As much as I love the gorgeous old buildings and courtyards of Bologna, I also find great delight in the little unimportant details that make this city so interesting.
Like the community bulletin board plastered with all sorts of notices for concerts and films and classes.
Some of my favorite such sights are the painted murals on the garage-type doors that protect the shops of Bologna after hours and during afternoon siesta.
They are supposed to represent what is sold inside. Some of them are easy to decipher, but others??
Methinks this might be a Bolognese watering hole.
Perhaps a bakery? Shelves lined with warm loaves of fresh white bread?
And this one? Umm, no idea whatsoever. 🙂
After wandering under the cool porticoes of Bologna in late afternoon, my friend Maddalena and I headed out into the hot September sunshine. It didn’t take long before we were both craving gelato. Maddalena took me to one of her favorite spots and I got a scoop of the very darkest of dark chocolate. Delish.
What’s your favorite thing to eat on a hot sunny day?
What a great way to make shops’ garage doors more interesting and inviting, and make the whole downtown more vibrant. I love that monk (?) with his mug of beer, but no clue on the donkey. Corner grocery store? Â
 I love it too, Bess! 🙂 It’s so much nicer to see these colorful murals rather than dingy old sliding doors. 🙂
That gelato looks like heaven. I love that there is no cream to get in the way of the chocolate. I think the donkey might be for some sort of mill, I looks like he’s grinding flour or something.Â
 Oh, that must be why it was so outrageously rich and flavorful, Deanna. 🙂 A mill is a very good guess indeed. One of these years I will have to return before closing time so I can find out what’s behind all those doors. 🙂
What fun pictures! And, of course, chocolate gelato is the best thing to eat on a sunny day!!!
 Thanks, Katie! 🙂 Yes, you’re quite right. Chocolate gelato is the BEST thing. 🙂
I love these! And of course anything chocolate, but especially gelato, is delicious.
 I agree, Vickie!! I love so many flavors of gelato, but chocolate is my favorite. 🙂
Such a cool post – love the door artwork!
 Thank you, Andrea! 🙂 I love it too. 🙂
These are great shop doors. The gelato looks heavenly! I love Italy!
 I do too, Lisa!! 🙂 It’s such a marvelously inspiring place. 🙂
I enjoy looking at graffiti in San Francisco quite a lot. People are amazingly creative and the quality of the art can be really good. Â Some of your pics look graffiti-art like and some like murals or even ads. Â I wonder about the donkey pulling the millstone. Â Does the shop sell wheat and corn meal?