Bologna is a lively university city in northern Italy, known for its deep red architecture, miles of covered porticoes, and a food culture that has shaped Italian cuisine well beyond its borders. Home to the oldest university in the Western world, it balances academic life with a distinctly local rhythm, from busy markets to late-night piazzas. The city’s medieval towers, including the leaning Asinelli and Garisenda, rise above a historic center that feels both well preserved and thoroughly lived in, while dishes such as tagliatelle al ragù and tortellini in brodo anchor Bologna’s reputation as Italy’s culinary capital. I visited Bologna a few months ago. If you’re also planning to…