Historic centre

Rents among the highest in Italy after Milan, driven by student and worker demand; single rooms are expensive and contested. Transport, groceries and dining at northern averages, with a popular cuisine still affordable. Cheaper districts beyond the station and in bus-served outskirts.

For the OMI the historic centre is zone B1, with a zone B7 for the via Zamboni area. Rules on short-term lets are changing: the Consiglio di Stato annulled the first planning rules on procedural grounds and the city, through the second PUG variant, wants to ban new openings where there are already too many.

Food shopping at the Mercato delle Erbe in via Ugo Bassi, open Monday to Saturday; the Salaborsa library in piazza del Nettuno, with a free card valid in all city libraries; for car owners, the residents' R permit allows free parking in their own zone.

112 is the single emergency number; 113, 115 and 118 remain active. Low violent crime, frequent pickpocketing and tourist scams in big cities. Civil Protection weather and seismic alerts and IT-alert messages on mobile phones.

Rules depend on who is arriving: EU/EEA/Swiss citizens (no visa, registration with the Comune after three months), non-EU citizens for stays up to 90 days (Schengen rule, type C visa where required) and for long stays (national type D visa and a residence permit within eight working days of arrival).

The Linea Rossa tram crosses the centre from Porta San Felice to via Indipendenza, running on battery power with no overhead wires; via Indipendenza will become pedestrian with the tram running through it. The Comune expects service to start in 2027. The Linea Verde will start from via dei Mille.

The AUSL of Bologna covers 45 municipalities and over 880,000 residents; the city forms the Città di Bologna district, with Case della Comunità in the neighbourhoods. In the city: the Maggiore and Bellaria (AUSL), the Sant'Orsola Polyclinic (university IRCCS, with general, paediatric and obstetric ERs) and the Rizzoli. CAU at the Navile Casa della Comunità, out-of-hours doctor on 051 3131.

One of Italy's most solid urban economies: automatic machinery and precision mechanics, automotive and the Motor Valley, agri-food and cooperatives, the trade fair, ICT and the data hub at the Tecnopolo. Employment rates among the highest in the country and low unemployment; strong demand for technicians and engineers.

The University of Bologna (1088) is a multi-campus institution with its main site in via Zamboni and campuses in Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini; a wide English-taught offering; grants, residences and canteens run by ER.GO. University district between via Zamboni and piazza Verdi, Academy of Fine Arts and Conservatory.

Continental Po-valley climate: cold winters with fog and stagnant air, very hot and humid summers. PM10 exceeds the daily limit more often than in coastal cities; from October to March the regional anti-smog measures of ARPAE and the Region apply.

A country of strong local identities: dialects still spoken at home, cuisines and festivals that differ from region to region. Formality with 'Lei', rigid meal times, slow paper-based bureaucracy. Non-EU citizens with a long-stay permit sign an integration agreement with credits.