On my last trip to Bologna, Italy, to give the first two days training for the NLP Master Practitioner for NLPItaly, I was able to explore a little of the town and especially Piazza Maggiore, and what a wonderfull place it is.
The streets leading up to and around the Piazza Maggiore, are full of shops and cafés, arched covered walkways or footpaths with marbled floors, and some of the ceilings having beautiful coloured decorations to them.
Arched covered walkways or footpaths in Bologna
Within the piazza, dating from about the year 1200, there are some historic buildings, and thank goodness my translator for the course Elena Martelli was with me to explain the history of the buildings and piazza itself.
One of these buildings is the Basilica di San Petronio, or the Cathedral of Saint Peter, reported to be the fifth largest church in the world, with building starting about 1390, and has a history to its’ self. The facade of the Basilica remains unfinished, because I was told the Pope of the time objected to the building being better than his own church not far away and certainly not bigger than St Peter’s in Rome.
As you look at the Basilica, the bottom half of the building is faced with white marble, and the top half is just brick. Within the Basilica is said to be some great works of art and sculptures, but unfortunately I did not have time to venture inside.
Basilica di San Petronio, or the Cathedral of Saint Peter
In the photograph above, no the building does not lean it is my camera, is the whispering gallery and a medieval tower of Palazzo del Podesta. Walk into the center under the arches, is a vaulted area, and if one person stands in one corner facing the wall, and another person stands in the opposite corner, as you whisper, you can hear each other.
The whispering gallery in Palazzo del Podesta, Bologna.
And Francesco Martelli, Elena’s brother in the right picture is only whispering.
Another fine sight nearby is the bronze statue of Neptune in the Piazza del Nettuno.