Entertainment In Bologna

As the prime example of European academic history, Bologna is a universoty town, with the most festive partying taking place in the University quarter. Entertainment can be found in all parts of the city, with bars especially abundant in the historic district around the main piazza, with the youth of the university having created a zone of nightlife and music all its own.

Nightlife

After taking in the wonderful history surrounding Bologna, you can unwind or let loose in Bologna’s many nighttime venues. For those seeking drinks and dancing, the University quarter offers a variety of clubs that pull in the student population. While Bolognese are very fashionable and some clubs in the city can resemble a catwalk, many clubs in this district do not impose a dress code. Some of the nightclubs and discos stay open until 04:00, and the late-night venues may charge men an entry fee, which often includes a drink. For bars, Irish pubs are very popular, though the mainstay drinking establishment is the osteria. If you speak Italian, try the Ruvido Club, a venue popular with the country’s most well-known comedians.

Theatre and music

Bologna’s live music scene is well-known for its jazz venues, which often crowd quickly with people eager to hear some great live jazz. Perhaps the best-known of these are Cantina Bentivoglio and the Chet Baker Jazz Club. The Cantina is a city landmark, offering a great menu and wine selection, and free jazz shows from September to June. The Chet Baker Jazz Club draws today’s finest jazz musicians from around the world with its famed smoky lounge sessions.

Festivals

While Bolognese are generally festive people, with celebrations and food tightly intertwined, festivals in modern-day Bologna are mainly religious in nature. It’s a good bet that any occasion in the Roman Catholic calendar will bring a festival in the city, while a handful of other unique events also mark the year including:

• Festa di San Luca is the city’s main festival, with an Ascension Day procession honoring San Luca from the icon’s hilltop sanctuary to the Cathedral of San Pietro. The icon remains at the church for a week of powerful masses (May).
• Bologna Sogna, also known as Viva Bologna, is a fairly recent annual summer arts festival, begun in an effort to invigorate the city during its quiet weeks of the summer beach exodus. Movies are screened outdoors and shows of all sorts are held across the city including at a temporary stage in the Piazza Maggiore (August).
• Danza Urbana is the city’s urban dance festival that celebrates street and hip-hop dance for several days and includes breakdance competitions and classes as well as multimedia presentations (September).
• Vecchione is the traditional ritual to bring in the New Year, marked by the burning of the old one, in the form of an effigy set ablaze at midnight in Piazza Maggiore (December).
• Bologna Music Festival is a two-day event that draws emerging musicians from all over Italy and Europe for a renowned contest (September).