The canal on Via Riva di Reno sees the light of day again after 70 years

After decades flowing hidden beneath the asphalt, the Canale di Reno is once again flowing in the open air in the heart of Bologna. The stretch of Via Riva di Reno between the Piazza Azzarita roundabout and the Church of Santa Maria della Visitazione, following the completion of work on the tram’s Red Line, now has a completely new look: no longer an open-air car park taking up almost the entire roadway, but a new public space where environmental quality, historical identity and sustainable mobility come together.

The opening celebration.

The street’s new life was celebrated on Saturday 29 November with a public party in the area behind the Church of Santa Maria della Visitazione, where a new pedestrian square overlooking the canal has been created. From 6 PM to 11 PM, the evening’s programme drew inspiration from the themes of water, reflection and flow, elements that tell the story of Bologna and its ancient canal system. At 7, 8 and 9 PM there were three live painting sessions by Majid Bita, with a soundscape by Laura Agnusdei, while the whole evening was accompanied by music from Falana Selecta, aka Micol Fontanella. At the same time, the Opificio delle Acque on Via Monaldo Calari opened its doors from 10 AM to 7 PM, with a free guided tour at 5 PM led by Milena Naldi of Canali di Bologna Cultura.

What changes on Via Riva di Reno.

The most visible change concerns the relationship between the street and the water. The canal, brought back to light, is now lined by pedestrian walkways along its north side and by a cantilevered boardwalk on its south bank, while a footbridge recalling the old Ponte della Carità provides a crossing. The whole area has been enhanced with 13 new trees – including prunus, ash, oak and maple – which, together with new flowerbeds and green spaces, help improve the environmental quality of one of the busiest streets in the historic centre.
The project, which began in spring 2024, also included less visible but essential work for the safety of the area, such as the rebuilding and securing of the cover of the watercourse and its structural walls, in the sections between Via San Felice and the roundabout, up to Via Ugo Lenzi, and near the Church, including the junction with Via delle Lame. Designed for soft mobility, the area will be crossed by the tram’s Red Line, which here will run outbound on a single track – grassed over for a long stretch – from Via delle Lame to Via San Felice. As in the rest of the historic centre, the tram will run on battery power along this stretch, with no overhead lines, so as to blend as harmoniously as possible into the historic setting.

A 70-year story.

For the people of Bologna, this is not just an urban regeneration project, but the return of a piece of the city’s history. The canal was covered over in 1957, turning Via Riva di Reno into one of the most important – but also most congested – roads in the historic centre. Its reopening, after 70 years, gives the city back a view reminiscent of the network of navigable canals that, since the Middle Ages, connected Bologna to the Reno river and, from there, to the Po.

A guide for residents and shopkeepers.

To help citizens, residents and businesses live day to day alongside the newly uncovered canal, the Consorzio Canali di Bologna, with the support of Ascom, has produced a mini-guide designed to dispel doubts and misconceptions about the nature of the water. The guide explains, for example, that the brown colour of the water is not a sign of pollution: since it comes from the Reno river, the canal water is never crystal clear because of the clay soil of the Bologna area, and the colour is caused by silt and debris carried along during floods. Likewise, the guide explains that the periods when the canal appears dry are not a sign of a fault, but correspond to scheduled procedures related to hydraulic safety and maintenance of the system. The Consorzio has also opened applications for shops and businesses on Via della Grada, Via Riva di Reno and Via Righi wishing to become official distribution points for the guide, helping to spread accurate information among residents and visitors about a complex historic infrastructure that is often looked at but not always understood.

Mixed reactions, but a new identity for the neighbourhood.

As is often the case with major urban transformations, reactions from the public – and especially from those who live in the area – are mixed. On the one hand, some see the new layout as an opportunity for business and tourism, thanks to a larger, more open and more liveable public space. On the other, some regret the loss of parking spaces and fear the area could return to the decay that marked it in the 19th century, when the canal, stripped of its traditional functions, had become a foul-smelling sewer.
The fact remains that Via Riva di Reno today presents itself as “a large, open and accessible place, designed to become a meeting point and social hub for residents and visitors”, as the City of Bologna described it. A water square in the heart of the city which, helped by the boom in urban tourism in recent years, aims to become one of the new “hidden” stops on the journey to discover the Bologna that flows, quite literally, beneath its visitors’ feet.