This one goes out to all those readers with those special needs, sufferers of Porticos and/or Door Knob fetishes. You know who you are and you should also know that you are not alone. Tens thousands of people with such infliction flock the porticos of Bologna annually. They tell their friends and neighbors that they go to the food capital of the world, the place that invented the Bologna Sandwich (neglecting to explain the intricacies of the Mortadella and its bastardized American version to the clueless neighbor. Smart move savvy traveler, smart move). But what they dont tell their friends, because they cant comprehend, is all about the joy of running around through Bologna’s 40 Kilometers of Porticos, with minimal clothing sometimes. But who am I to judge.
Those same Porticos have been around for hundreds of years (some since the 12th century), and while other Italian cities outlawed them at some point, Bologna continued to Portico itself to become the Portico capital of the world. That includes of course the longest Portico in the world, 3,796 meters running from the city walls up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. Not quite the climb for us (hey, I’m on vacation, not competing for the biggest loser)
And as to the door knobs all over the historic center, well, they are just pretty door knobs.
Eating With Ziggy 