A family on a bike in Bologna’s historic city center in June 2025. Pedestrian and cyclist deaths have fallen since the Città 30 policy started in 2024.
Photographer: Christopher Pillitz/Getty Images EuropeA Showdown Over Speed and Safety, Italian-Style
In 2024, Bologna became the first major city in Italy to set a 30 kilometer per hour speed limit. But ‘Città 30’ also triggered a fight with conservative lawmakers.
Some urban nicknames are tautological (“The City of Angels”); others are atmospheric (“The City of Light”) or debauched (“Always Turned On”).
Then there is Bologna, whose moniker is a three-in-one: “La Dotta, La Grassa, La Rossa,” or “The intellectual, the fat, the red.” True to its sobriquet, the Northern Italian city is home to Europe’s oldest university, countless restaurants churning out meaty pasta dishes and a fiercely leftist political culture.