The Porticoes of Bologna

Bologna can be crossed almost entirely under cover. Some 62 kilometres of porticoes shade its streets — arcades begun in the Middle Ages in wood, continued in stone and brick, and reinvented in twentieth-century concrete out in the Barca district. Twelve representative stretches earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021, honouring an urban device that turned private frontage into public shelter and gave the city its sociable, sheltered rhythm.