When I first discovered Bologna, I researched for information through Google search as well as Amazon for travel books.  At the time there was not too much out there other than the tourism sites for Emilia Romagna and Bologna Welcome.  Often links in these sites would take me to pages in Italian that I was able to limp through. A number of the travel books were out of date or limited in scope. I realized that this was an area that could use more attention and thus my idea to develop information for traveling to this area and provide itineraries of what to see and where to stay. For solo travelers like myself, especially mature women, it was a great area to immerse yourself in many areas all through the ease of train travel.

Hotels were limited and filled up rapidly with the fair attendees that swell the city at certain times each year.  There were only several B&B’s and at the time Airbnb was just taking root and not much was listed for this area.

Part of the appeal of the city was that it was not overrun with tourists and thus you could experience restaurants without the tourist menu and you did need to know some basic Italian to get by. People I talked to asked why I was there and that they did not get many of the tourists other areas in Italy did and would like to have that visibility to improve their business, but not like Florence of course!

Four seasons later and that has all changed.  There are a number of people blogging about Bologna, both Americans living here and natives who want to share their love of the city and provide tour services.

The morning markets are crowded not just with shoppers but with tour guides leading groups through the narrow alleyways, preventing local shoppers from choosing their day’s meal. I have heard locals muttering about all these tourists clogging the streets.  Cooking classes of many types are now offered as well as city and food tours. B&B’s have blossomed and dot the city. Airbnb has a strong presence in Bologna with either rooms for students and low-budget travelers or apartments for rent.

Just in the past few weeks, major newspapers have touted Bologna in their travel features.  In the New York Times it was their 36 Hours feature with a great video to accompany the article. The Guardian featured Bologna in their Insider’s Cultural Guides. I have noticed a number of British and German visitors here and have been told the area is popular with people from the Netherlands as well.

My friends were all sending me the links to the articles and saying-“did you see this- Bologna is big time”!

Milan is the host of a  World Expo on Feeding the Planet and big advertising money went into touting the ease of traveling to Bologna and the other famous food areas of Emilia-Romagna. New high speeds trains whisk you quickly from Milan to Bologna in an hour. Promotions tell the benefits of using Bologna as a base to travel to other cities as well now that Florence can be reached in 35 minutes and Venice in an hour. With the Expo food based, encouraging people to continue in this vein and visit the region famous for Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, balsamico, tortelloni, and mortadella was a great sell.

Bologna for its part decided to repave the major avenues around the most famous visitor attractions. All around the Piazza Maggiore and the Due Torri are fences surrounding the construction blocking those great photo ops.

While dining out you are treated to the blasting and pounding noises as new paving blocks are laid, complete with dust and forklift trucks going by. The major bus and taxi routes have been rerouted causing people to walk further distances with their luggage through this upheaval.  I have heard some locals say it needed to be done now as the roads were so bad.  Others have said, why do it now with all the new tourists coming to the city?  Is this a way to welcome them and will they return? I found myself surprised at the extent of the work and that all the major roads to the city center were blocked to most traffic and that this work was not done in phases.

But don’t worry Bologna, there was just an article posted about the alliance with the tourism boards of the area and Ryanair to add more routes to several major European cities such as Copenhagen and Berlin. In addition there  will be major advertising in Europe including over seventy panels in the Liverpool train station and Copenhagen will be the recipient of a Bologna pop-up food truck next spring.

But be careful what you wish for.  The charm of places like Bologna is that you can still experience Italy as a vibrant city full of students and locals enjoying what the city has to offer. Once you open the floodgates, it is hard to put them back and stem the flow of tourists.

I know what can happen to an area known for its natural beauty when the local tourist boards increase publicity to draw more tourists to the area.  Bar Harbor, where I lived and famous for Acadia National Park, now has over 130 cruise ships disgorging 1000’s of people onto the small town, causing closures in some park roads and supporting some shops that close once the season ends.

I hope that as Umbria became the next Tuscany, that Bologna does not become the next Florence of food instead of art. It would be a shame to lose what qualities have attracted people to come here in the past- friendly people, great food, ease of travel and and a true sense of Italy. Friendly natives can get cranky when overwhelmed with demanding tourists.