As Emilia Romagna's capital, Bologna, is a thriving city, whose light engineering and hi-tech industries have brought wealth to the old brick palaces and porticoed streets and squares.

Previously, it was best known for its food – undeniably the richest in the country – and for its politics. "Red Bologna" became the Italian Left's stronghold and spiritual home, having evolved out of the resistance movement to German occupation during World War II. This rich history designates Bologna as one of Italy's most historic and beautiful cities.

The City is set against verdant green hills overlooking the vast agricultural lands of the Apennine Plain in Northern Italy. It has an international airport and is a hub of rail and road transportation. It is famous as the culinary capital of Italy. Its cuisine is known for cured meats, rich sauces for fresh pastas, and gelato. Crowed market streets showcase the bounty of the region in a festive atmosphere.  Nearby are found the producers of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Prosciutto di Parma Ham, Balsamic vinegars and SanGiovese di Romana wines.

The University of Bologna is the western world's oldest university. It is famous for its pioneering medical research. Bologna is a trade center for Italy and Europe with a major convention complex hosting trade fairs in all industries. The Emilia Romagna region is home to Ferrari, Ducati, and Nike's Italian Headquarters.

Bologna is a city of dramatic architecture rendered in brilliant orange brick and red stucco.  In keeping with medieval tradition, buildings are distinguished by their porticos and colonnaded arcades which form continuous covered passageways along its winding streets. Its piazzas are adorned with sculpture and framed by magnificent palaces and churches. It is noted for its modern efforts to harmonize with the environment through careful planning that places an emphasis on sustainable development and mass transit. Bicycles, motor scooters and pedestrians fill streets closed to cars in the center city.

Bologna is home to approximately 500,000 citizens with one-fifth of the population coming from its renowned university, and an enlightened local government. In this lively city there is always something happening – be it theatre, music, the summer festivals, or the daily café and bar scene, which happens to be among northern Italy's most gregarious. As a city in a European Union member country their currency is the EURO and because of Bologna’s central location it serves as a great jumping off point to explore all that Italy and Europe have to offer.

Every March 8 Italy is a sea of waving yellow mimosa in celebration of the Festa Delle Donne (International Women's Day). No one knows how mimosa, which blooms in abundance during this time of year, became the symbol for this day in Italy; some sources point to the tradition starting in Rome in 1946 when men started giving the women in their lives a sprig of the flower as a sign of respect and then women started exchanging the flowers with each other as a sign of solidarity. In Bologna the tradition thrives. Stores hand out sprigs of mimosa, street vendors sell it, women of all ages are adorned in mimosa corsages.

March 31-April 4 is the 45th International Children's Book Fair in Bologna. This is the premier event for the Children's Books industry, bringing together publishers, authors, illustrators, literary agents, TV/film companies, and licensing developers. Last year's fair included 1,300 exhibitors from 66 countries (including 4,701 international professional trade representatives.

Want to learn more about the city of Bologna? Check out the links below to other resources on the web:

LaVitaBella
www.lavitabella.eu

la Rete Civica di Bologna
www.comune.bologna.it

Provincia di Bologna
www.provincia.bologna.it

Aeroporto di Bologna
www.bologna-airport.it

Teatro Comunale di Bologna
www.comunalebologna.it

Resource for Italian culture
and business in Portland
www.italiaportland.com

International Women's Forum
of Bologna
www.iwfbologna.org

City of Bologna’s on-line
magazine for young people
www.flashgiovani.it