Where Strada Maggiore begins, in the shadow of the Two Towers, a very particular little cluster of buildings stands: the Palazzo della Mercanzia, a Gothic building of the late fourteenth century that housed the merchants' guild and its court, a body that settled commercial disputes and regulated trade. Its façade is decorated with the coats of arms of the guilds, and it forms part of the dense core of medieval Bologna, an area of narrow lanes and tall brick houses. Nearby stand the two leaning towers, Asinelli and Garisenda, the former rising nearly a hundred metres and the latter famously tilted, a symbol of the city.
Close to the Mercanzia, the Piazza Santo Stefano is a quiet, beautiful square surrounded by porticoes and old palaces, with a group of interconnected churches known as the Sette Chiese, the seven churches, which from the outside look like a single rambling, irregular building. According to tradition, the complex was founded as a copy of the holy sites of Jerusalem, and the inner courtyard, with a basin said to have been used by Pontius Pilate, is a calm place for a pause. The atmosphere is wonderfully old, with the smell of candle wax and damp stone.
For the rider this is, again, a place to leave the bike. The roads of the historic core are mostly restricted, and the streets are narrow and thick with pedestrians and cyclists, so the sensible plan is to park outside and walk in. A short walk leads to the large central square, Piazza Maggiore, with the huge unfinished basilica of San Petronio.
There is nothing to worry about on the practical side: Bologna has all the fuel, shops, restaurants and hotels one could ask for, and the suburb of Ponticella adds a few more. Good restaurants cluster around the Piazza Santo Stefano, and the aperitivo hour fills the area with chatter.
The towers can be climbed, with a long wooden staircase inside the taller one, and the view at the top across the red roofs, the hills and, on a very clear day, the Alps is the best in the city. Tickets must be booked, and the climb is not recommended for anyone nervous of heights or narrow stairs.