BOLOGNA, BOIONIA, BONONIA, or FELSINA, a city of Italy, formerly the capital of the duchy of Bo logna, but now the chief place of the department of Reno, is situated in a .beautiful plain at the foot of the Apennines; on the rivers Savona and Reno, the former of which washes its walls, while the latter runs in several branches through the city, and communi cates with the Po by means of a canal.
" The ancient name. of this city," says Keysler, " was Felsina, from Felsinus, a Tuscan king, who is supposed to have built it twenty-five•years before the foundation of Rome. * The name of Bononia is by some derived from a successor of Felsina, called Bonus, but others derive it.from the Boii." Bologna,'which is of an oblong form, is surrounded 'with a lofty and is about five or six Ita lian miles in circuit. t The streets are narrow, and rather gloomy, from the fronts of the houses being built upon arcades, and the houses are tolerably built. The pillars of these arcades or porticos, are irregular in different houses, some of Ahem being high, others low, some square, and some round, and some of stone, while others are of wood. The streets where the carriages • pass are considerably lower than the porticos, like the rows at Chester. The houses are flat roofed, with a parapet towards the streets, and are covered with tiles.
The public buildings of this city are large and ele- . gant, and are equally remarkable for the beauty of • their architecture and for their internal decorations. Next to Rome, Bologna contained the most valuable paintings by the first Italian masters ; but many of. these noble relics have been carried off by the French. to adorn their capital ; and while we think that we . are noticing the curiosities of Bologna, we may un knowingly be describing the statues and pictures of Paris.
The tower of Asinelli, built by Gerardo Asinelli in 1109, stands in the centre of the city.' It is 371 feet high, and is the, loftiest in Italy, excepting the cupola of St Peter's., The tower, which is square, is. ascended by 464 wooden steps, and inclines from the perpendicular about three feet and a half.
Near this tower is the leaning tower of Garisenda, which is 144 feet high, and inclines about eight feet two inches from a vertical line. It was formerly of a much greater height; but the foundation of it having given way, a great part of it fell or was taken down.
One of the finest buildings of Bologna is the Pa lazzo Public°, in which the vice legate, the gonfalo niere, and other officers of state had their apartments, and in which the courts of justice were held. It stands in the great market place, presenting a front of 218 common paces. A brass statue of Pope Gre gory XIII. executed by Minganti, and weighing 11,300 pounds, stands over the entrance ; and at the left of the entrance is another statue of Pope Boni face VIII. On the front of the palace are two in scriptions, one commemorating the interview between Charles V. and Clement VII. in 1529, and the other the dreadful pestilence which visited the city in 1650. One of the apartments shewn to strangers, is the Sa lone D'Ercole, which contains a noble statue of Hercules, of a huge size, executed in terra cotta by Lombardi. In another little saloon are represented the principal achievethents of the Bolognese, inscri bed with Latin verses. Above the Salonc D'Ercole is the Sala Farnese, which derives its name from a marble statue of Pope Paul III. who belonged to the Farnese family. At the expense of the Cardinal Farnese, the walls and cieling of this apartment were painted by the best masters of Bologna. The prin cipal paintings are, Francis I. King of France, touch ing for the evil at Bologna before Pope Leo X.;— the public entry of Paul III. into Bologna;—the aqueduct of Cardinal A lborno ; and the coronation of Charles V. The museum of Aldrovandi is also in this palace, consisting of 187 folios, and above 200 bags full of single leaves, written by the hand of that learned naturalist. The cabinet of valuable _medals, belongirig to the Marquis Cospi, has been added to this collection. The arsenal, containing military stores and artillery, with 6000 stand of arms, are likewise kept in the palace.