Bologna: Historic Center Walking Tour
2 hours
A guided loop through the medieval streets of the old town that ends up on Piazza Maggiore itself.
from$76
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Piazza Maggiore, Bologna
The brick heart of la Rossa: one square, eight centuries, and everything worth seeing on it.
Piazza Maggiore is Bologna's main square, in the historic center of the city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Laid out from around 1200 as a market and civic space, it is ringed by the Basilica di San Petronio, Palazzo d'Accursio, Palazzo dei Banchi and Palazzo del Podestà. It is free, open at all times, and the natural place to start a visit.
Why the square is worth your time
Four things that are true of Piazza Maggiore and nowhere else.
115 × 60 m
The size of the square
About 6,900 square metres of open ground, which makes Piazza Maggiore one of the largest squares in Italy.
1390
San Petronio begun
Work started on 7 June 1390 under Antonio di Vincenzo. The nave and apse were not finished until 1663, and the marble facade never was.
1566
The Neptune Fountain
Commissioned in 1563 and completed around 1566, with the bronze Neptune modelled by the Flemish sculptor Giambologna.
400 m²
Glass floor at Salaborsa
The public library covers an excavation of Roman and Etruscan Bologna that you can look down into for free.
Traveller favourites
Walking tours that end up on the square, food tours through the market streets behind it, and the cooking classes Bologna is known for.
Bologna: Street Food Tour in the Historic Center
2 hours
Two hours of tasting your way through the lanes just off the square, stopping at counters locals actually use.
from$66
Check availabilityBologna Walking Food Tour with a Local Expert
3 hours
The city's best-reviewed food walk, led by a Bolognese guide who explains what you are eating and why it matters here.
from$83
Check availabilityBologna: City Center Walking Tour
2 hours
An affordable two-hour orientation walk covering the landmarks of the centre, and the most-reviewed tour in Bologna.
from$33
Check availabilityBologna: Pasta Cooking Class, Ragù, Spritz, Wine & Gelato
3 hours
Roll your own fresh pasta, cook a ragù, and finish with wine and gelato in a hands-on class.
from$86
Check availabilityFrom Bologna: Roundtrip San Luca Train Ticket & Food Tasting
2.5 hours
The tourist train up the hill to the Basilica of San Luca, with an audio guide and food-tasting vouchers included.
from$43
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
On the piazza
Six buildings you can see without walking more than five minutes.
Basilica di San Petronio
One of the largest churches in the world, half-clad in marble and half in bare brick, with Cassini’s 66.8-metre meridian line running across the floor inside.
Fontana del Nettuno
Giambologna’s 3.4-metre bronze Neptune, known to Bolognesi as "il Gigante", restored and back in place since December 2017.
Palazzo d'Accursio
Bologna’s town hall, and the only building on the square you can climb: the Torre dell’Orologio and the municipal art collections share one timed ticket.
Palazzo del Podestà
The medieval magistrate’s seat, and underneath it the Voltone — a vaulted passage where a whisper into one corner carries clearly to the corner diagonally opposite.
Biblioteca Salaborsa
A working public library in the old stock exchange, built over Villanovan huts, Etruscan Felsina and the Roman basilica of Bononia. Free, indoors and air-conditioned.
Le Due Torri
The Asinelli tower stands 97.2 metres over 498 steps, five minutes east of the square. Its leaning neighbour, the Garisenda, has been closed since October 2023.
Plan your visit
Things to do in Bologna
What is worth your time on and around the square, roughly in the order most visitors should do it.
Getting there
Walking from Bologna Centrale, the Marconi Express from the airport, trains from Florence, Milan and Venice, and why not to drive.
Best time to visit
Month-by-month temperatures, when the square is busiest, and the events that take it over during the year.
Where to eat
Tortellini, tagliatelle al ragù and mortadella, and the Quadrilatero market streets hidden directly behind the square.
The square becomes a cinema every summer
Every summer the Cineteca di Bologna and the City of Bologna put a screen up in front of San Petronio and run Sotto le stelle del cinema, a season of free open-air screenings of restored classics and new films, often introduced by the directors or actors themselves.
The 2026 edition ran from 15 June to 14 August, about 57 evenings, and overlapped with the 40th edition of the Cineteca's Il Cinema Ritrovato festival. Dates are set fresh each year, so check the Cineteca's programme before you plan around it.
Common questions about Piazza Maggiore
What is Piazza Maggiore known for?
It is Bologna's main square, laid out from around 1200 as a market and civic space, and it is still the city's default gathering place for markets, concerts and public events. It is ringed by the Basilica di San Petronio, Palazzo d'Accursio, Palazzo dei Banchi and Palazzo del Podestà, which together cover most of the city's medieval and Renaissance history in one open space.
Is Piazza Maggiore free to visit?
Yes. The square itself, the Neptune Fountain, the Voltone del Podestà passage and the exteriors of every surrounding palace are free and open at all hours. Individual attractions inside the buildings, such as the basilica’s chapel route, the clock tower and the Anatomical Theatre, charge their own admission.
How big is Piazza Maggiore?
The square measures 115 metres by 60 metres, roughly 6,900 square metres, which makes it one of the largest squares in Italy. Its raised central platform, added in 1934 and paved in white and pink granite, is nicknamed "il crescentone" after a local flatbread it was said to resemble.
Why is the facade of the Basilica di San Petronio unfinished?
Work on the marble facade began in 1538 and stopped before it was done, leaving bare brick above the finished lower section. A popular legend blames Pope Pius IV for having the Archiginnasio built against the basilica in 1562 to stop it growing bigger than St Peter’s in Rome, but recent research argues the real reasons were money and planning problems.
What is the whispering gallery at Piazza Maggiore?
It is the Voltone del Podestà, the vaulted passage under Palazzo del Podestà that links Piazza Maggiore to Piazza Re Enzo. Face one of its four corners and speak quietly, and someone in the diagonally opposite corner will hear you clearly, because the sound follows the curve of the vault. It works best early in the morning or late in the evening when the passage is quiet.
What food should I try near Piazza Maggiore?
Tortellini in brodo, tagliatelle al ragù and mortadella are the three dishes that define Bolognese cooking. All of them are on sale a few minutes’ walk away in the Quadrilatero market streets — Via Pescherie Vecchie, Via Drapperie and Via Clavature — which sit directly behind Palazzo dei Banchi on the square’s east side.