Deep-dive

Identity: six Quartieri, the Learned, the Fat, the Red

A municipality of 390,000 residents divided into six Quartieri, capital of the Metropolitan City and the Region. The Bolognese dialect still present, patron Saint Petronius on 4 October, a university dating from 1088, UNESCO-listed porticoes and the title of UNESCO Creative City of Music.

Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays

Administrative structure

Since 2016 the Comune di Bologna has been organised in six Quartieri with elected councils and local offices: Borgo Panigale-Reno, Navile (Bolognina, Corticella, Lame), Porto-Saragozza, San Donato-San Vitale, Santo Stefano and Savena. Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna Region and of the Metropolitan City, which replaced the Province in 2015 and coordinates transport and planning with the belt municipalities (Casalecchio di Reno, San Lazzaro di Savena, Castel Maggiore and others).

Languages and communities

Bolognese is an Emilian dialect with a lively theatrical and musical tradition, used today mainly in long-established families and in sayings; the regional Italian has a recognisable accent. The city is one of Italy's most international for students and researchers, and English is the working language at the university, the Tecnopolo and in multinationals. The largest foreign communities are Romanian, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Pakistani, Chinese, Moroccan and Ukrainian.

Patron saint and institutions

The patron saint is Petronius, celebrated on 4 October (city holiday); the basilica dedicated to him in Piazza Maggiore is one of Europe's largest Gothic churches. Institutions: Alma Mater Studiorum (1088, regarded as the oldest university in the Western world), the Cineteca di Bologna, Teatro Comunale, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Martini Conservatory, MAMbo, the Pinacoteca Nazionale, the Archiginnasio, BolognaFiere. The Porticoes of Bologna have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2021; the city has been a UNESCO Creative City of Music since 2006.

Population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Popolazione residente: bilancio demografico (dataflow 22_315, DCIS_POPORESBIL1)

390,151people

Foreign residents, share of population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Estimatesample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Stranieri residenti al 1° gennaio (dataflow 29_7, DCIS_POPSTRRES1)

15.1 %