by look- ing carefully at some landmarks along the Via Riva di Reno and Via della Grada you can still trace the route of the Reno Canal as it flowed into the historic cen- ter: take a look, in particular, at the chiesa del Ponte delle Lame, built on a s tone bridge that spanned over the canal, and the chies a di S anta M aria e S an Valentino della Grada, which marks the point where the water entered the city walls. Finally, our tour would not be complete without a mention of the tw o places in w hich the memory of Bologna's past as a "City of Water" is most kept alive: the Museo del Patrimonio Industriale (Industrial Heritage Museum), showcasing a working model of one of the city's ancient silk mills, and the exhibi- tion Bologna fotografata. Tre secoli di sguardi (Photographed Bologna. Three centuries of glances), set up by the Cineteca di Bologna in Piazza Re Enzo's underpas s , w hich includes archival footage and pictures of a time when the city used to be a lot like Venice. Bologna's "Little Venice," a window into the city's past Even though it may seem difficult to believe today, during the Middle Ages Bologna was a real "city of water." ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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