Handsome brick buildings, medieval palaces, and porticoed streets together with enchanting leaning towers of Asinelli and Garisenda.

Capital of the province of the same name and of the Emilia-Romagna region, Bologna is situated in the Pedemontana Apennine zone, where the valley of the Reno opens out to the Emilia plain.

Bologna is an important commercial center, both for the agricultural richness of the adjacent plain and for its position as a crossroad between major directions of national traffic (Florence-Bologna-Milan, Florence-Bologna-Brenner, Florence-Bologna-Venice and Rimini-Bologna-Milan).

The industrial component, whose notable sectors are mechanics, food, and shoemaking, are of special importance.