Buondì.
It’s raining this morning in Bologna, and when it rains in Bologna, it REALLY rains.
As our automobile (an ancient Fiat Punto) has a broken clutch, Stefi and Bug set off – all dressed up in waterproofs and armed with umbrellas – to catch the bus into the historic center, where Bug spends his time at the petting zoo on weekdays and Stefi runs our Italian language school.
“Never mind” I reassured them from the shelter of our ‘sala’, where I’ll be spending the morning in the warm writing this, “hopefully the bus will come quickly. And then, once you get to the center, you’ll be under the portici.”
Portici – porticoes – are an architectural feature that I was barely aware existed until I came to live in Bologna more than twenty-five years ago. But the Bolognese make a big thing of them, and have been doing so, apparently, since the early middle ages!
Notice the white ‘m’ on a green background logo on our Italian language school website? Sort of like arches? Those are supposed to be ‘portici’, though Bologna’s portici aren’t all arches: they come in a variety of stiles, due to architectural fashions, and budgets, changing over the centuries.
And they are, addirittura, a UNESCO World Heritage Site!
You can read more, and look at pictures of ‘portici’ styles at https://www.bolognawelcome.com/it/informazioni/i-portici-unesco-di-bologna (there’s the option to see the site in English if you really must), but basically we’re talking 62km of covered side walks.
Who would care about covered sidewalks, any more or less than Bologna’s enormous piazza (said to be Itay’s biggest) or second biggest church (after the Vatican)? They would seem, at most, a minor detail.
Apparently, it’s because of the way you can still see many hundreds of years of property development – so different materials and styles, for varying purposes, yet all with the same basic concept – in the same place.
The gist of it is this, as far as I’ve understood: basically, from about 800 years ago (quite a long time in architectural terms) if you were planning to construct a ‘palazzo’ to house your brood and impress your business or political rivals, one way to maximise your return on investment would have been to build the upper floors out over the sitewalk (pavement in British English…)
Why bother? Why not just build straight up, like in every other city?
Because for centuries Bologna was defended from its many enemies by a wall, so space within the perimeter would have been restricted, therefore costly.
You wouldn’t want to put your ‘palazzo’ outside the wall, and so guarantee it will be trashed by passing armies, right? Then you’ll you need to find a plot in the city…
The original reasons for the portici are supposed to be lost in the mists of time, which sounds like nonsense to me.
Were they designed to protect Stefi and Bug from the rain? Or pilgrims from the hot sun? Were they handy spaces for the now extinct silk industry to hang baskets full of bugs? (Who knew Bologna ever had a silk industry…)
Or perhaps they were spaces for penurious students of Bologna’s ancient university (the oldest in Europe, if not in the world) to lay their weary heads after a hard day’s drinking?
Probably, in fact, none of these things.
Likely the porticoes were just a political fix to the problem of shortage of space within the defensive walls.
The Trumps of the early middle ages would have been permitted to expand their Mar-a-lagos out above the narrow streets, just as long as citizens were still able to pass by below. Simple as that, I expect.
If you want to know why something happened, ask an economist. Money is the root cause of a lot of things…
You’d heard of Bologna’s famous towers? There used to be hundreds of them, extending up from street level, high into the sky, with no obvious function other than to declare ‘look how rich and important my constructor is/was’.
Think of Manhattan, also famous for its towers. Due to the shortage of land there, constructing tall buildings was the obvious way to go. The Bolognese had been doing the same for a thousand years, except their aim was prestige, rather than affordable office space.
So anyway, portici, probably a consequence of the well-off extending their living quarters out over the highway, a trend which lasted many hundreds of years, hence the varying architectural styles, and so the UNESCO designation.
Walk around the city and you’ll find grand portici with elegant arches constructed with carved stone, but also the humble portici of the working classes, all wooden beams and plaster. There are even twentieth century portici, both from the fascist period, and in the developments that sprung up after the Second World War in the areas closer to the station, which had been destroyed by allied bombs.
Remember Yossarian, the anti-war anti-hero of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22? I recall that Bologna was one of the targets he was reluctant to risk his life trying to destroy. Fortunately for UNESCO, and for Bologna’s tourism industry, the few remaining towers, and most of the portici survived.
