As Bologna's two main watercourses flow directly to the sea, the town lies outside of the drainage basin of the River Po. The university’s long list of alumni includes Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas … Every attempt to escape or to rescue him failed, and he died after more than 22 years in captivity. The route goes south to finish in Fucecchio, while the distance is 205 kilometres.

After a 15-month period in which the city was administered under Anna Maria Cancellieri (as a state-appointed prefect), Virginio Merola was elected as mayor, leading a left-wing coalition comprising the Democratic Party, Left Ecology Freedom and Italy of Values.[50].

The current mayor of Bologna is Virginio Merola (PD), elected on 16 May 2011 with the 50.5% of the votes. ", "STAZIONE 140 BOLOGNA: medie mensili periodo 61 – 90", "Bologna Borgo Panigale: Record mensili dal 1946", "Dipartimento per gli Affari Interni e Territoriali", Ballottaggio 2016, Merola confermato sindaco, "Demographic Balance for the year 2017 (provisional data)", "Metropolitan cities in Italy.

However, extreme infighting inside the Holy See after the Western Schism prevented the papacy from restoring its domination over Bologna, so it remained relatively independent for some decades as an oligarchic republic. Mancini, Giorgia, and Nicholas Penny, eds. Until the late 19th century, when a large-scale urban renewal project was undertaken, Bologna was one of the few remaining large walled cities in Europe; to this day and despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in 1944, Bologna's 142 hectares (350 acres) historic centre is Europe's second largest,[61] containing an immense wealth of important medieval, renaissance, and baroque artistic monuments.

The strategic importance of the city as an industrial and railway hub connecting northern and central Italy made it a target for the Allied forces. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Bologna grew by 0.0 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. With its volume of 258,000 m3, it is the largest (Gothic or otherwise) church built of bricks of the world. Sunday 12 May - Following the ITT on the Giro's first day of action the race leaves Bologna in the 2nd stage. [101] Traditional Bolognese desserts are often linked to holidays, such as fave dei morti ("cookies of the dead"), multi-coloured almond paste cookies made for All Saints' Day, jam-filled raviole cookies that are served on Saint Joseph's Day, and carnival sweets known as sfrappole, a light and delicate fried pastry topped with powder sugar, certosino or panspeziale ("carthusian" o "apothecary-cake"), a spicy cake served on Christmas. [80] Today, the Bologna Center also hosts the Associazione italo-americana "Luciano Finelli", which supports cross-cultural awareness and exchange between Italy and the United States.[81]. According to the QS University Rankings, Bologna university is the 4th Italian university and the 180th in the world. [39] Dino Grandi, a high-ranking Fascist party official and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, remembered for being an Anglophile, was from Bologna. However, Bologna reverted to form in 2004 when Sergio Cofferati, a former trade union leader, unseated Guazzaloca.

[79] It was inspired by Marshall Plan efforts to build a cultural bridge between America and Europe. Between 1945 and 1999, the city was helmed by an uninterrupted succession of mayors from the PCI and its successors, the Democratic Party of the Left and Democrats of the Left, the first of whom was Giuseppe Dozza.

[59] The new Metro municipalities, giving large urban areas the administrative powers of a province, are conceived for improving the performance of local administrations and to slash local spending by better co-ordinating the municipalities in providing basic services (including transport, school and social programs) and environment protection. The Italian sprinted to victory at the end of a race from Haifa to Tel Aviv.

It is also the largest university in Europe, supporting about 115,000 students, including nearly 9,000 international students, and almost 4,000 academic staff. Bologna has varied nightlife and lots of live music, from opera to modern DJs and bands. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture[12] and in 2006, a UNESCO "City of Music" and became part of the Creative Cities Network.

[21] The medical school was especially renowned.