Bologna

Bologna is Italy's food capital — a city so central to the country's culinary identity that it gave its name to the world's most famous meat sauce (even if the original ragù alla Bolognese bears little resemblance to what is served globally as "Bolognese"). The city in Emilia-Romagna produces tortellini, mortadella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma and Lambrusco wine, and eating here is one of Italy's great pleasures. Bologna is also a university city — home to the University of Bologna, the oldest in the Western world (founded 1088) — giving it a youthful, intellectual energy that keeps its bars, bookshops and cultural life lively. The historic centre, with its 40 kilometres of characteristic porticos (colonnaded sidewalks) and its two leaning medieval towers (the Asinelli and Garisenda), is among the finest in Italy. The Piazza Maggiore, with its imposing Basilica of San Petronio (the fifth-largest church in the world), is spectacular. The Quadrilatero — the medieval market neighbourhood behind the Piazza Maggiore — is the food heart of the city: delicatessens (salumerie), pasta shops (sfogline rolling fresh pasta by hand), cheese shops and wine bars. The Bolognese table focuses on richness — fat egg pasta, slow-cooked ragù, prosciutto, mortadella. The San Luca Portico (the world's longest colonnade, 3.7km) leads up to the Sanctuary on the hill above the city with panoramic views. Bologna punches above its size.