Metropolitan City of Bologna Città metropolitana di Bologna (Italian) | |
|---|---|
 Palazzo Malvezzi, the Metropolitan City seat | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Map highlighting the location of the province of Bologna in Italy | |
| Coordinates:44°29′38″N11°20′34″E / 44.4939°N 11.3428°E /44.4939; 11.3428 | |
| Country |  Italy |
| Region | Emilia-Romagna |
| Capital(s) | Bologna |
| Municipalities | 55 |
| Government | |
| • Metropolitan mayor | Matteo Lepore |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,702.32 km2 (1,429.47 sq mi) |
| Population (2025)[2] | |
• Total | 1,020,865 |
| • Density | 275.737/km2 (714.154/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | €39.502 billion (2015) |
| • Per capita | €38,918 (2015) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 40121/40141 (Bologna), 40010–40069 (other municipalities) |
| Telephone prefix | 051, 0534, 0542 |
| ISO 3166 code | IT-BO |
| Vehicle registration | BO |
| ISTAT | 237[4] |
| Website | Official website |
TheMetropolitan City of Bologna (Italian:città metropolitana di Bologna) is ametropolitan city in theEmilia-Romagna region ofItaly. Its capital isde facto the city ofBologna, though the body does not explicitly outline it.[5] It was created by thereform of local authorities (Law 142/1990) and established by the Law 56/2014, replacing theprovince of Bologna. It has been operative since 1 January 2015.
The Metropolitan City is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor (sindaco metropolitano) and by the Metropolitan Council (consiglio metropolitano).
Remains of the Iron AgeVillanovan culture were discovered near Bologna by archaeologists in 1853.[6] The city was settled by the Etruscans and named Velzna, later Felsina. In the 6th century BCE, Felsina was known for its markets and trade. It was invaded by the GallicBoii tribe in this period, who developed the agricultural output of the region. The Romans began their conquest of the region around 220 BCE and were successful by the 180s BCE; upon their capture of Felsina, it was renamed Bononia. After Rome fell in 476 CE and the region suffered barbarian invasions, Bononia was made a fortress.[6]
The city was owned by Charlemagne but was given to the Holy See in 774. Later, the Holy Roman Empire controlled the city and it became known as Bologna. Bologna became a commune by 1114, but it desired independence and in 1176 it joined theLombard League, an alliance opposed to the Holy Roman Empire's influence.Emperor Frederick I recognised its desire for independence and granted it some autonomy.[6] It joined the Second Lombard League to defeatFrederick II in 1249. Bologna became part of the Papal States in 1506 and joined theKingdom of Italy uponItalian unification in the 19th century.[7]
TheUniversity of Bologna, founded in 1088, is theworld's oldest university in continuous operation; its speciality wasRoman andcanon law, and it set standards in the way it was organised and the curriculum that was followed by universities in Italy.[8]
The Metropolitan City of Bologna is part of the region ofEmilia-Romagna in northwestern Italy. It is in the centre of the region and is bounded on the east by theprovince of Ravenna, while theprovince of Ferrara lies to the north and theprovince of Modena lies to the west. To the south are theMetropolitan City of Florence, theprovince of Prato and theprovince of Pistoia, all in the region ofTuscany.
The metropolitan territory is largely flat, and stretches from the alluvialPo Plain into theApennine Mountains; the highest point in the metropolitan city is the peak ofCorno alle Scale in the commune ofLizzano in Belvedere, at 1,945 metres (6,381 ft) above sea level. Themunicipality with the lowest average altitude isMolinella which is 8 metres above sea level. The municipality with the highest average altitude isMonghidoro 841 metres abovesea level.[9]
The metropolitan city ofBologna includes south-eastern Emilia and seven municipalities whose territory is entirely included in the historical-geographical region of Romagna:Borgo Tossignano,Casalfiumanese,Castel del Rio,Dozza,Fontanelice,Imola andMordano.The provincial territory extends mainly across plains and hills. The mountain occupies 21.3% of the province, against a regional average of 25%, and is divided between the BologneseApennines and the Imola Apennines.
The main rivers that cross the territory are theReno (211 km), which collects almost all the waters of the Bolognese area, theSanterno (85 km), theIdice (77 km), theSillaro (66 km), theSavena (54 km), the Samoggia (53 km) and theSetta [it] (40 km). Worthy of note for its particularity is the Dardagna torrent, the only river in the territory of the metropolitan city which, flowing into the Panaro, is part of the Po water basin.
In the extensive hill system, two ridges stand out which are located transversally to the main valleys: the Pliocene Buttress and the Chalk Vein. Characteristic are the gullies, hilly formations dug by the flow of rain on the clayey slopes of different densities, present along the Chalk Vein on the hills fromReggio nell'Emilia to theprovince of Rimini.
Theflora andfauna heritage of themetropolitan area is managed through a system represented by 21 protected areas and 31 sites of community importance. The total surface area in October 2004 amounted to 710.684 acres (equal to 19.36% of the provincial surface area). Inside the Metropolitan city of Bologna are present 5 RegionalParks (Corno alle Scale, Gessi Bolognesi and Calanchi dell'Abbadessa, Monte Sole,MonteveglioAbbey, Suviana and BrasimoneLake), 2 Provincial Parks (Montovolo, La Martina), 1 Nature Reserve (Countrafforte Nature Reserve Pliocene), 13 Ecological Rebalancing Areas (ARE). Furthermore, 70 different species among those listed inAnnex I of the "Birds" Directive have been registered in the area.
Historical population | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:ISTAT[10][11] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N. | Portrait | Metropolitan Mayor | Term start | Term end | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 1 January 2015 | 11 October 2021 | Democratic Party | ||
| 2 | .jpg) | 11 October 2021 | Incumbent | Democratic Party | ||
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The driving sectors of the regional economy are:agriculture (vegetables,cereals – the famous DOPpotato fromBudrio), breeding (pigs and cattle) and small and medium industry in the food, mechanical,ceramic andelectronics.
In themotor sector, companies such asmotorcycle manufacturing companyDucati, luxurysports cars andSUVs based inSant'Agata BologneseLamborghini (The company is owned by theVolkswagen Group through its subsidiaryAudi), Italianbicycle,scooter andmotorcycle company based inSan Lazzaro di SavenaMalaguti, the italian headquarters ofVolvo,Saab Italia, motorcycle manufacturerMoto Morini (from 1937 to 2014), andbus manufacturerBredaMenarinibus are based here.
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In the metalworking sector there areMalossi,Marzocchi, Paioli,Minarelli, Viro, while in the electronic machinery and automatic machines sector,Saeco,Datalogic, Beghelli, FAAC,IMA, SACMI ,Marchesini.
Among the highly relevant agri-food industries in Bologna we find: in the food sectorGranarolo, Fabbri,Segafredo Zanetti,Montenegro,Valsoia, the Conserve Italia consortium (to which theCirio, Yoga, Valfrutta, Derby Blue and Jolly Colombani), Eridania, Alcisa,Cremino maker Majani,Carpigiani, Cerelia Acqua Minerale, as well as the national offices of the food cooperativesCoop (Italy),Conad and Sigma, SISA andDespar.
In recent years, numerous start-ups in the field of information and communication technologies have been created in the Emilian capital.
Of note are the activities of the Bologna Fair, where international events are organised, the infrastructure of the Bologna Interport for the loading and unloading of goods arriving in containers from the port ofRavenna and the Centergross of Funo, founded in 1977 and a of the major commercial citadels of Europe.
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