The Comune of Bologna has launched a special initiative, largely aimed at the health and well-being of local residents, but also very useful for tourists who want to walk around Bologna’s medieval city centre.
MuoviBo is a 12km walking circular walking itinerary, that has as its official 1st station the Parco Montagnola. 11km of the itinerary has porticos, making it ideal at any time of the year (remember, Bologna during the winter has its fair share of rain, and during the summer can be blisteringly hot).
The concept is more than just an itinerary – the idea is that there are stations throughout the city, where, co-ordinating through an app (and whatsapp group), you can choose to embark on a journey choosing your preferred pace. So, let’s imagine that you want to start walking to work, but like the idea of, at the same time, meeting other people and sharing the walk; you’d choose the nearest stations for your route (departure and arrival), the time and rough pace, and off you go. If you arrive at the station, and at the given time there’s no-one else, then you head off yourself.
It’s an interesting concept, but perhaps more useful to tourists is the fact that the itinerary, mapped out with app etc takes you by 39 different monuments, ranging from the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna (with its superb collection of 12th century religious art), through to the city’s landmark Garisenda and Asinelli towers, and the Palazzo Archiginnasio. The itinerary can be a useful walking guide to discovering some of the less well known attractions, like the church of Santa Maria della Visitazione. You can also use the map when tracking down the seven secrets of Bologna
For more information on the MuoviBo initiative, you can visit the official site here (currently only in Italian).