LIVE MUSIC CLUBS
Via Mascarella,
in the University district, hosts a number of clubs which all set tables outside during the summer to host the Salotto del Jazz (Jazz Salon). The street also has a movie theatre, a disco, a number of bars and restaurants:
Cantina Bentivoglio
via Mascarella 4/b
www.cantinabentivoglio.it/jazz-club
Long-established jazz club and restaurant
Bravo Caffè
via Mascarella 1
www.bravocaffe.it
Concerts, food and drink
L’articiôch
via Mascarella 84/b
Music on Wednesdays
Via del Pratello,
lined with lively bars and restaurants, filled with students who spill out into the street, hosts a number of spots offering live music:
Altotasso
Piazza S. Francesco 6
www.altotasso.com
Macondo
via del Pratello 22
Barazzo
via del Pratello 66/b
www.barazzo.it
Others in the center include:
Cortile Café
via Nazario Sauro 24
Arteria
vicolo Broglio 1/E
Le Serre
Giardini Margherita
www.leserre.kilowatt.bo.it
Only in summer: concerts & films
DISCOS/CLUBS
Attention! In Italy, the word nightclub, often shortened to night, is synonymous with strip club. Disco is the word used for a place where you dance. Going dancing in Bologna means you are in for a late night (or an early morning). Bologna’s discos are seasonal, with indoor locations open from October to late April and outdoor ones beginning in June. The happening summer dancing, however, takes place out on the Riviera Romagnola where some bagni (beach facilities) set up dancefloors right on the sand.
As a rule, plan to arrive no earlier than 23:00 unless you are dining at the club. If you are not a dinner guest and are not on the coveted VIP list (guest list) you will have to wait in line outside. Ladies are usually permitted to enter first. Most discos charge an entry fee that includes one beverage and operate using drink cards, meaning that you pay for your consumption at the end of the night. Hold on to that drink card or pay the loser’s fee, which assumes maximum consumption. Don’t leave any valuables in the guardaroba (coat room), even if it is guarded. Discos sometimes reopen the following season under new management and a new name, but the location generally remains the same. The following winter locales have been around (under various names) for years:
Clubs inside the centre
Qubò (near Santo Sefano)
Vicolo Sanpieri, 3
Te. 338 272 6397
www.qubodiscotecabologna.com
Il Cassero LGBTI center
Via Don Giovanni Minzoni, 18
Tel. 051.095 7200
www.cassero.it
Not only a disco, the LGBTI center houses a library and other activities and organizes the Gender Bender festival every year.
Lo Chalet
Giardini Margherita
Only in the summer
Clubs outside the centre
Locomotiv Club
www.locomotivclub.it
Live music in the Bolognina district, Italian and international indy artists.
Estragon Club
www.estragon.it
City’s most famous rock club
Covo Club
www.covoclub.it
Viale Zagabria 1
CIRCOLI AND CENTRI SOCIALI
Circoli (circles) are small clubs organized by associations. You pay to become a member the first time you go and receive a tessera (card) for future entry. They organize concerts, lectures and other cultural events. Centri sociali (social centres) range from gathering places for the elderly to alternative clubs in empty buildings that young people have occupied and put to use. Often centres of political and social activism, there is a long history of centri sociali in Bologna and other large Italian cities. Find out if there is a local one in your area and what kind of activities they offer.
Link 2.0
via Fantoni 21
Tel. 051.6332312 or 051.6344815
www.link.bo.it
One of the city’s longest standing centri sociali, now an independent multimedia lab for the promotion of culture.