Overview

If you go past the Palazzo dei Banchi from Piazza Maggiore you will enter into this network of ancient streets which used to be the home of the city's craftsmen. The streets still have many of their original names such as Via Clavature to remember the blacksmiths, Via Caprarie for the sheep butchers, and Via Drapperie for the upholsterers. When you visit these streets which were of Roman origin and now contain a market, it is almost like reentering an ancient time which is evoked by the noise of the shoppers who crowd around the fish, fruit, and meat stalls, just as they would have done so long ago in Bologna's city center.