Bologna città della musica
Bologna the Creative City

General criteria

Political and financial support

The city of Bologna can count on the support of many heterogeneous realities which operate in the field of music, from the century-old Accademia Filarmonica (Philharmonic Academy), to the recording studios, to the cultural Associations which, involving all the local stakeholders – from the activities linked to cultural tourism (hotels, restaurants, museums) to the managing of transport, up to public bodies – organise every year festivals and seasons of international relevance. The national government supports cultural activities linked to the world of the show business through the “Fondo Unico per lo Spettacolo” (FUS: Exclusive Fund for the Show Business) and the resources coming from the draws of the Lotto game (lottery)1. In the following charts2 you can see how the FUS State funds are divided up among the various show sectors and how they are spread on the national territory: the funds assigned to musical activities and to opera foundations account for over 60% of the total financing at the national level.

Table 1: Fus Allocations for 2004 in favour of the Show Business sectors on the national territory

Sectors	%	Euro
Opera Foundations	47,8%	239.055.000
Cinema	18%	90.000.000
Theatre and prose	16,7%	83.400.000
Musical Activities	14%	70.350.000
Dancing	1,8%	8.700.000
Circus activities and touring shows	1,5%	7.583.000
Other	0,2%	912.000
Total financing to the show business sector	100%	500.000.000

Table 2: State funds for the operators of the Music sector in the Emilia-Romagna Region (2004)

Sectors	%	Euro
Opera and Orchestral Foundations	60,70%	16.048.785
Traditional theatres	19,60%	5.164.000
Ordinary Opera	2,10%	550. 000
Concert and orchestra institutions	8,90%	2.365.000
Concert and choir activities	2,50%	640 000
Courses	0,45%	121.000
Competitions	0,06%	17.000
Promotional activity	0,07%	20.000
Festivals	4,11%	1.095.000
Bands	0,23%	61.399
Activities abroad	1,28%	339.500
Total	100%	26.421.684

The support and the promotion of musical activities in the city of Bologna are regulated by the regional law concerning show business No. 86/1999 of the Emilia-Romagna Region, of which Bologna is the capital.

This law sets out the targets for production, mobility and training of the public, thanks to incentives for collaboration among public bodies, mixed participation bodies and private stakeholders. The local body, besides collaborating with the Region in order to set out the (usually three-year) programme of the shows, has also other functions, such as linking show activities, politics aiming at promoting the cultural and artistic heritage and social policies, the supply of theatre services, the arrangement and qualification of premises and equipment for show activities, the promotion of the culture of music of bands and choirs.

Private financing represents another source.
In this case the sums are donated mostly by big firms dealing in the banking, insurance and communication fields, and assigned especially to those activities that offer a bigger image exposure and therefore guarantee a relevant economic advantage thanks to the visibility granted by these initiatives.

In spite of the fact that the economic system of the city has deeply changed in the last years, shifting in a very short time from a mainly industrial economy to a system based on the high-tech service industry, the city has managed to keep the connection between its cultural activities and the key sectors of the local economy active.

In 2004 more than 80 donations, for a total of 904.000 euros, were made in the Emilia-Romagna Region, of which Bologna is the capital.

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Tradition in the chosen sector

The City of Bologna boasts an extraordinary musical tradition, not only for the role of the Accademia, but in particular thanks to the activity of the Teatro Comunale (Municipal Theatre), which was inaugurated in 1763. Situated in the centre of the city life, not far from the University, from Palazzo d'Accursio - the City Hall, and from the Convento di San Giacomo (Saint James Monastery) – which houses Father Martini’s Conservatory and musical Library – the Municipal Theatre has given way to an opera tradition within everybody’s reach, which with the passing of time has become a historic heritage of the city of Bologna.

Tradition and music meet moreover in the inns, which represented the nerve centre of the social life of Bologna and from which the renowned song-writing tradition of Bologna originates. It was there, in fact, that people went to have a chat, drink a glass of good wine or play cards. Usually these places were characterised by a dark and smoky atmosphere, wooden tables and benches and had a rather limited offer of products: most of the time the choice was limited to two types of wine, a white and a red one, both strictly produced by the innkeeper. Anyhow, whatever the offer was, what really mattered was the participation of the people.

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Environment and contemporary creation

Bologna is the residence of many among the most important intellectuals and artists of the Italian cultural scene, one of the most active and lively cities in Europe.

