• Practical Bologna
• Books about Bologna
• Seven things to see in Bologna
• Annual Events in Bologna
• Bologna Airport Hotels
• Hotels near Bologna's Piazza Maggiore
• Hotels near Bologna's Trade Fair district
• Bologna Hotels by star classification
• Italian Hotels

• Celebrate St. Patrick's weekend in Bologna at Irlanda in Festa

  

  Irlanda in Festa

Books about Bologna

We've put together some different books that may be of interest to you visiting Bologna. Ranging from dedicated guidebooks, through to novels and histories of the city.

Bologna Guidebooks

• The Footprints Guide

  Our personal favourite is the footprints guide to Bologna. This is a small pocket sized guidebook with heaps of handy information, and useful maps. It gives a good introduction to the city for a casual visitor, but is limited due to its size. Also, quite a bit of the information was out of date when we checked, which can be dissapointing. One bar, for example, highly recommended by the guide with a colorful description, was in fact a pizzeria by the time we turned up...

• The Blue Guide to Northern Italy

  The Blue Guide to Northern Italy features information on the area stretching from the alps down to the borders of Emilia-Romagna and the adriatic. As such, it's a handy guidebook for anyone wishing to travel in and around Bologna. It also has a long and illustrious history, having first been published in 1924. Recommended if Bologna is just one of your stops in a more adventurous itinerary.




Fiction set in Bologna

• John Grisham's The Broker

  Hugely succesful American author John Grisham strays from familiar territory to set a novel in the mysterious and suspense filled streets of Bologna. The novel's hero is a jailed lobbyist, Joel Backman, pardoned cynically in the dying days of an American administration. He's whisked out of the country, supposedly for his own safety, but in reality to set him up for an extra-judicial silencing. Backman is left in Italy with a CIA minder, and from there goes on the run, ending up in Bologna. The novel has lots of local colour, and was welcomed with a fanfare by the city. Grisham appeared in person in Bologna for the Italian language launch.

• Michael Dibdin's Back to Bologna