Sherman's Travel

Bologna — Promises to diet turn to dust in Bologna. To visit and not sample the city's culinary delights – Bolognese sauce and tortellini, for example – is to essentially miss the point (and, yes, bologna sausage, really mortadella in Italy, originated here). Located in Northern Italy’s Po Valley, Bologna is also a college town, home to the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the Western world, and a center for vibrant left-wing politics, which means the city is constantly buzzing with creative activity like lectures, exhibitions, and art shows. Add to the list a large selection of free museums, hundreds of bars and affordable restaurants, efficient public transportation, and stunning fringe neighborhoods – some gardened with portico-covered paths – and Bolonga starts to seem irresistible.