Piazza Maggiore and Fontana del Nettuno

Piazza Maggiore was created in the thirteenth century, when the Commune bought houses and land to give the city a square that would serve both as the seat of power and a marketplace. Around it grew the buildings you see today: the Basilica di San Petronio, Palazzo d'Accursio with the town hall, Palazzo del Podestà, Palazzo dei Notai and the long Palazzo dei Banchi.

Next door, in Piazza del Nettuno, stands the fountain that Bolognese call the Giant. It was commissioned by vice-legate Pier Donato Cesi to celebrate the government of Pope Pius IV: the bronze statue is by the Flemish sculptor Giambologna, the architecture by the Palermitan Tommaso Laureti, and the work was completed in 1566. Just as Neptune rules the waters, so the Pope was meant to rule the world.

Beneath Palazzo del Podestà is the Voltone, where two great arches intersect. If you stand in one corner and speak quietly towards the wall, someone in the opposite corner can hear you perfectly: Bolognese call it the wireless telephone. Behind it, Palazzo di Re Enzo recalls the son of Emperor Frederick II, held prisoner here for over twenty years.

The porticoes of the Pavaglione and dei Banchi, which close the square to the east and south, are part of the twelve sections of Bologna's porticoes inscribed by UNESCO in 2021. In summer the square becomes an enormous open-air cinema, with screenings of Cinema Ritrovato.