Anyway, anyway, I was walking along under the ‘portici’ in Via Saragozza a couple of weeks ago and noticed this plaque:
As you might be able to make out, it celebrates:
UNESCO Sito del Patrimonio Mondiale
Santa Caterina e Saragozza parte di/part of the porticoes of Bologna
which even the newest students of Italian should be able to figure out, given the context I’ve provided.
Though that heading also gives a hint that there might be issues with the translation, given that in the second line they decided to translate ‘part of’ but not ‘portici’. It’s not very consistent, is it?
I’ve transcribed the Italian original for you here below (don’t worry if you’re not used to reading Italian). Any spelling errors or missed words are my own, as I was touch-typing while peering at a small photo on my smartphone:
I portici di Bologna sono stati iscritti nel 2021 nella lista del patrimonio mondiale istituita dalla convenzione per la tutela del patrimonio mondiale culturale e naturale.
La serie dei portici di Bologna rappresenta in maniera esemplare una tipologia architettonica di antica origine e ampia diffusione, mai abbandonata fino ad oggi, ma in continua evoluzione attraversando precisi periodi storici di trasformazione della città. La serie è stata selezionata nel contesto del più ampio sistema porticato che permea la città storica.
Il sito rappresenta una varietà di tipologie edilizie porticate che caratterizzano le case popolari, le residenze aristocratiche, gli edifici pubblici e religiosi. L’edilizia storica e contemporanea impiegano un’ampia gamma di materiali da costruzione, tecnologie, e stili, come risultato della progressiva espansione e delle trasformazioni della città a partire da XII secolo.
And the English?? You’ll see from the image above, I’ve graffitied out the translation with my digital equivalent of a spray can.
That’s because the translation was SO BAD I’m sure even the weakest club member could do better.
So let’s try!!
Translation competition, yaay!
I may even award a prize to the winner, or to the most enthusiastic entrant, or entrants!
The rules are these:
1.) No AI please. Do it yourself, even just a line or two. Even just part of it. You might learn something.
2.) You may use a dictionary, or dictionaries if you have them, including online ones i.e. Google or WordReference.com. But keep dictionary use to individual words (as is traditional) rather than sentences or the whole text (as per rule 1.) Again, you might learn something.
3.) Post your entry as a comment on this article so that everyone can see it (please don’t email it to me, or I will ignore it). How to do that? View this article on the website, scroll down to the end, complete the comments form, then wait (could be as long as overnight, depending on your time zone) for me to manually approve and publish your comment.
Your email address is required (I have it anyway) but won’t be published. All genuine comments will be published, just not automatically or instantly, so be patient.
Then, in a day or two, I’ll post a transcription of the whited out translation from the photo so you can laugh hysterically at just how awful it is. And select the winner or winners.
If there are no entries, I’ll keep the prize/prizes myself.
If there are, you’ll be able to read them, and post your own:
READ OTHER PEOPLE’S ENTRIES/COMMENTS
Alla prossima settimana!
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This week’s half-price Italian ‘easy reader’ ebook has been chosen because of Saturday 8th March. Find out more about the significance of that date here.
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Suppose you want to improve your understanding of written and spoken Italian, from a basic level up to a point at which you feel confident dealing with real Italian texts and audio recordings.
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L’appuntamento – level A1 
Stefano and Chiara have known each other since they were children but, as they live in different places, have to make arrangements if they want to meet. Today they’ve agreed to see each other. Stefano has something important he wants to ask Chiara…
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Mistero al Circo Garotti – level A1-A2 
The Circo Garotti is the most famous circus in Italy. But lately its owner, Alvise, has been troubled by the disappearance of some of the circus’s performing animals… Can Alvise find out the truth behind these mysterious events?
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La montagna – level A2 
Three friends decide to spend a weekend trekking in the mountains, as they used to do when they were younger…
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Quando suonano alla porta – level A2-B1 
After an evening of wine and streaming TV series, singleton Stefano is asleep on his couch, surrounded by books and pizza boxes. But at five a.m. the doorbell rings…
“Stefano! Stefano apri, ti prego!”
Di chi è questa voce? Chi è che batte con forza alla porta di casa mia?
“Stefano, sono Laura. Per favore, apri, è un’emergenza!”
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La volta buona – level B1 
“In Italia ci sono circa 1.200 canili e rifugi per cani. In queste strutture vivono circa 120.000 cani. In Italia esiste una legge che impedisce il sacrificio dei cani in canile. Però, solo il 30% dei cani abbandonati viene adottato da una nuova famiglia. Il resto passa la vita in una prigione.”
