The Porticoes of a Thousand Colours
The World Heritage Porticoes Office has designed a series of itineraries to discover the UNESCO values embodied by the Bologna Porticoes, inscribed on the World Heritage List for their Outstanding Universal Value in 2021. This educational project for various age levels unfolds in three different stages. The introductory stage is the same for everyone (with differing levels of content), is held in the classroom and considers UNESCO values and the porticoes as part of them. The second includes a visit to the Porticoes in the city and the third is again in the classroom. It involves a workshop aimed at examining and reviewing the experience in a personal and creative way. Total duration of the course: 7 non-continuous hours over three sessions. For the classes that choose the itinerary at Treno della Barca, the route has a total duration of 5 hours in two sessions: module 1 in class and modules 2 and 3 in a single session at Treno della Barca.
1st module duration 2 hrs | for all classes involved
The PORTICOES of Bologna were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021. With this module pupils are introduced to UNESCO as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. It also explains what being a World Heritage site involves, including the obligation to follow up on all UNESCO missions, which encompass education on the values of peace and heritage. Subsequently, the course will investigate the origins of the porticoes in Bologna and their extraordinary character, which ones are on the list and why. Finally, it will consider the values of care and affection for the Porticoes as shared heritage. The themes will be dealt with by projection of images onto interactive whiteboards and, for the older pupils, through reproductions of images and text readings. A discussion with the pupils will be launched to bring out some key concepts, starting with the question: what is exceptional about the porticoes, or what can be recognised by everyone as their value? How can we ensure that these values can remain alive and topical in the future?
PRIMARY SCHOOL - CLASSES III, IV and V THE PORTICOES IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY
2nd module - duration 3 hrs
The itinerary includes a focus on Piazza Maggiore and its porticoes (Palazzo Podestà, Palazzo D’Accursio, Palazzo dei Banchi, Palazzo dei Notai) and nearby porticoes (Portico of the Pavaglione, Portico della Morte) up to Piazza Cavour, by way of the Civic Archaeological Museum. The scope of the visit therefore spans several centuries, comparing different styles and materials, starting from the ancient overhangs and the early porticoes supported by wooden beams (in the vicinity you can see the Portico of Casa Azzoguidi), and going on to the nineteenth-century portico. The tour ends in the courtyard of the Civic Medieval Museum.
3rd module at school - workshop duration 2 hrs
After the outdoor session, participants at the third meeting in school will be provided with printed images of the porticoes studied during the walk. Each participant will choose the image of the portico that they liked the most, associating the portico with a word from among those that emerged during the first meeting. Using overlapping papers and materials, the image of the portico will then be modified and customised to give shape to abstract meanings and/or symbols related to UNESCO values and the history of the porticoes to obtain a large illustrated Dictionary, which can be enriched with all the papers of the classes that choose this path.
LOWER AND UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL - THE PORTICOES IN THE CULTURE OF SENATORIAL PALACES
2nd module - duration 3 hrs
The itinerary includes a focus on the Bolognese Senatorial Palaces, including Palazzo Salina Amorini, Palazzo Bolognini - Corte Isolani, Davia Bargellini Museum and Palazzo Hercolani, by way of Garisenda and Palazzo Fantuzzi. It is therefore a visit to discover the most important porticoed senatorial palaces, alternating with unporticoed ones, belonging to the most important senatorial families of the 16th and 17th centuries. During the visit, participants will be asked to take photographs of the places, details, buildings, curiosities and what impresses them most on the route.
3rd module at school - workshop duration 2 hrs
After the outdoor session, participants in the third meeting at school will work on the photos taken and printed (each participant will have already chosen and printed their favourite photo). The photos will be collected in a class album whose pages, personalised by the students with words, anecdotes, personal memories, historical and literary information and aspirations for the future, will become part of a great choral narrative that emphasises the role of the porticoes as a container of lives and experiences, reflecting their universal value.
LOWER AND UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL - THE DEVOTIONAL PORTICOES: SAN LUCA AND THE CERTOSA CEMETERY
2nd module duration 3 hrs
The itinerary includes a focus on the portico of San Luca starting from Meloncello (part of the route will be on the portico going uphill), then continuing along the portico on the plain before reaching the southern entrance of the Certosa Monumental Cemetery of Bologna. It is therefore a visit in search of one of the most important porticoes in the city – and the longest in the world – born of a strong popular and devotional will. Pupils will discover characters from the history of the city, who are now buried at the Certosa cemetery.
3rd module at school - workshop duration 2 hrs
After the outdoor session, participants in the third meeting in school will produce a video – to be made using the Stop Motion technique – about the Portico of San Luca and the Porticoes of the Certosa. Just as the Bolognese once used the famous “Passamano” (human chain) method to contribute to the construction of the most difficult section of the portico, the classes will carry on the tradition by creating a new segment of the animated story, bit by bit, illustrating the Outstanding Universal Value of the portico. In the juxtaposition of the city of the living and the city of the dead, the characters buried at Certosa can be evoked to serve as a guide to the history of Bologna, promoting the idea that values are universal because they belong to the past, the present and the future.
LOWER AND UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL - THE MODERN PORTICOES AND POST-WAR BOLOGNA. THE “TRENO DELLA BARCA”
2nd module duration 1 hr
The itinerary includes a visit to the portico of the Treno della Barca. The pupils will be encouraged to discover similarities and differences with the porticoes of the historic centre, to understand why this portico was built in this place. They will consider the history of the neighbourhood, the buildings and the meaning of their names: boat, train and locomotive. The construction characteristics of the building will be explained, including the recent energy efficiency upgrade.
3rd module in school - workshop at ‘Il Treno’ duration 2 hrs
The portico of the Treno della Barca is not yet old, but it is no longer new. How do you imagine it will be in the future? What will have changed and what might remain? Using historical photos of the construction of the Treno and its early years, the transformations of the neighbourhood and the part of the city in which it is located will be examined, from both a physical and functional point of view (services, trade, transport, etc.). What other scenarios might there be in the future? How will the Treno adapt without altering the UNESCO Outstanding Universal Values?
Costs
The scheme is available for a maximum of 50 classes and is free of charge thanks to Italian Ministry of Culture funding under Law 77/2006 "Special measures for the protection and use of Italian sites and elements of cultural, landscape and environmental interest, included in the ‘World Heritage List’, placed under the protection of UNESCO".
Information and bookings
Bookings are available from 23 September by calling 371/4111113, on Mondays 12-17 and Thursdays 10-15
