Maps

The square was inaugurated by Pope Pius IV in coincidence with the construction of the portico and the Archiginnasio building in 1563. This property had already hosted the silk cocoon trade fair; hence the name Piazza del Pavaglione derives from the word ‘pavilion’ - the shelters under which this event was held.
In 1801, to celebrate the Lunéville peace between France and Austria, two countries that competed for dominion over the Emilian territories, the property is named Piazza della Pace, but this name did not take root.
In 1871 the square was dedicated to the scientist Luigi Galvani, depicted in the statue by the sculptor Adalberto Cencetti (1879) that dominates the square.

Piazza Santo Stefano does not exist. What everyone refers to as a "square" is, in actual fact, a widening of the road at the end of the façade of the homonymous church, originally composed of an aggregate of liturgical spaces referred to by the Bolognese population as the "Sette Chiese".
This space has a distinct "funnel" shape and connects points at different heights, filling the difference in height between the lower centre, the entrance of the church which is even lower and the porticoed sides which are higher. In 1934 it was decided to overcome these differences in heights: the churchyard was isolated in a lowered area, around which a plinth was built, taking the floor plane to the level of the highest point. The square was then accessible for vehicles and pedestrians all around the church and this is how it remained until the 1980s. In 1989, Dino Gavina, a knowledgeable entrepreneur, convinced the local authorities to involve Luigi Caccia Dominioni. The project by the Milan based architect plans to restore the bowl shape of the square crossed by ‘guidane’ i.e. pedestrian paths indicated by paving that is different from the main one used.

The heart of Bologna. This is the Platea communis, the town square created in the thirteenth century to house the City Council chambers in the Town Hall, Palazzo del Podestà and Palazzo dei Notai. In 1390, Basilica of San Petronio was built, a civic temple commissioned by the citizens, and the scenic backdrop of the Palazzo dei Banchi, behind which the cluttered area of the Mercato di Mezzo extends.
The centre of the square has a raised area called "Crescentone" which has always hosted the market. In the nineteenth century the statue of King Vittorio Emanuele was erected there and was later moved to the Giardini Margherita park. The area teemed with the jeeps of the allies who liberated Bologna on 21 April 1945 and with dense traffic in the years after, until it was decided to make the zone a pedestrian thoroughfare. For many years now, in the summer the area has abounded with film enthusiasts who, with their eyes fixed on a screen as large as a building, animate the open-air screening organised by the Cineteca di Bologna and which is now of international importance.

It is an integral part of the component with a marked post-Unification identity and acquired its name upon the death of the statesman Camillo Benso, which occurred at the same time the square was designed.
Considered the city’s parlour since its construction, the square is the result of transformations taken place between 1859 and 1866 under the aegis of the first technical office of Bologna of the united Italy, guided by the engineer Coriolano Monti.
In truth, the origin dates to the final moments of papal management and to the aims of grandeur of Count Grabinski, owner of Palazzo Ruini Ranuzzi who wanted to widen the service road to his property and connect it to the throbbing heart of the old town centre. The difficulties Monti encountered once he took office pushed him to speed up the process. At one point he worked by night to level one of the buildings blocking the start of the new road. At this point, the two buildings at the centre of the debate were definitively sacrificed, inflicting great damage on the city's heritage. In fact, there was a remarkable cycle of frescoes by Lodovico Carracci inside one of the buildings, the Benati home. It was quickly removed, but is now mostly lost, with only one extant panel that can be seen today in the Reference Hall of the Archiginnasio Library.
The buildings that still surround it today began to take shape in 1861 with the new widening of the road. To the east is Palazzo Guidotti (already existing but pared down to regularise its façade) and the Palazzine Bottrigari. On the south side is Palazzo Silvani, the Palazzo of the Bank of Italy is to the west and, to the north is the building that in 1927 was to become Banca di Napoli.
Indeed, together with the not-too-distant Cassa di Risparmio, this city section is distinguished precisely by the presence of numerous banks, which over the years has imparted a tone of decorum and sober monumentality.

The area between Piazza Minghetti and Piazza Cavour became strategic for post-unity urban renewal, which provided space for the local and national offices of institutions that were crucial at the time, such as the prestigious buildings of the Bank of Italy, the Cassa di Risparmio and the Post Office.
Piazza Minghetti in particular is the result of the demolition of an entire block in 1893. This clearing operation had also become necessary to create space for Palazzo della Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna that Giuseppe Mengoni, the architect of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, erected between 1868 and 1877. The square, inaugurated in 1896, was dedicated to the statesman Marco Minghetti.
The north side was initially to be the site for the University's Mineralogy Museum. However, given its strategic position, it was later decided that it should be allocated to the austere Post Office building, whose design began in 1903. The engineer Emilio Saffi (1861-1930) took charge of the work and completed it for the inauguration in 1911.
The building was conceived in a late Renaissance eclectic style, as was often the case at the time for institutional offices.

photo Bologna Welcome@Wildlab

The name Piazza Verdi is fairly recent, dating back only to 1951.
The space was created as a widening in the road in front of the Domus Magna of the Bentivoglio family, the opulent palace built starting from 1460. Giovanni II Bentivoglio (1443-1508) was responsible for the construction of a square where the portico became the unifying element of a decorous and prestigious urban space.
Of the Bentivoglio-made structures, the only remaining manifest example is the Bentivoglio Stables, now used as a coffee bar.
In 1586, the Augustinian Fathers of San Giacomo asked to build a portico close to the north-east wall of the church of Santa Cecilia, at the time a parish, in order to complete the porticoed layout of the Square. Only the side of Palazzo Paleotti remained unfinished, since Palazzo Bentivoglio is also porticoed. In 1906, works coordinated by Alfonso Rubbiani to uncover a section of the Torresotti walls led to the demolition of the portico adjacent to Santa Cecilia.
After the plundering and destruction of Palazzo dei Bentivoglio (1506-1507) nothing was built on the site (known as “Guasto” by the Bolognese), until the decision to erect the Municipal Theatre, on the side towards Via San Donato, now Via Zamboni. Construction began in 1756.
In 1977, the square was enhanced with three cylindrical elements by Arnaldo Pomodoro. They soon became covered with graffiti and posters, which is why they were moved to the then Gallery of Modern Art at the Fiera District and more recently to the Cavaticcio area.