Gigio is overweight and has skinny legs so, unless there’s food on offer, he moves slowly, or not at all. His cellmate, Pablo, is a ‘cane corso’, a large, powerful and intimidating dog. The human, Carola, who brings their meals often tells Gigio, “Pablo è un cane alfa, tu no… Tu sei un pacifista.” It’s just as well, thinks Gigio!
Only the most heartless students of Italian will read Gigio’s entertaining ‘prison diaries’ without wondering whether they’ve space at home for a dog…
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Le vie del cuore – level B1-B2 
In your home town, street names may have been chosen by a city planner hoping to orientate you, by a developer so as to evoke pleasant images in your mind (and so raise real estate prices), or by local leaders to commemorate an important person, place or event. At the very least, they’ll be familiar to you. But in another country? The names of Italy’s piazze, strade and vie can often seem mere strings of hard-to-remember syllables, devoid of any meaning to visitors from afar…
But no! Take a little time and – with the help of this ‘easy reader’ ebook – you’ll soon know as much as any local!
Chi visita più di una città italiana, trova alcuni nomi di vie e piazze molto ricorrenti: sono i nomi di personaggi celebri e importanti, di date significative o di luoghi con un valore storico o sociale. Per esempio, in molte città italiane c’è una “Via Leonardo da Vinci” o una “Piazza Dante Alighieri” in onore del grande genio e del famoso autore della Divina Commedia. Ci sono anche tante “Via Roma” in ricordo della splendida capitale…
E poi ci sono un sacco di nomi ed eventi sconosciuti o quasi. Per esempio: chi diamine era Giuseppe Mazzini? Perché è famoso Enrico Fermi? E cosa è successo il 4 Novembre?! Conoscere i personaggi e i fatti che danno il nome a molte strade e piazze delle città del Bel Paese è un po’ come fare un tuffo nella cultura italiana. Allora, siete pronti a tuffarvi?
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Per colpa di una lettera – level B2 
One morning Albina gets an unexpected visitor – because of a letter!
“Arrivo, arrivo! Che diamine! Un po’ di pazienza!” strilla Albina con voce acuta e civettuola, mentre qualcuno bussa insistentemente alla porta della sua piccola ma elegante casetta a due piani. È convinta che sia uno dei suoi ammiratori che le porta un mazzo di fiori.
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La diaspora italiana – Italiani negli Stati Uniti – level B2/C1 
A ‘diaspora’ is a population that lives somewhere different from their original home, or that of their forebears. Since the late nineteenth century, millions of Italians have emigrated in search of better prospects. By 1980 it was estimated that twenty-five million Italians had made their home outside of Italy, in countries all over the world…
Secondo il censimento del 2010, gli Italo-americani sono 17.250.000 e corrispondono al sesto gruppo etnico più numeroso negli Stati Uniti d’America.
Gli Italo-americani si sono distinti nei più diversi settori della società. Nel campo dell’invenzione, per esempio, ricordiamo Antonio Meucci, il padre del telefono, e la famiglia di origine friulana Jacuzzi, che ha prodotto le famose vasche da bagno.
In ambito sportivo si sono distinti, fra gli altri, il mitico giocatore di baseball Joltin’ Joe (Giuseppe Paolo) di Maggio, sposato per qualche anno con la diva Marilyn Monroe e citato in una famosa canzone di Simon and Garfunkel, e poi il campione dei pesi massimi Rocco Francis Marchegiano, meglio conosciuto come Rocky Marciano, the Brockton Blockbuster.
Anche nel mondo dello spettacolo non mancano cognomi italiani: da Frank Sinatra a Leonardo di Caprio, da John Turturro a Madonna (alias Veronica Ciccone) a Frank Zappa, passando per Robert De Niro, Jake LaMotta, Joe Pesci, Liza Minelli, Al Pacino e Jon Bon Jovi… La lista è lunghissima!
E, infine, un buon numero di italiani di prima, seconda, terza o quarta generazione hanno contribuito a governare il paese. Per esempio, Fiorello La Guardia è stato sindaco di New York negli anni della Grande Depressione.
“Little Flower”, così era chiamato (traduzione letterale del suo nome italiano), ha amministrato con grande onestà ed efficienza la città e ne ha rilanciato l’economia.
