Bologna is the seventh most populated city in Italy, located in the heart of a metropolitan area of about one million. The city, the first settlements of which date back to at least 1000 BC, has always been an important urban centre, first under the Etruscans (Velzna/Felsina) and the Celts, then under the Romans (Bononia), then again in the Middle Ages, as a free municipality (for one century it was the fifth largest European city based on population). Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna hosts thousands of students who enrich the social and cultural life of the city. Famous for its towers and lengthy porticoes, Bologna has a well-preserved historical centre (one of the largest in Italy) thanks to a careful restoration and conservation policy which began at the end of the 1970s, on the heels of serious damage done by the urban demolition at the end of the 19th century as well as that caused by wars.
