Bologna's living room, watched over by Giambologna's bronze Neptune
Photo: Oleksandr · Unsplash License
Why go
Few squares tell a city's story as plainly as this one. On the north side, the Palazzo del Podestà was raised in the 13th century together with the Torre dell'Arengo and renovated from 1484. Beneath it the Voltone, a great vault, stands over an ancient Roman crossroads. Palazzo d'Accursio, the town hall, closes another side, and Vignola's façade of Palazzo dei Banchi, built in 1565–68, replaced a patchwork of medieval house fronts.
Then there is Neptune. The fountain was designed by Tommaso Laureti and executed by Giambologna between 1563 and 1566, and it stands in front of Palazzo Re Enzo, built from 1244, where Enzo, son of Emperor Frederick II, was held prisoner from 1249 until 1272. Nothing here needs a ticket: cross the square slowly, look up at the palace fronts, then sit for a while and watch Bologna go by.
Gallery
Photo: Oleksandr · Unsplash License
Photo: Arno Senoner · Unsplash License · source
Photo: Tomas Martinez · Unsplash License · source
Photo: Kristijan Arsov · Unsplash License · source
Photo: Cristiano Pinto · Unsplash License · source
Photo: Ezgi Kaya · Pexels License · source
Highlights
Giambologna's bronze sea god stands on Piazza del Nettuno, the square that opens beside Piazza Maggiore. Bologna's civic library records the fountain as designed by Tommaso Laureti and executed by Giambologna in 1563–66. Walk all the way round it: the figure changes character from every side, and the palaces behind it, from Palazzo Re Enzo to Palazzo d'Accursio, shift with each step.
The palace was raised in the 13th century together with the Torre dell'Arengo and renovated from 1484, possibly to a design by Aristotele Fieravanti. Walk under its great vault, the Voltone, which stands over an ancient Roman crossroads, and look for the terracotta statues of Bologna's four patron saints, Petronio, Procolo, Francesco and Domenico, made by Alfonso Lombardi in 1525.
The long front of Palazzo dei Banchi, at Piazza Maggiore 3, was built between 1565 and 1568 to a design by Vignola. It wraps a late-14th-century loggia and was meant to give the square a grander, more uniform face in place of a jumble of medieval buildings. Its portico, the Portico dei Banchi, runs along the square, a good place to stand and take in the whole piazza.
Facing the fountain, Palazzo Re Enzo was built from 1244 and later housed civic magistracies and archives. Enzo, son of Emperor Frederick II, was held prisoner here from 1249 to 1272. A vaulted hall on the first floor was designed by Antonio di Vincenzo in 1386, and the building's present appearance comes from Alfonso Rubbiani's restoration of 1905–1913.
Excavations in 1989–90 in front of the Sacrario dei Caduti on Piazza del Nettuno uncovered the foundations of a monumental building, most likely the civil basilica of Roman Bononia, the city founded in 189 BC. To see what lies beneath this corner of Bologna, walk into Biblioteca Salaborsa at Piazza del Nettuno 3 and look down through its glass floor.
Practical information
From the official website:
Piazza Maggiore and Piazza del Nettuno are public squares in the pedestrian centre. The palaces and churches around them keep their own opening hours.
Free: the squares and the Fountain of Neptune are in public space.
Checked on the official sources in November 2026. Hours can change on holidays: check the official website before you go.
Getting there
Piazza Maggiore is the pedestrian heart of the historic centre. The Two Towers on Piazza di Porta Ravegnana are about a 5-minute walk away, and Biblioteca Salaborsa opens onto Piazza del Nettuno, right beside the fountain.
TPER city buses serve the edge of the historic centre. Plan your route with TPER's journey planner and buy tickets in TPER's official ROGER app.
The historic centre is a camera-controlled limited-traffic zone (ZTL). Leave the car in a car park outside the centre and walk in, or ask your hotel how access works.
Insider tips
The bronze reads differently from every side, and the backdrop shifts from Palazzo Re Enzo to Palazzo d'Accursio and Salaborsa as you circle it. Give the fountain five slow minutes rather than one photo from the front.
Pass beneath the vault of Palazzo del Podestà and look for Alfonso Lombardi's terracotta patron saints of 1525. The vault stands over an ancient Roman crossroads, so you are walking one of the oldest lines in the city.
From the fountain it is a few steps to Biblioteca Salaborsa at Piazza del Nettuno 3, where a glass floor shows the remains beneath the covered square. The excavations below open Tuesday to Saturday 9:00–19:00 and Monday 14:00–19:00.
The historic centre is a camera-controlled limited-traffic zone and the square is pedestrian. Park in a car park outside the centre and walk in, or ask your hotel how access works before you drive.
In the centre
Historic-centre restaurants and hotels from the Bologna City Guide, each with its own Holiplanet page.
Historic restaurant
Tortellini in brodo and lasagne verdi since 1909
Discover more →Traditional restaurant
Handmade tortellini and tagliatelle in Bologna since 1948
Discover more →Chef's restaurant
Mario Ferrara's Lucanian-rooted cooking in a 1600s convent
Discover more →Wine bar / osteria
Wine osteria since 1465: bring your own food
Discover more →Hotel
Romantic 3-star hotel in the ancient Quadrilatero
View hotel →Boutique hotel
12th-century building facing San Petronio's Gothic windows
View hotel →Unique stay
Sleep inside a 12th-century tower, sixty metres above Bologna
View hotel →All restaurants on the Bologna map → All hotels on the Bologna map →
Questions
Bologna's civic library records the fountain as designed by Tommaso Laureti and executed by the sculptor Giambologna between 1563 and 1566. It stands on Piazza del Nettuno, beside Piazza Maggiore, in front of Palazzo Re Enzo and a few steps from Biblioteca Salaborsa and Palazzo d'Accursio.
Yes. Piazza Maggiore and the adjoining Piazza del Nettuno are public squares in the pedestrian heart of the historic centre, so there is nothing to pay to walk them or to see the Fountain of Neptune. The museums, palaces and churches around the squares keep their own opening hours.
Palazzo del Podestà, raised in the 13th century with the Torre dell'Arengo, closes the north side. Palazzo d'Accursio is the town hall, Palazzo dei Banchi has a façade built by Vignola in 1565–68, and the Basilica di San Petronio fills the south side of the square.
It is the great vault beneath Palazzo del Podestà, built over an ancient Roman crossroads. Under it stand terracotta statues of Bologna's four patron saints, Petronio, Procolo, Francesco and Domenico, made by Alfonso Lombardi in 1525. It is part of the natural walk across the square.
Enzo was the son of Emperor Frederick II. He was held prisoner in Bologna from 1249 until 1272 in the palace that now carries his name, Palazzo Re Enzo, built from 1244 and facing the Fountain of Neptune. Its present look comes from Alfonso Rubbiani's restoration of 1905–1913.
