Bologna
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Bologna is the largest city (and the capital) of Emilia-Romagna Region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populated in Italy.
The city, the first settlements of which date back to at least one 1000 BC, has always been an important urban centre, first under the Etruscans (Velzna/Felsina) and the Celts (Bona), then under the Romans (Bononia), then again in the Middle Ages, as a free municipality (for one century it was the fifth largest European city based on population). Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna hosts thousands of students who enrich the social and cultural life of the city. Famous for its towers and lengthy porticoes, Bologna has a well-preserved historical centre (one of the largest in Italy) thanks to a careful restoration and conservation policy which began at the end of the 1970s, on the heels of serious damage done by the urban demolition at the end of the 19th century as well as that caused by wars.
An important cultural and artistic centre, its importance in terms of landmarks can be attributed to homogenous mixture of monuments and architectural examples (medieval towers, antique buildings, churches, the layout of its historical centre) as well as works of art which are the result of a first class architectural and artistic history. Bologna is also an important transportation crossroad for the roads and trains of Northern Italy, where many important mechanical, electronic and nutritional industries have their headquarters. According to the most recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index (E-REGI) of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city and the 47th European city in terms of its economic growth rate.
Bologna is home to prestigious cultural, economic and political institutions as well as one of the most impressive trade fair districts in Europe. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, a UNESCO “city of music”. The city of Bologna was selected to participate in the Universal Exposition of Shanghai 2010 together with 45 other cities from around the world. Bologna is also one of the wealthiest cities in Italy, often ranking as one of the top cities in terms of quality of life in the country: in 2011 it ranked 1st out of 107 Italian cities.
People
- Ulisse Aldrovandi (naturalist, 1522–1605)
- Antonio Alessandrini (anatomist and parasitologist, 1786–1861)
- Maria Gaetana Agnesi (mathematician, humanitarian, and linguist, 1718–1799)
- Amico Aspertini (painter, c. 1474–1552)
- Pupi Avati (director, born 1938)
- Riccardo Bacchelli (writer, 1891-1985)
- Adriano Banchieri (composer, 1568–1634)
- Agostino Barelli (architect, 1627–1687)
- Antonio Basoli (painter and scene designer, 1774–1848)
- Laura Bassi (scientist, first female appointed to university chair in Europe, 1711–1788)
- Ugo Bassi (Italian nationalist hero, executed for role in 1848 uprisings, 1800–1849)
- Stefano Benni (writer, born 1947)
- Benedict XIV (Prospero Lambertini, Pope 1740–58)
- Giovanni II Bentivoglio (1443–1508)
- Giordano Berti (writer, born 1959)
- Amedeo Biavati (footballer, 1915–1979, credited with the invention of the stepover, World Champion 1938, played only for Bologna FC)
- Simone Bolelli (Professional Tennis Player, Born 1985)
- Giacomo Bolognini (painter, 1664–1734)
- Rafael Bombelli (mathematician, 1526-1572)
- Rossano Brazzi (actor, 1916–1994)
- Raffaella Carrà (singer, born 1943)
- Annibale Carracci (painter, 1560–1609)
- Lodovico Carracci (painter, 1555–1619)
- Agostino Carracci (painter, 1557–1602)
- Chiara Caselli (actress, born 1967)
- Pier Ferdinando Casini (politician, born 1955)
- Pietro Cataldi (mathematician, 1548–1626)
- Pierluigi Collina (football referee, born 1960)
- Alessandro Cortini (musician, born 1976)
- Giuseppe Maria Crespi (painter, 1665–1747)
- Donato Creti (painter, 1671–1749)
- Scipione del Ferro (mathematician, solved the cubic equation, 1465–1526)
- Francesco Francia (Francesco Raibolini, painter, c. 1450–1517)
