Portico della Certosa, Portico in Bologna, Italy

The portico della Certosa is a covered arcade in Bologna that connects the Certosa cemetery to the city center and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Bolognese portici. It runs along a long route of neoclassical columns and arches, joining up with the portico of San Luca near the Meloncello Arch.

The Certosa cemetery opened in 1801 outside the city walls, and the need for a covered connection to the city soon became clear. In 1811, architect Ercole Gasparini proposed linking it to the existing portico of San Luca, and after his death in 1829, Luigi Marchesini completed the final section over the Reno canal with ionic columns instead of the originally planned large arch.

The route is lined with memorial chapels and tombstones set into the arcade, among them the tomb of the painter Giorgio Morandi, who is buried in the Certosa. Walking it, visitors pass from the city's edge into the cemetery, so the arcade works as both passage and memorial gallery.

The portico is close to Porta Sant'Isaia and easy to reach on foot from central Bologna. Walking the full length takes some time, so comfortable shoes are a good idea.

A wooden bridge called the Guidi Arch was built in 1818 to cross the road from Porta Sant'Isaia, but it no longer exists today. The original project called for over 200 arches, but funding problems meant that only part of the plan was ever built.