Bologna, Rimini, and San Marino

Bologna is not within easy reach of Geneva. All flights I could find had layovers, and the next fastest option was a multi-hour series of trains. After much deliberation, I decided that if I ever wanted to make a weekend trip to the city, I would have to take an overnight bus. I had never taken an overnight bus before, and many people dissuaded me from the attempt. However, it was either that or no trip to Bologna, and a nagging masochistic voice within me kept whispering that taking a night bus would be a fun experience.

I set off from Geneva at half past ten in the evening and fell asleep not long after crossing the French border. It was not a deep sleep, but although I was broken up many times by jolts and halts, I still felt I was resting in between. I think it was somewhere around the French-Italian border when the bus stopped for quite a while, and we caught an hour’s delay. Instead of at 7, therefore, I arrived in Bologna closer to 8 o’clock in the morning.

Once I arrived, I set off for the house of my friend Li, who lives at the very opposite end of the city. The sun was shining intermittently through a few clouds in the east, but much of the morning sky was bathed in light blue. Instead of heading directly to her place, therefore, I took a more scenic route, walking south of the Porta Galleria and along the Via dell’Indipendenza until I ended up in the very heart of town.

I have read that Bologna made it onto the UNESCO world heritage list not for its historic centre, as many other European cities and towns, but for its porticoes. It does not take a visitor long to figure out why. Porticoes are the living arteries of Bologna. Every major street is lined by them from beginning to end, allowing people to travel throughout the city without any consideration for the elements. It could be pouring buckets and crowds would still be strolling along the columns or sitting in front of restaurants.

I therefore walked to the centre of town under the porticoes and arcades, briefly stopping by the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Peter. Not long after, I arrived at the three plazas at the heart of Bologna, which are separated from each other by the thirteenth-century Palazzo Re Enzo. The Piazza Re Enzo lies to the east of this palace and connects to the Via Rivoli with its famous Two Towers. To the west of the palace lies Piazza del Nettuno, so named because of a large Neptune fountain. Finally, to the south lies Piazza Maggiore, which borders multiple palaces and the iconic white-red San Petronio Basilica.

After taking in all these sights, I hurried to Li’s house, as she had already spent a good half an hour waiting for me. Once we had finished our respective morning routines, we returned to the centre to eat a small breakfast on the Piazza Maggiore. The one thing I have found disappointing about Italian cuisine is that the allegedly cream-filled croissants are hardly ever actually full. Usually, the cream is restricted to the very centre of the pastry, with a misleading dollop on top. I will hold my peace on Italian waiting times; suffice it to say, I do not have a problem with long waiting times, but I do have an issue with the belief that the term “two minutes” is relative.

We caught a train to Rimini at a quite sensible hour and arrived with plenty of time to spare before the next bus departure for San Marino. I had done plenty of research beforehand, so I knew exactly where to go and what to do. The tickets were sold at a typical magazine and cigarette shop across the road from the train station, and we found the sign for the bus stop farther down the road. Since we had almost an hour, we decided to walk around a little before boarding the bus.

Rimini has more historic sights than one might imagine. Most of the Roman ruins are on the outskirts: going in a clockwise direction, they include the amphitheatre, the Arch of Augustus, the Porta Montanara, and the Bridge of Tiberius. In the centre, one can also find the Surgeon’s Home (a rich site for archaeological discoveries), but this was closed when we arrived. Besides the Roman structures, there are also many medieval buildings. The Roman arches are contiguous with the city’s medieval walls, which lead to the 15^th-century Castel Sismondo. In the city centre, one should not miss Piazza Tre Martiri with its beautiful churches and clocktower, nor Piazza Cavour and the Malatestiano Temple.

The ride to San Marino was fast and comfortable. The bus approached San Marino from a familiar angle, showing the three towers lined up atop Monte Titano just as they appear on the flag. Then, it commenced a steep and winding ascent until the very edge of the historic centre. As we climbed out of the bus and looked over the beautiful hilly landscape, we realised we would have to be fast: clouds were gathering over a nearby mountain ridge, and they were headed our way.

We entered the historic centre through the Gate of Saint Francis, climbing farther and farther up without respite. On our way, we passed Liberty Square with its public palace and statue dedicated to – unsurprisingly – liberty, after which we popped into the city’s Basilica dedicated to Saint Marinus (another shocker). The highest we got was the very top of Guaita Tower, which can only be reached by climbing a ladder through a rather tight portal hole. The ticket office would not sell us tickets to the other two towers, as they seemed to believe it was getting too late for us to manage all three.

There were still a few things to do when we got back to Rimini: we had not yet seen the Bridge of Tiberius and we would need to get dinner. The latter turned into quite the wild goose chase. Most places were either fully booked or would not open until half past seven, and after over half an hour of walking back and forth, we gave up and sat down in a Chinese restaurant.