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Il miracolo del paese – level C1 
Italia, circa sette anni dopo la Prima Guerra Mondiale e la successiva influenza spagnola, che insieme avevano decimato la popolazione giovane e fertile di Villalba, un piccolo paese nel nord d’Italia
Fuori dalla casa di Luigia c’era un gruppetto di persone che si guardava in attesa. Il marito di Luigia, che stava per diventare padre, mostrava tutta la sua preoccupazione.
“Voi credete che sia normale? Tante ore per…”
Il parroco sbottò, quasi fosse offeso: “Certo che è normale, abbi fede nel Signore, che diamine! Le cose ben fatte son lunghe da farsi!”
Marcello chiese scusa, rammaricato per aver messo in dubbio i piani del buon Dio. Ma in quel momento qualcuno gridò: “È nato, è nato!”
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Tumulto a Firenze – level C1-C2 
The thrill of revolution!
Nel 1378 la situazione sociale, politica ed economica della Repubblica di Firenze è precaria. La città è stata fortemente debilitata dalla Peste del Trecento e da una recente guerra contro lo Stato Pontificio. La nobiltà cittadina e il “popolo grasso” (ricchi banchieri e imprenditori) aumentano dunque la pressione nei confronti dei lavoratori salariati (soprattutto lavoratori della lana).
Nel dialetto toscano, “ciompare” significa battere, colpire, picchiare. Si definivano dunque “Ciompi” i battilana. Vi erano molti tipi di lavoratori di tessuti, e i Ciompi sgrezzavano la lana. Si occupavano solo della fase iniziale e più dura della lavorazione.
Nell’estate del 1378, a fronte di uno scontro tra nobili e corporazioni, anche i poveri salariati si riversano in città. In un primo momento il loro numero e la loro disorganizzazione sono sconcertanti. Presa coscienza della propria superiorità numerica e supportati inizialmente dalle Arti, i lavoratori della lana, detti Ciompi, iniziano a esigere diritti politici.
“Svelto, Luigi, prendi le armi!” mio padre aveva fatto irruzione, tutto trafelato, nel retro della casa. Io e mia sorella Angela, che stavamo battendo la lana, interrompemmo il lavoro.
“Quali armi? Che succede babbo?” chiesi sorpreso.
“Non c’è tempo, ti spiego durante il cammino… tu prendi il coltellaccio, che non si sa mai!” Mi strinse una spalla con la mano. Gli lanciai uno sguardo interrogativo ma obbedii.
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La carriera – dietro le quinte del Palio di Siena – level C2 
“E mancano solo quattro giorni al Palio, la corsa di cavalli più famosa d’Italia!”
sebbene la radio gracchiasse, si distinguevano piuttosto chiaramente le parole dell’esaltato commentatore: “Siena freme e si dipinge dei colori delle contrade, agghindate per la festa. Come ben sapete, cari ascoltatori, tra le dieci contrade che gareggiano vi sono alleanze e rivalità secolari. Per ogni contrada è stato già estratto a sorte un cavallo. I migliori di quest’anno sono il giovane Trifoglio, che è al suo secondo palio e corre per la contrada dell’Istrice, e la veterana Caruccia che vestirà i colori della Lupa. La Lupa e l’Istrice sono due storiche rivali, che fatalità, signori! Se ne vedranno delle belle!”
Follow Il Guercio, the diminutive one-eyed Sardinian jockey, as he’s hired to ride one of the year’s best horses, bareback, in Italy’s most famous urban race, the Siena Palio!
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Daniel says
Welcome to the translation competition!
Daniel Murphy says
I portici di Bologna sono stati iscritti nel 2021 nella lista del patrimonio mondiale istituita dalla convenzione per la tutela del patrimonio mondiale culturale e naturale.
La serie dei portici di Bologna rappresenta in maniera esemplare una tipologia architettonica di antica origine e ampia diffusione, mai abbandonata fino ad oggi, ma in continua evoluzione attraversando precisi periodi storici di trasformazione della città. La serie è stata selezionata nel contesto del più ampio sistema porticato che permea la città storica.
Il sito rappresenta una varietà di tipologie edilizie porticate che caratterizzano le case popolari, le residenze aristocratiche, gli edifici pubblici e religiosi. L’edilizia storica e contemporanea impiegano un’ampia gamma di materiali da costruzione, tecnologie, e stili, come risultato della progressiva espansione e delle trasformazioni della città a partire da XII secolo.
