Bologna in summer: what to do and where to spend your nights

Summer in Bologna is like a chocolate box, sorry Forrest. Rich and tasty, but ends always too soon.

Here's my guide to the best places to enjoy summer and never miss any crumb of it.

With a Spritz, Between the Trees: Aperitivo Places

You've drunk all the water from the Neptune fountain.
Jump between the shadows of the porticos.
Spend a full day through crypts and ice caves (yes, we have a lot of them).

But it's hot, still.

Summer in Bologna can be very hot.
The good news is that you can find an escape in the green.

• Giardini Margherita is our Hyde Park.
  People jog in the evening, a small lake and a light, unexpected breeze.
  Since 2014 it has also hosted my favourite place to spend summer nightlife in Bologna.
  
  Le Serre dei Giardini Margherita are former greenhouses brought back to life.
  Photos hardly describe the atmosphere of this place. Enjoy one of the best aperitivo in Bologna, listen to live music, or just relax between rosemary and thyme.
  
  Info
  Via Castiglione, 134, 40136 Bologna
  Tel. +39 370 333 6439
  leserre.kilowatt.bo.it
  
• Since 2020, there's space for something new.
  Borgo Mameli brings to life a former nineteenth-century barracks. In an intimate courtyard in Porta San Felice, it's a new space for live music, interesting events and good food and craft beers.
  
  Info
  Piazza di Porta S. Felice, 3, 40122
  Tel. +39 370 151 2014
  borgomameli.it
  
• Another great place is Campo di Fave.
  Relax with a view of the hills while tasting tigelle and craft beer.
  You'd need a car or (better) an electric bike to go up there, but you won't regret it.
  
  Info
  Via della Cavriola, 16, 40135 Bologna BO
  Tel. +39 351 773 3262
  ilcampodifave.it
  
• Not exactly a place for aperitivo, but once you've tried Scaccomatto agli Orti then it's hard to not talk about it.
  An oasis of peace and harmony hidden behind a gate.
  A secret vegetable garden where you can have dinner under fig trees.
  A chef, Mario Ferrara, greets you with a smile and surprises you with his dishes.
  
  Info
  Via della Braina 7, 40124 Bologna
  Tel. +39 051 263404
  www.ristorantescaccomatto.com

The Light of the Screen, a Ceiling of Stars: Bologna open-air Cinema and Theatres

When I was 8, I used to wait for the new collection of Panini soccer stickers.
When I was 20, for the new Radiohead album.
Now, for both of them still, but also for the program of Sotto le Stelle del Cinema.

• From mid-June to September, Piazza Maggiore becomes a cinema.
  The best cinema I've ever seen.
  
  First Cinema Ritrovato Festival brings back to life old masterpieces, restored by the lab of Cineteca di Bologna.
  
  Then Sotto le stelle del cinema enlightens the biggest screen in Europe with old Italian movies, the hidden gems you've missed in the last season, and some unique events like silent movies with an orchestra.
  All movies are in the original language, with English subtitles if Italian.
  
• If you speak a bit of Italian, or you'd like to learn it, Arena Puccini is another open-air theatre to consider.
  Not only because of the selection of movies, but mostly last season's highlights.
  The park around it called DLF (former after-work railway area) now hosts beach-volley playing fields, a nice restaurant and the great pizza of Pizzartist.
  
  Info
  Mid-June - first days of Sept
  Via Sebastiano Serlio, 25/2, 40128 Bologna
  www.cinetecadibologna.it

• Last but not least, Piazza San Francesco becomes a theatre stage. During the weekend from June 4th, with guests like Daniel Pennac, Oblivion and more.

Under the Stage, with your Dancing Shoes: Live Music and Clubs

Live music in Bologna is a big thing.

Name a rock star, a pop idol, or a jazz master and you can be sure he made a walk under the porticoes.

• The place of summer is Dumbo: concerts, playgrounds, street art, exhibitions, or (why not) just a beer.
  
  Info
  Via Camillo Casarini, 19, 40131 Bologna
  Tel. +39 051 049 3742
  dumbospace.it
  
• Jazz lovers, we don't forget about you.
  Via Mascarella, the street of jazz, closes for pedestrians in summer and becomes a living room.
  
  During the Salotto del Jazz Festival, hosted by Cantina Bentivoglio and Bravo Caffè, Moustache and Cinema Odeon, you can relax with a glass of wine and a dish tagliatelle al ragù while the brushes are drumming.
  
  Info
  
  Bravo Caffè
  Via Mascarella 1, 40126 Bologna
  Tel. 051 266112
  www.bravocaffe.it
  
  Cantina Bentivoglio
  Via Mascarella 4/b, 40126 Bologna
  Tel. 051 265416
  ​www.cantinabentivoglio.it