Felsina → Bononia → Bologna

The city of Felsina was founded by Etruscans over 2,500 years ago on the edge of the Po Plain. This is the site of modern Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna Region of Northern Italy. During early Roman times, the city was called by its Latin name: Bononia, derived from the Celtic word for settlement. In fact, the city was refounded and resettled several times. For example, Bononia was founded in 189 B.C. as a Latin colony, where Felsina had stood before it had fallen to invading Gauls [1-4].

The history of “modern Bologna” starts in 1088, when the city became the seat of the oldest university (of in what is defined as the western world). Bologna grew as an expanding university and today is an open-air museum. You may not be a mathematician, but you may nevertheless enjoy the introduction to Bologna in the Summer 2018 “Mathematical Tourist” column of  “The Mathematical Intelligencer,” which begins as follows [4]: 

Bologna was founded by the Etruscans, who called it Felsina. It was named Bononia by the ancient Romans, perhaps because of the presence in its territory of the Boii Celts. Although it is a city full of history and art, it is less frequented by tourists than other Italian cities like Venice, Florence, or the eternal Rome. Few of those tourists know, however, that it was one of the first cities in the world to have legislation for the protection of cultural assets [...].This makes Bologna a kind of open-air museum; walking through its streets, one may come across works of art or archaeological finds that in other cities are found only within museums.
                                             Gonzáles, Rabiti, and Cartwright, 2018

Bologna—a city of multiple firsts, many outdoor attractions and of scientific and mathematical significance.

Keywords: geography, place names, history, Boii Celts, Northern Italy.

References and more to explore

[1] Felsina. ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA. Internet: www.britannica.com/place/Felsina.
[2] Bononia. Wiktionary. Internet: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bononia.
[3] Felsina/Bononia. PLEIDES. pleiades.stoa.org/places/393421.
[4] Stillwell, R. and MacDonald, W. L. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1976; page 158.
[5] Gonzáles, D.L., Rabiti, L. and Cartwright, J. H. E. Bonaventura Cavalieri and Bologna. The Mathematical Intelligencer, Summer 2018, 40 (20), 21-29. DOI: 10.1007/s00283-018-9779-5.