Bologna’s gates were recognised as of historical importance in 2021, when they were placed on the world register of significant cultural and natural artefacts. The gates are an excellent example of a widely spread antique architectural style,, now no longer used, but which evolved alongside the historic transformation of the city, and were selected as the most extensive gateway system of the old city,.
They exemplify a type of gateway which is characteristic of the houses iof ordinary people the residences of the aristocracy, and of public and religious buildings, employing a wide range of construction materials, technologies and styles, resulting from the steady expansion and tranformation of the city from the beginning of the 12th century.
Daniel says
Thanks for the first entry, Daniel.
Ebrar says
Hi there!
Below is my attempted translation. I only used wordreference for single words and the phrase “casa popolare”.
“The porticoes of Bologna are registered in 2021 in the list of world heritage under the agreement of protection of world’s cultural and natural heritage.
The series of porticoes of Bologna depicts an example style of an ancient, wide-spread architecture type, never abandoned until today, but experiences continuous change in
certain historical periods in the transformation of the city. The series is selected [to the list]in the context of the most broad-system portico that spreads across the historical city.
The site showcases a variety of typical portico buildings that characterizes as housing projects, the residences of the aristocrats, public and religious buildings.
Historical building and contemporary take of a wide range of construction materials, technology and style resulted in the progression of the expansion and the transformation of the city from 12th century onwards.”
Greetings from Turkey!
Daniel says
Hoş geldiniz, Ebrar. You could have translated into Turkish if you’d prefered…
Peter Sheehan says
The porticoes of Bologna were inscribed in 2021 on the World Heritage List established by the Convention for the Protection of Cultural and Natural World Heritage.
The group of porticoes of Bologna represents in an exemplary manner an architectural typology that is both widespread and ancient in origin, and that has continued to evolve through to the present day during specific historical periods in the development of the city. The group was selected based on the wide range of porticoes which runs through the historic city.
The site presents a variety of portico building typologies that characterize private houses, aristocratic residences and public and religious buildings. Historic and contemporary buildings employ a wide range of building materials, technologies and styles that have been produced by the progressive expansion and transformations of the city from the twelfth century (CE) onwards.
Kathy Simpson says
Harder than it looks!
The Bologna porticoes were named as a world heritage site in 2021. These porticoes demonstrate exemplary architecture of ancient origin and of wide (diffusione?), being in constant use to the present day, but the use has continued to evolve to reflect the history of the city around it. They were selected as the widest portico example in the historic part of the city.
The site represents a variety of portico constructs that characterise the popular houses, aristocratic residences, public buildings and religious buildings. Both the historic construction and the contemporary one employ a wide range of construction materials, technologies and styles that resulted in an progressive expansion and transformation of the city at the end of the 12th Century.
Daniel says
“Harder than it looks!” indeed, but translation usually is. It’s also underappreciated…
Niall Finn says
Hi all, Here is my offering ( no AI, no dictionaries)
In 2021, Bologna’s porticoes were inscribed in the World Heritage List established by the convention for the conservation of the world’s cultural and natural heritage. Bologna’s series of porticoes are an exemplary illustration of an ancient and still practiced architectural approach that underwent continual modification during specific historical periods of change in the city. The series was selected to reflect the widest possible range of the porticoes to be found throughout the historic heart of the city. The site includes a variety of forms of porticoes associated with citizens’ homes and residences of the aristocracy, as well as public and religious buildings. Past and contemporary buildings drew on a broad range of construction materials, technologies and styles as the city expanded and changed from the 12th century onwards.
Niall, Crete
Daniel says
Do you know Greek, too, Niall??
Linda says
Couldn’t resist having a go at this, as I had the opportunity to admire Bologna’s porticoes just last month 🙂
Here goes:
Bologna’s porticoes were inscribed in 2021 on the World Heritage List set up by the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The series of porticoes in Bologna represents in exemplary fashion a widely disseminated architectural category that has its origins in antiquity, but has never yet been abandoned, and has continued to evolve throughout the specific historical periods of the city’s transformation. The series was selected as representative of the more extensive portico system that is found throughout the old city.
The site represents a variety of colonnaded building styles, which include ordinary houses, aristocratic residences, and public and religious buildings. Construction processes, whether ancient or modern, employ a wide range of building materials, technologies, and styles, as a result of the progressive expansion and various transformations the city has undergone from the 12th century onwards.
