Bologna is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, with 390,734 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its metropolitan province is home to more than 1 million people as of 2025. Bologna is most famous for being the home to the oldest university in continuous operation, the University of Bologna, established in AD 1088.
At the turn of the 20th century, Bologna retained much of its medieval charm, with its arcaded streets, red-brick buildings, and narrow alleyways. The city’s skyline was still dominated by its famous towers (though many had collapsed by then), and daily life often revolved around the piazzas, especially Piazza Maggiore and Via Rizzoli.
Horse-drawn carriages were still common in the early 1900s, but by the 1910s, Bologna had developed an efficient electric tram system — one of the first in Italy. The Bologna tram network, inaugurated in 1904, connected key areas like Porta San Felice, Porta Santo Stefano, and Piazza Maggiore, making the streets livelier with the sound of clanging bells and the hum of electric lines. Bicycles also became increasingly popular, reflecting the city’s flat landscape and student population.
Many streets preserved their Renaissance and medieval porticoes, providing shade and shelter — Bologna still holds over 38 kilometers of porticoes today. By the 1920s–1930s, under Fascist influence, parts of the city center saw urban renewal projects, widening streets and adding more modern facades — yet the heart of Bologna remained deeply historic.
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