- Lucio Dalla (singer-songwriter, 1943–2012)
- Domenichino (Domenico Zampieri, painter, 1581–1641)
- Sara Errani (tennis player, born 1987)
- Gianfranco Fini (politician, born 1952)
- Aristotile Fioravanti (architect, c. 1415–c. 1486)
- Luigi Galvani (scientist, discoverer of bioelectricity, 1737–1798)
- Alessandro Gamberini, (footballer, born 1981)
- Serena Grandi (actress, born 1958)
- Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni, Pope 1572–85, instituted the Gregorian Calendar)
- Gregory XV (Alessandro Ludovisi, Pope 1621-3)
- Il Guercino (Giovanni Barbieri, painter, 1591–1666)
- Irnerius (jurist, c. 1050 – at least 1125)
- Claudio Lolli (singer-songwriter, born 1950)
- Lucius II (Gherardo Caccianemici dell'Orso, Pope 1144-5)
- Marcello Malpighi (physiologist, anatomist and histologist, 1628–1694)
- Guglielmo Marconi (engineer, pioneer of wireless telegraphy, Nobel prize for Physics, 1874–1937)
- Giovanni Battista Martini (musical theorist, 1706–1784)
- Giuseppe Mezzofanti (cardinal, linguist and hyperpolyglot, 1774–1839)
- Marco Minghetti (economist and statesman, 1818–1886)
- Giorgio Morandi (painter, 1890–1964)
- Gianni Morandi (singer, born 1944)
- Edgardo Mortara ( Catholic priest that was the subject of the Mortara Case during the Risorgimento, 1851–1940 )
- Gianluca Pagliuca (footballer, born 1966)
- Pier Paolo Pasolini (writer, poet, director, 1922–1975)
- Roberto Regazzi (luthier, born 1956)
- Guido Reni (painter, 1575–1642)
- Ottorino Respighi (composer, 1879–1936)
- Augusto Righi (physicist, authority on electromagnetism, 1850–1920)
- Vasco Rossi (singer-songwriter, born 1952)
- Carlo Ruini (equine anatomist, 1530–1598)
- Angelo Schiavio (footballer, 1905–1990, scored the winning goal in overtime in the 1934 World Cup Final, played only for Bologna)
- Elisabetta Sirani (painter, 1638–1665)
- Alberto Tomba (skier, born 1966)
- Ondina Valla (first Italian woman Olympic gold medalist, 1916–2006)
- Mariele Ventre (teacher and educator, founder of Piccolo Coro dell' Antoniano choir, 1939–1995)
- Christian Vieri (footballer, born 1973)
- Vitale da Bologna (painter, fl. 1330, d 1361)
- Anteo Zamboni (anarchist who at the age of 15 attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini, 1911–1926)
- Alex Zanardi (racing driver, born 1966)
- Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti (writer, musician, and composer, 1801–1878)
In addition to the natives of the city listed above, the following have made Bologna their home:
- Giosuè Carducci (poet and academic, Nobel Prize for Literature, born near Lucca, Tuscany, 1835–1907)
- Carlo Felice Cillario (Italian conductor of international renown, founder of the Bologna Chamber Orchestra in 1946 (February 7, 1915 – December 13, 2007)
- Umberto Eco (writer and academic, born in Alessandria, Piedmont, 1932)
- Enzio of Sardinia (born c. 1218, King of Sardinia and illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II, was imprisoned in Palazzo Re Enzo from 1249 until his death in 1272)
- Vasco Errani (politician, born 1955)
- Alfonso Lombardi (sculptor, born in Ferrara, c. 1497-1537)
- Niccolò dell'Arca (sculptor, born in Bari, c. 1435-1440 – 2 March 1494)
- Juan Ignacio Molina (naturalist, born in Chile, 1740–1829)
- Giovanni Pascoli (poet and academic, born in San Mauro di Romagna, 1855–1912)
- St. Petronius (San Petronio, bishop of Bologna and patron saint of the city, birthplace unknown, died c. 450 AD)
- Romano Prodi (economist, politician, born in Scandiano, Reggio Emilia, 1939)
- Gioachino Rossini (opera composer, born in Pesaro, 1792–1868)
- Giuseppe Torelli (composer, born in Verona, 1658–1709)
- Wu Ming (collective of writers, active since 2000)
- Farinelli (Carlo Broschi, castrato opera singer, 1705–1782)
Companies
- Coop (supermarket chain)
- Ducati Motor Holding (motorcycles)
- IMA S.p.A (packaging)
- Lamborghini (cars)
- Malaguti (motorcycles)
- Maserati (cars)
- Segafredo Zanetti – (coffee)
- Unipol – (bank and insurance)
- YOOX Group Spa – (Fashion / Online Apparel Retailer)
See also