JohnFairlamb says
The porticoes of Bologna are on the list of World Heritage institute for the protection of Cultural and Natural heritage. The series of porticoes of Bologna represent examples of typical architecture from original antiquity (I would not put those words together in normal discourse so that is probably wrong) a wide diverse and abandoned until today, that have evolved through historical periods of the transforming city. The series (of porticoes ) were selected in a contest of aa much wider system of porticoes for the history of the city.
The site represents a variety of typical porticoed buildings characteristic of popular houses, aristocratic residences and public and religious buildings. Historical and Contemporary buildings that range in construction materials, technology and styles with the result of the transformation of the city from the 12th Century.
Irene Newton says
The arcades of Bologna were added in 2021 to the list of natural and cultural sites of the World Heritage Institute. The range of arcades show important examples typical of antique and other architecture still in use up to today which have continuously evolved through precise historical periods as the city has developed.
The range shown was selected from the many arcades that exist in this historic city . They represent arcaded building’s characteristic of ordinary houses, aristocratic residences , public and religious buildings..
The historic and contemporary constructions have used a wide range of materials, technology and styles derived from the gradual expansion and transformation of the city from the 12th centuryonwards
Mayken says
I’m giving this challenge a try. English isn’t my native language, and I tried to stick close to the original (and didn’t just put “UNESCO Wolrd Heritage List” when the original doesn’t say so):
The porticoes of Bologna were inscribed in 2021 on the list of world heritage set up by the convention for the protection of cultural and natural world heritage.
The series of porticoes in Bologna represents in an exemplary manner an architectural type that dates back to Antiquity and has been widely used, never abandoned until today, but that has undergone constant evolution traversing historic periods during the transformation of the city. The series was chosen in a context of the widest portico system throughout the historic city.
The site represents a variety of types of portico construction that are characteristic of working-class houses, aristocratic residences, public and religious buildings. The historic and contemporary constructions use a wide range of construction materials, technologies, and styles, as a result of the progressive expansion and transformations of the city starting in the 12th century.
Daniel says
Feel free to translate into your native language if you prefer, Mayken!!
Karel Rasovsky says
This was a fun idea! I am only learning itallan for 5 weeks now, so don’t have the context of all the past tenses and such. But I am surprised how much our minds can extract from context and similarities among languages (English and others in my case). I tried a quick 5-min version first with lots of guessing and deduction. Then this more precise version with the help of dictionaries. No time to polish this more, here it is. Honestly, my first quick-and-dirty version would probably be more appreciated (and understood) by the casual tourist reading this sign. Versus the more word for word translation of the original uber-academic italian original 🙂
Of course, this is still only a passive understanding of the Italian language. Still, encouraging me to keep working toward the next level of active mastery. If I could only move to Italy for the next three months 🙂
A presto.
In 2021, the portici of Bologna were registered on the list of national heritage institutionalized by the convention for the protection of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
The series on portici of Bologa is an exemplary representation of an architectural type with ancient origins and of wide variety, never abandoned till today, but in continuous evolution that spans specific historic periods in the city’s transformations. The series has been selected in the context of the larger portico system that permeates the historic city.
The site represents a variety of portico building types that are characteristic of residential houses, residences of aristocrats, public and religious buildings. The historical and contemporary buildings employ a wide range of construction materials, technologies, and styles, a result of progressive expansion and transformation of the city since the 12th century.
Ken Lever says
The porticoes of Bologna were registered in 2021 on the World Heritage List established by the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The collection of porticoes of Bologna represents in an exemplary way an architectural codification of ancient origin and wide diffusion, never abandoned even today, but in continuous evolution transcending precise historical periods of transformation of the city. The collection was selected in the context of the larger porticoed system that permeates the historic city. The site represents a variety of porticoed building types that characterise community housing, aristocratic residences, public and religious buildings. Historic and contemporary buildings employ a wide range of building materials, technologies, and styles, resulting from the progressive expansion and from the transformation of the city since the twelfth century.
Sieglind says
In 2021 UNESCO entered the Arcades of Bologna in its register of culturally significant sights. The Arcades of Bologna represent many examples of antique architecture. Building of Arcades continued through the centuries and continues to this day, hence they demonstrate the evolution of architecture and the city.
