City Stories Index · Italy · 2026 edition
Bologna vs Florence
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Florence leads 3–2 (1 within the tie margin). Character is a different question: Bologna is the red city of tall tales; Florence is the renaissance cradle.
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| What we measure | Bologna | Florence | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 47 | 71 | Florence |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 285 | 222 | Florence |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 3 | 9 | Florence |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 44 | 18 | Bologna |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 17 | 17 | tie |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 92 | 85 | Bologna |
Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.
What their stories are about
How many places with a story each city has per theme: Bologna in orange, Florence in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
BolognaFlorence
13 places
faith & churches24 places
10 places
crime & dark history19 places
7 places
royalty & nobility18 places
4 places
arts & culture16 places
13 places
legends & myths13 places
10 places
guilds & trade9 places
7 places
fortification & siege2 places
6 places
industry & modern era2 places
Bologna scorecard →
The red city of tall tales
Florence scorecard →
The Renaissance cradle