BOLOGNA, one of the most ancient cities of Italy, is beautifully situated on a fertile plain at the foot of the lower slopes of the Apennine mountains, in lat. 44° 30' n., long. 11° 21' e. It is inclosed by a high brick-wall, some 5 or 6 zn. in extent, but without fortifications; the canal of Reno intersects it, and, on either side, the rivers Reno and Savena sweep past its walls. 13. was, next to Rome, the most important city of the papal states. The streets in the newer parts of the city are spacious and well paved, with rich and varied colonnades, affording shelter alike from sun and rain; in the older portion, the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty, and the arcades correspondingly low and gloomy. The city is adorned with many fine palaces of the nobility, which are rich in fresco-paintings by the great masters. Pre-eminently worthy of notice is the Piazzo Maggiore, "the Forum of I3. in the middle ages," which includes: among other fine buildings, the Palazzo Maggiore del Pubblico, and the Palazzo del PodestA. Among the fine frescoed rooms and galleries of the former, that of the Sala Farnese is the most imposing; the latter is interesting as having been the prison and death scene, in 1272. of Enzius, the son of the emperor Frederick IL, and also as con taining the archives of the city. The great feature of B., however, is )ts religious edifices. which are remarkable both for the beauty of their architecture, and the abundance and splendor of the art-treasures they contain. It has more than 70 churches, the most remarkable of which are San Stefano. which is rich in relies, ancient tombs, and Madonnas, Lombard architecture, and Greek frescoes of the llth and 12th centuries; San Petronio--which, though unfinished, is the largest church in B.—a noble specimen of Italian Gothic, with a meridian traced on the floor by the astronomer Cassini, and numerous splendid bass-reliefs by Jacopo della quercia and Tribolo, as well as masterpieces by other artists both in sculpture and in painting; San Domenico, with works by Michael Angelo and Niecolb di Pisa. and many other eminent sculptors, and paintings and frescoes by Guido, Francia, Lodovico Canted, Marchesi, Simone da Bologna. Colonna, and others; and the cathedral dedicated to St. Peter, r.Iso rich in works of art, and iuteresting historical associations, which, indeed, cluster around all the structures mentioned. In the center of the city are two remarkable
leaning towers, constructed about the beginning of the 12th c.; the tallest, called the has a height of 256 ft., with in 1706, an inclination of 3 ft. 2 inches. 111 1813, a careful measurement showed that this inclination bad slightly increased. The other tower. the Gariseuda—which is alluded to in the 31st canto of bante'is Arerno--lins an elevation of 130 ft., with a lean of 8 feet. The university of 13. is said to date its origin from the 5th c., when it was founded by Theodosius IL, and to have been afterwards restored by Charlemagne. It was not, bolsterer, until the 12th c., when it was founded anew by frnerius or Wernerus, that it attained celebrity. Its reputation that century was so great, chiefly on account of its school of jurisprudence that students front all parts of Europe were attracted to it. In 1262, the number receiving instruction is stated to have been 10,000, and it was found necessary to appoint professors specially for the students front each country. The university is also celebrated as the first school for the practice of dissection of the human body, as well as for the fact that, for centuries learned female professors have prelected within its walls. The famous linguist, cardinal 3lezzofanti, was a professor here. Though the nutnber of students is now comparatively sm•ll, the university of 13. still holds a first place among. Italian educational institutions. Medicine is now the principal study. The university library contains 200,000 vols., and 6000 MSS., 20,000 vols. having beets presented by Benedict XIS. Many of the hooks are very rare and valuable. In the church of San Domenico there is a public library of 90,000 vols., accessible on holidays, when all others are closed. The Accademia delle I Belle Arlo is particularly rich in the works of those native artists who founded the far-famed Bolognese school of painting, and it has also some fine specimens of other schools. Besides being the birthplace of those painters that have made its name illus trious, B. gave to the pontifical chair lionorius II., Lucius II., Gregory Innocent IX., Gregory XV., tted Benedict B. has some important manufactures, including silk goods, velvet, crape, wax-candles, musical instruments, chemical products, paper, and sausages almost as celebrated as its paintings. Pop. '71, 89,104.