The type of construction identifies homes of ordinary people, dwellings of aristocrats, as well as public building and religious buildings. Many different construction materials, building technologies and styles were used, resulting in the progressive expansion and transformation of the city since its beginning in the 12th century.
Lisa Draper says
I’ll give it a go (but it sure sounds clunky):
The porticoes of Bologna were registered in 2021 on the World Heritage list for the protection of world heritage cultural and natural sites. The series of Bologna porticoes represent in an exemplary manner the typical architecture of widespread and ancient origin, never abandoned to today, but continues the evolution crossing precise historical transformational periods of the city.
The series were selected from a contest of system wide porticoes that permeate the historical city.
The site represents a variety of typical building porticoes that characterize popular houses, aristocratic residences, and public and religious buildings.
The historical and contemporary buildings were built with a wide range of construction materials, technologies, and styles, resulting in the progressive expansion and transformation of the city starting from the 12th century.
Emma says
Way harder than I thought, and I’m sure this isn’t the best translation, but it can’t be any worse than the one provided on the plaque! Haha!
The porticoes of Bologna were inscribed in 2021 on the List of World Heritage formed by the convention for the protection of Cultural and Natural World Heritage.
The series of porticoes in Bologna shows (demonstrates? exemplifies?) a type of architecture originating from ancient [times] and has been spread widely, which has never been abandoned up to today but has continuously evolved through specific historical periods of transformation in the city. The series was selected among the broader system of porticoes that exists in this ancient city.
The site represents a variety of porticoed (is that even a word…?) building types that characterize working-class (middle-class) houses, residents of aristocracy, public establishments, and religious building. Both the historic and the contemporary architecture use a wide range of construction materials, technologies, and styles, due to the progressive expansion and the transformations of the ancient city since the 12th century.
Thank you so much for this opportunity; it was so fun to practice my Italian!!!
Lillias Urban says
I really enjoyed visiting Bologna and admiring the porticoes so could not resist this. So my attempt:
In 2021 Bologna’s porticoes were given United Nations World Heritage Listing for Cultural and Natural Significance. Bologna’s series of porticoes represent examples of a type of architecture of antique origin and wide distribution never abandoned even today, but in continuous evolution across clear historical periods of the city’s transformation. The series was selected in the context of the most widespread system permeating the historic city. The site represents a variety of portico construction types that characterise working class houses, aristocratic residences, public and religious building historic and contemporary. They employ a wide range of materials of construction, techniques and styles as the result of the gradual expansion and transformation of the city starting from the 12th century
Patricia says
More difficult than I thought it would be!
In 2021 Bologna’s arcades were added to the list of World Heritage Sites which was set up by the Convention for the protection of world cultural and natural sites. Bologna’s range of arcades shows in a very special way a type of architecture which is ancient and widespread. The style has never been abandoned, but has constantly evolved during particular periods in the transformation of the city.
….
There is a wide variety of typical porticoed buildings: homes of ordinary people, residences of aristocrats, public and religious structures. The historic and contemporary buildings both use a full range of materials, technologies and styles, the result of the on-going expansion and transformation of the city right from the 12th century.
Lynne F says
Loved this article Daniel, bringing back lovely memories of my trips to Bologna.. I portici are practical, having been in Bologna in the summer heat and on a very wet December day, they provided great protection. Their practicality does not detract from their beauty, and it is worth stopping to look up at the ceilings to appreciate. them. Time to be planning another trip !
Only just read the article, so will resist translating as several others have already done so. Just one of those weeks when life gets in the way , in a nice way though. The big building project on our house has begun and a grandchild due imminently.
Susie Q says
This was hard! There were lots of words I didn’t know and had to look up in my dictionary. However, I also looked up some words that I knew to try and get a broader meaning for a better context. A great learning exercise!
The porticoes of Bologna were registered in 2021 on the World Heritage List, a convention established for the preservation of cultural and natural world heritage. The Santa Caterina e Saragozza series of porticoes in Bologna represent in an exemplary manner a type of architecture of ancient origins and wide application, never abandoned even up to today, but in continuous evolution, precisely spanning historic periods of change in the city.
This series was selected in the context of more widespread networks of porticoes that permeate the historic city. The site represents a variety of typical porticoes that characterise working class houses, aristocratic residences, and public and religious buildings. The historic construction and contemporary use of a broad range of construction materials, technologies and styles, resulted in the progressive expansion and transformation of the city as it was in the 12th century.