The portico of St. Luke, with its 3,796 meters long, seems to be the longest porch in the world. The arcades of Bologna are an important architectural and cultural heritage for the city and are a symbol along with numerous towers. There is not another city in the world that has as many porches Bologna: all together arcades measured in length more than 38 km just in the historical center, reaching 53 km counting those outside the city. Because of their artistic and cultural significance, the arcades of Bologna are a cultural Italian candidate as a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO. The porches were born in the late Middle Ages to stand up to the strong increase of the population, mainly due to the arrival of students and scholars at the University of Bologna, but also the migration from the countryside. The need to increase the living spaces led at first to increase airspace extending the upper floors of the houses with the creation of the jetties in the wood supported by the extension of the supporting beams of the floor and - in case of strong projection - from shelves called "Beccadelli ". By the time the jetties increased in size, and it was necessary to build support columns from the bottom because it collapsed, and was thus created the arcades. Born in an almost spontaneous, the arcades were offering shelter from the weather and sun, allowing you to travel the roads in all weather conditions. Furthermore, were also a means for the expansion of commercial activities and crafts, and made it better habitable ground floors, isolating them from dirt and sewage in the streets. The massive expansion of the arcades occurred since 1288, when a notice of the City stated that all new homes must be built with the porch, while the existing ones that were lacking were required to add, to the owner leaving the burden of maintenance, but ensuring the City public use of the soil. The notice specified that these had to be at least seven feet tall Bolognese (2.66 meters) wide and equally, to allow the transit of a man on horseback. These guidelines, however, were not observed in the poorest areas, where the arcades were built with much lower heights. The statutes of 1352 imposed a height and a depth of 10 feet (3.60 meters) for new buildings. In principle the arcades were made of wood, then, following a decree issued March 26, 1568 by the papal governor Msgr. Giovanni Battista Doria and Gonfaloniere Camillo Paleotti, were converted brick or stone. Despite that still survive in the city some buildings with wooden porch, some dating back to medieval times, other restored at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the second half of the sixteenth century appeared some of the most important-arcades loggia of Bologna: the porch supports and hides the church of St. Bartholomew and St. Gaetano in the street Major, by Andrea da Formigine, the loggia of the Palazzo del Monte in via Galliera. Some noble families of the city, however, wanted to stand out and follow the so-called "Roman fashion" and therefore asked the pantry to avoid building their homes with porch. This is why in Bologna Renaissance palaces were built without porch, such as palaces Davia-Bargellini, Fantuzzi, Bevilacqua, Bentivoglio. A famous example is House Islanders in Strada Maggiore. The portico, supported by high wooden beams (about 9 meters) was built around 1250. It is one of the few surviving examples of civil construction Bolognese thirteenth century and is Romanesque - Gothic. The beams are oak and support the projection of the third floor of the building. Other examples of medieval wooden porches are those of the house and the houses opposite Grassi in via Marsala, home Azzoguidi in via San Niccolò and home Ramponesi Via del Carro. The Renaissance leaves Bologna various examples of architecture of the time, such as the side porch of the church of San Giacomo Maggiore in via Zamboni, the palace Bolognini-Islanders and houses Beccadelli in Piazza Santo Stefano, the arches decorated with floral palace Podesta and the high porch "of Bastardini" in via D'Azeglio, so called because it was located under his times, until 1797, the orphanage in the city.

• published: 08 Apr 2015
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