The university environment, the presence of prestigious research centres and the cultural variety of its inhabitants, stimulate new and original artistic solutions and create a fertile and dynamic intellectual environment.

In the music field, the production of Bologna finds its prestigious roots in the Accademia and in the historical tradition, that has always made Bologna a city of composers and not of interpreters.

Bologna is art, culture, tradition, museums, villas, palazzos, squares, churches, abbeys, arcades and towers; it is also modernity and innovation, the throbbing heart of national economy, with trade marks that have become famous in the whole world: Ferrari, Ducati, Lamborghini and Maserati in the motor sector, Borbonese, Magli, Les Copains, La Perla in the fashion field; it is moreover the city of tastes, queen of good food, of pasta made with eggs and rolled out by hand, of tortellini (ring-shaped pasta parcel with a savoury filling), of lasagne with mixed meat sauce and of mortadella (bologna sausage). And more, it is the city of business: it boasts one of the main trade exhibition centres in Europe, extremely rational in the distribution of spaces and services and located in a strategic position: 2,5 kilometres away form the historic centre, 4 from the airport and 2 from the train station.

The city enjoys a deserved worldwide reputation and its nicknames are the symbol of it. Bologna is “la Dotta (the Learned)”, because of its famous Alma Mater Studiorum University, the first in the world. The city has always respected the pragmatic and free spirit of its “Study”, welcoming within its walls students from all around Europe, fully respecting everybody’s freedom. This is how Bologna became the city visited by the big names of European culture: Dante and Petrarca, the archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, Copernicus, Erasmus from Rotterdam, Paracelsus and Torquato Tasso. Furthermore, the city gave birth to Giosuè Carducci, Giorgio Morandi, Luigi Galvani, Guglielmo Marconi and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Bologna is “la Rossa” (the Red) because of the unmistakable terracotta red colour of its palazzos that, made even brighter by the light of the sun, plunges the city in a surreal atmosphere. Bologna is “la Grassa” (the Fat), because of its particularly fertile lands. And Bologna eventually also became the cradle of the gastronomy of the Emilia area, famous in the whole world for its culinary specialities.

Today, besides being the city of residence of the most famous Italian writer, Umberto Eco, and of other famous intellectuals such as Stefano Benni, it is the city of many world-famous musicians, songwriters and jazz players.

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Existing industry and infrastructures

Bologna is one of the most industrialised cities of Northern Europe, thanks also to its strategic position, which makes it an obligatory crossroads for goods and people. The international airport has recently been opened to intercontinental routes and counts around 3.7 million passengers every year. Bologna is the city of small and medium-sized enterprises and of crafts, oriented towards international markets and the export of its products. Even the artistic and cultural programming of Bologna, and in particular the musical one, can be compared only to the most important European capitals, such as London, Berlin and Paris.

There are many infrastructures for tourism, from the welcoming tradition of inns and hotels, to the restaurants and B&Bs that have developed with time, thanks also to Bologna Trade Fair, which is among the first in Europe and welcomes every year around 27 exhibitions, 22 of which have an international resonance.

The history of the Trade Fair is interesting and curious, as it boasts also the first exhibition concerning Music. It was opened in 1888 with three exhibits on Music, Industry, Agriculture, and Fine Arts, an event of national resonance, that was visited by king Umberto I and Margaret of Savoy, the then Prime Minister Francesco Crispi and the mayors of the main cities. In order to give a stable management to the exposition activities, in 1947 the Ente Autonomo delle Fiere (Self-governing Body of the Trade Expositions) of Bologna was created.

Today’s trade fair district was built in the Sixties. In 1980 the Body enhances the fusion between public and private actors, increasing the number of its members. The relation with the city is strengthened also from the urban point of view thanks to the creation of the Fiera District (Trade Fair District), the famous direction centre designed by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. Modularity and efficiency mark the structure of a trade fair district, whose international vocation is traceable even in the new company name of the Trade Exposition of 1994: 'Fiere Internazionali di Bologna' (International Trade Fairs of Bologna).

Bolognafiere consolidates its internationalising strategy, developing an international branch of events in the most important sectors in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America thanks to the joint venture “Fairsystem”.

In 2002 the transformation of the Exposition Body in BolognaFiere SpA (Public Limited Company) enabled a greater agility in turning to the private capital market and favoured the availability of more suitable instruments in order to define alliances and collaborations with strategic partners. With its international perspective and the high level of sector specialisation, it has transferred its organising know-how to the main world markets, from Europe to the Middle East, from Asia to South America.

