Many
pass by Bologna without stopping because they don't know that inside
the circular wall marked by twelve ancient gateways, extends an almost
circular form of the largest town center of the Italian medieval epoch.
The
image of Bologna was already established at the end of the XIV century
and not much had changed significantly until the middle of the XIX century.
The major development of the city came in the XIII century; at the time
Bologna estimated about 50,000 inhabitants and belonged to one of the
six largest cities in Europe.
In
the middle of the XIV century, Bologna - built at the time without following
a precise plan - acquired, by means of new town planning rules, features
that are distinguishable even today: all the houses, even the oldest,
had to be equipped with a portico at least 2.7 meters in height in a
way that one could pass through easily on horseback.
