When Italy zigs, Bologna zags. The city boasts some of the country"s finest medieval architecture but is largely overlooked by tourists. While a sluggish economy forces Italians to tighten their belts, Bologna opens yet another restaurant or bar. As the nation lurches to the right politically, Bologna remains a stronghold of the left.
Some of the reasons lie in a simple insight: this is a city with its heart in the south and head in the north. Its laissez-faire attitude and laid-back lifestyle - Italians voted it the country"s best place to live in 2004 - evoke an atmosphere closer to Amaffi than Milan. But it"s an economic powerhouse too, well connected by road and rail, and home to booming food, motor and leather industries. The presence of Europe"s oldest university only strengthens its self-sufficiency: with a recession-proof supply of diners and drinkers, pandering to tourists is far down its list of civic priorities.
The city is changing, though. Visitors are at last being catered for by new design-led hotels, cutting-edge cultural venues can be found in Marconi"s reinvented industrial district to the north-west, and green spaces are popping up across town. Sadly, it"s not all good news: there"s an ugly drugs scene and swathes of the centre storico, with its dazzling porticoes, have been disfigured by graffiti, a canker that the local council seems happy to ignore. However, although Bologna"s crown may have slipped a little, there"s now a palpable edginess and vitality in the air. Long may it zag. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Wallpaper City Guide: Bologna