II.i. An Assumption

"Bologna is to the Middle Ages what Pompeii is to Antiquity"
- Sidney Owenson (Lady) Morgan

October was ushered in with a beautiful, balmy day and as night descended I made my way to the Basilica of San Petronio, by far the largest structure in Bologna but certainly not to be confused with the smaller Cathedral. At nine o’clock, there was to be a concert consisting of three Motets for the Assumption of the Virgin composed by Giacomo Antonio Perti while he was choirmaster in Bologna. I arrived, reasonably well dressed, and seemed to blend in with the masses, also well dressed and present in the thousands.
    After the concert ended, I stayed in the basilica a few minutes, absorbing the grandeur of the space, floodlit for the occasion. Eventually, I strolled out into the Piazza Maggiore where the crowds were dispersing, and the city looked even more beautiful to me than it ever had. It was beginning to familiar to me. People refer to the pedestrian centre of the city as the "Bolognese living room". If that is so, I felt right at home.