If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably been to Bologna at least once in your lifetime. Maybe you’ve already discovered the main highlights of the city - towers, churches and porticoes - and now you’re coming back, looking for new places to see. Or rather you’ve never been to Bologna and just wish to find out uncommon places to visit.

Well, here are some suggestions about can’t-miss places in the city centre or within easy reach by public transport that will let you taste Bologna’s different souls.

While choosing the spots we have taken inspiration by some of the hottest topics for the city, such as music, cinema and art. Because Bologna is more than just the red, the fat and the learned (la rossa, la grassa e la dotta in Italian) as the proverb says.

The Certosa Cemetery

Let’s start from an unconventional, off the beaten path place: the Certosa, Bologna’s monumental cemetery. Set nearby the stadium, not very far from the city centre, you can either get there by bus or rent a bike at Walk ‘n Ride rental shop.

Why visiting it? First of all because it’s a monument, as the name tells. On entering, you’ll feel as if you were walking in a parallel city, having its own porticoes, cloisters and buildings.

Certosa cemetery Bologna

Founded in 1801, the Certosa cemetery is a real expression of the history - not just artistically speaking - of the city. Here a vast open-air collection of Neoclassical sculpture is enshrined, together with some touching funeral monuments such as Monumento Ossario dedicated to the Partisans.

Moreover, visiting the Certosa can also be a chance to found out more about well-known personalities of the city that are buried here. For instance, walking in this fascinating and silent place you’ll see the tombs of the great painters of Bologna, like Guido Reni and Giorgio Morandi, the tomb of the poet Giosué Carducci and the one of Marco Biagi, the labor attorney murdered in Bologna in 2002.

One of the most visited tombs is surely Lucio Dalla’s one, which rests under a simple metal silhouette, bearing a line of one of his songs: “Good night my soul, I turn the light off now, and let it be so…”  (“Buonanotte anima mia, adesso spengo la luce e così sia…”)

Lucio Dalla's Tomb

You can visit the Certosa freely during the opening times, or join our guided bike tour through the cemetery which will help you find out more about its history and secrets.

The Cineteca, Bologna’s film library, archives and beloved cinema

Also called the film lovers earthly paradise. The Cineteca Foundation is the place where films of all ages and origins are restored, told and shown on the big screen. Its archives house the history of cinema and its mission is to share it with the audience.

Therefore, it’s a magical place to enjoy by day, when you can better appreciate the building - a former slaughterhouse - and catch a glimpse of the Renzo Renzi film library. But it’s fascinating in the evening as well, when the entrance is lit up by a shining installation and the shows begin inside the theatres of the Lumière cinema.

Lumiere cinema Bologna

If you happen to be in Bologna in the summer, you can enjoy an evening at the Cineteca’s open-air cinema in Piazza Maggiore as well. The event is called Sotto le Stelle del Cinema and it’s for free, another reason not to miss one of the most exciting cinematographic experience in your life.

open-air cinema Bologna

The Music Museum

Strolling through the centre of Bologna, we find a lesser famous but very important museum that proves the city’s bond with music (Bologna was declared as a creative city of music by UNESCO).

The building where Museo della Musica is set is worth a visit. Palazzo Sanguinetti in Strada Maggiore welcomes you with a photogenic set in the rear garden, hiding a beautiful trompe l’oeil painting. The exhibition rooms, painted with its Neoclassical frescoes, will surprise you as well.

Museo della Musica Bologna

Inside the Music Museum you can find every kind of musical instrument, such as the lute (here in Bologna there’s a long tradition of luthiers), but also a trombone in the shape of a dragon that children will love. Strolling around the rooms you’ll discover that Mozart studied here in Bologna for a while, and that the museum preserves the original manuscript of “Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini.

The Specola Museum

Let’s end this unconventional tour of Bologna with another museum, which is also a marvellous panoramic viewpoint of the city.

We’re in the lively university area, always teeming with students. The university buildings hide lots of interesting museums, run by the Athenaeum itself. One of them is called the Specola Museum, i.e. the astronomical museum of Bologna set along Via Zamboni, the most popular street in this area.

Here, among telescopes, globes and other interesting instruments with complicated names, a 272-steps ladder brings you to the terrace of the observatory. The view from here is really unique, as it allows you to admire the two towers and other buildings of the city from a perspective you won’t find anywhere else in Bologna.

The only way to visit it is by joining a guided tour. Don’t forget to take a look at the official website then to know about opening times and tours!