As far as art and culture are concerned, BolognaFiere is the international point of reference for contemporary art, publishing for children and everything regarding school, education and teaching.

Bologna is furthermore the heart of the Emilia-Romagna Region, one of the most developed regions from an economic point of view in Europe: a real European crossroads. It is located at the junction of the main motorway system of Northern Italy (A1, A13, and A14) and, therefore, it is directly connected with the whole European motorway network. Moreover, the city is served by the most important Italian railway line and, thanks to the number and frequency of trains, it is directly connected with the main Italian and European cities.

Lastly, Bologna has the international airport “G. Marconi”, that offers daily national, international and intercontinental flights, connecting the city with all the most important Italian, European and world destinations. It has been recently enlarged and renovated and it is only 7 kilometres away from the centre of the city.

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International profile and outlook

The city of Bologna offers a vast network of international relations, at political and social level.

The sole City Council of Bologna carries out a rich political activity with other countries abroad, thanks to around 30 projects, co-financed every year by the European Commission, to the membership in the network and working groups of “EUROCITIES”, an association of European cities1, to 14 twinnings with cities worldwide2 and to the activities concerning cooperation for development. Besides these contacts, there are also the international relations of the Province of Bologna and of the Emilia-Romagna Region, that runs offices in Brussels, Belgrade and Jerusalem.

Also the international relations of the University of Bologna offer an intense network of solid contacts, such as the presence of the Johns Hopkins University, of the Royal College of Spain and of the very recent College of China, the first in Italy.

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Educational activities

Bologna is the seat of the most ancient University of the world (1088) and during the years it has developed a very wide offer as far as educational activities are concerned, both formal and informal.

In the field of state music education, the City boasts one of the oldest and most prestigious Conservatories in Italy, the Giovan Battista Martini Conservatory, where, besides traditional courses, there are also completely innovative departments, such as those dedicated to multimedia music or jazz.

The University of Bologna was the first to establish an Art, Music and Show Department (DAMS, Dipartimento di Arte, Musica e Spettacolo) in 1971 on the initiative of Prof. Benedetto Marzullo. It started with just 130 first-year students and now it counts over 7000 students.

A very active role in the educational field is played also by the city associations, which offer a wide range of possibilities to approach culture and in particular music.

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Public focus

urely, it cannot be said that Bologna lacks information operators. As far as the press is concerned, Bologna is the historical seat of the national newspaper “Il Resto del Carlino”, that celebrated its 120th birthday in 2005. This daily newspaper counts also various local editions, including Bologna. Also the national daily newspaper “La Repubblica” has a local edition for Bologna, which includes many minor local newspapers. As far as television is concerned, Bologna is the seat of RAI 3 for the regional programming in Emilia-Romagna and also of many other local and regional televisions.

Furthermore, there are independent press activities, especially dedicated to music, such as those of the Fondazione Teatro Comunale (Municipal Theatre Foundation) and of the Fondazione Musica Insieme (Music Together Foundation).

A prestigious award witnesses the incredible vitality of this city: on the 20th of November 1990, the Council of the Ministers of Culture of the European Union appointed Bologna “European City of Culture for the year 2000”.

In 2001 the City Council of Bologna established the international award Carlo Alberto Cappelli (great cultural organiser, head of the Municipal Theatre of Bologna and then of the Arena in Verona) for producers, patrons or cultural promoters who have distinguished themselves in the field of music and have made Bologna famous in the world.

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Sharing knowledge

Besides the engagement in the context of European projects, that enable the cities involved to identify best practices and share solutions for common problems, Bologna is enhancing the collaboration with other towns of the Emilia-Romagna Region. In particular, as far as the field of music is concerned, Bologna has started the project “La via Emilia della musica” (The Emilia road of music) dedicated to opera and orchestral music with the cities of Ferrara, Reggio Emilia and Modena.

Furthermore, the cultural exchanges fostered by the University, in particular with the European projects Socrates – Erasmus and Leonardo, and with the international programmes “Overseas”, provide a further opportunity of cultural dialogue and exchange for young people.

Finally, in the field of electronic music, one of the memorable clubs of Bologna, the Link, has recently joined the “Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity” and has for a long time been entertaining an international network of contacts and exchanges.

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