The three secrets of Bologna

Every self-respecting Bolognese has shown them to a visiting friend at least once. They are the city’s famous “secrets”: small details you’ll never find unless you know where to look. The list changes a little depending on who tells it, but these three are almost always there.

1. The arrow in Strada Maggiore

Under the portico of Casa Isolani, at Strada Maggiore 19, look up: an arrow is stuck between the ceiling beams. Legends abound. The most popular tells of three bandits paid to kill a nobleman: just as they were about to shoot, a woman at the window opposite undressed, one of the archers was distracted and the arrow ended up in the wood.

2. The little window in Via Piella

In Via Piella there’s a small wooden shutter in a wall. Open it and you’ll see something unexpected: the Canale delle Moline flowing between the houses, like a little Venice. Few people know that a network of canals runs beneath Bologna, which for centuries powered mills, silk works and workshops.

3. The “wireless telephone”

Under the Voltone of Palazzo del Podestà, between Piazza Maggiore and Piazza del Nettuno, two people stand in opposite corners facing the column. Whisper: the other person will hear you perfectly, thanks to the shape of the vault. It’s said that in the Middle Ages confessors used it to listen to the sick without getting too close.

Other “secrets” that often make the list: the inscription Panis vita, Canabis protectio, Vinum laetitia under the same Voltone. But we’ll stop here, or they wouldn’t be secrets any more.