Moon Phase Bologna

Moon Phase Bologna: New Moon

On Saturday, October 10, 2026, the moon in Bologna is a New Moon with 0% illumination. Moon age: 0.4 days.

Illumination
0%
Moon Age
0.4d
Next Full Moon
Oct 26
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
7:14 AM
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
6:21 PM

Bologna, Italy-current-moon-phase-today

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Bologna, Italy

Bologna lies in Emilia-Romagna at the edge of the Po plain and the northern Apennine foothills, with a historic centre on the plain and hills rising to the south.

Torre degli Asinelli – Historic Tower – Currently Closed

Historic brick tower offering panoramic views over rooftops and the historic centre. Bologna Welcome currently lists it as closed for area maintenance, so it is not available as an observing location. Check official notices for reopening.

Santuario della Madonna di San Luca – Hilltop Sanctuary

Sanctuary perched on a hill south-west of the centre with broad views across rooftops and historic centre. Linked to the city by the portico from Porta Saragozza. Public pedestrian route with interior hours published — check lighting before a nighttime visit.

Villa Ghigi – Hilly Park South of Centre

Park on the first hill south of the city with views from the San Luca area toward the historic centre. Hilly with open clearings suitable for Moon-over-city compositions where tree cover allows. Check current park hours.

Colle di San Michele in Bosco – Panoramic Terrace

Complex in one of the most panoramic locations in the surrounding hills, with a courtyard forming a terrace overlooking the city and plains. Park is listed as open 24h per official listing, but the terrace and courtyards within the religious and hospital complex may have separate hours.

Giardini Margherita – Central City Park

Largest and most popular city park per official tourism listing, with a lake and open lawns providing parkland horizons. Urban park with substantial artificial lighting, not a dark-sky location.

Portico di San Luca – World's Longest Portico

World's longest portico with 666 arches from Porta Saragozza to the sanctuary. Linear route with intermittent viewpoints over the plain through arch openings. Parco di San Pellegrino is the correct official name for the hill park with views toward the sanctuary.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography in Bologna

🌕 Full Moon: generally rises around sunset and sets around sunrise, timing and azimuth vary by date and hill position
🌔 Waxing gibbous: useful for blue-hour at San Michele in Bosco and Villa Ghigi where foreground is still lit
🌑 New Moon: useful for night-sky photography from southern hill parks away from brightest urban lighting

📷 Quick Tips for Bologna

🎯 Use a tripod for bracketing and reflections, which helps during blue hour and for carefully composed scenes.
📷 Shoot RAW and bracket your exposure because the Moon is much brighter than the foreground.
📏 Start with Looney 11 — set f/11, ISO 100, 1/100s — and then adjust your exposure using the histogram as a starting point.
🌕 Use a 200–400mm lens to isolate the Moon over distant foregrounds like the sanctuary and towers.
🌃 Focus using magnified live view to get sharp crater detail for lunar close-ups.
🌧 Check cloud, haze and humidity over the Po plain before you go, and confirm current access for closed towers and portico lighting.

🕐 Timezone
Central European Time — CET UTC+1, CEST UTC+2 during daylight-saving. Europe/Rome.

📍 Geography Note
Bologna lies in Emilia-Romagna at the edge of the Po plain and the northern Apennine foothills. The historic centre sits on the flat plain, with terrain rising to the south toward the sanctuary and first hills.

That layout gives two distinct horizons: from the centre you look south toward hills and towers, from the southern hills you look north over rooftops and the plain. All locations are urban parks and viewpoints with city lighting, useful for Moon-over-city rather than dark-sky observing.

For moonrise direction, check azimuth for your particular date — it varies through the lunar month and with your position on plain versus hill.

Use Santuario di San Luca for hilltop sanctuary views across rooftops, San Michele in Bosco for panoramic terrace overlooking city and plains, Villa Ghigi and Parco di San Pellegrino for first-hill parks with views toward sanctuary, and Giardini Margherita for central park foregrounds. Torre degli Asinelli is currently closed for area maintenance, so use as historical reference rather than available viewpoint. The moon phase today in Bologna is shown above. For moon phase today anywhere else, visit the calculator on our home page.

◐ What It Feels Like

At San Luca, the portico leads from the city to the hilltop sanctuary with broad views across rooftops and historic centre.

At San Michele in Bosco, the courtyard terrace overlooks the city and plains in one of the most panoramic locations in the surrounding hills.

At Villa Ghigi, hilly paths on the first hill south offer views from the San Luca area toward the historic centre.

"Portico from Porta Saragozza to hilltop sanctuary, with panoramic terrace overlooking city and plains and hilly park on first hill south."

✓ Checklist for Lunar Observers

Before You Go

  • Check moonrise and moonset azimuth — use exact observing location to determine alignment with sanctuary hill or city foregrounds
  • Check forecasts for cloud, haze, humidity and visibility over Po plain
  • Confirm access — Asinelli currently closed, San Luca portico public route check lighting, San Michele park listed 24h but terrace may have separate hours, other parks check hours

What to Bring

  • Telephoto and wide lenses for sanctuary hill and city foregrounds
  • Tripod for landscape and bracketing — useful for multi-exposure, close Moon can be handheld
  • Lens cloth for dust, dew or condensation
  • Light jacket for changing evening temperatures

On the Night

  • Focus on Moon with magnified live view for lunar detail, adjust focus distance for composed landscapes
  • Bracket for disc versus foreground — difficult to retain both in single exposure
  • Stay on designated paths and observe posted access rules, especially for closed tower and portico lighting
Start at Santuario di San Luca for hilltop sanctuary views across rooftops, use San Michele in Bosco for elevated terrace overlooking city and plains, Villa Ghigi and Parco di San Pellegrino for hill parks with views toward sanctuary, and Giardini Margherita for central park foregrounds. Torre degli Asinelli is currently closed, so not available as observing location — check conditions and lighting before nighttime visit along portico.

? Bologna Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Bologna?

The moon phase today in Bologna is a New Moon with 0% illumination. The next full moon is in 16 days, on Oct 26. Moonrise is at 7:14 AM and moonset at 6:21 PM.

Q. Where is the best place to view the moon in Bologna?

The Santuario della Madonna di San Luca, at roughly 300 m above sea level on the hill southwest of the centre, gives the broadest view over Bologna's rooftops and historic centre. San Michele in Bosco, on a hill of about 132 m, has a courtyard terrace overlooking the city and the plain, and its park is currently listed as open 24 hours. Villa Ghigi, a hilly park of about 28 hectares on the first hill south of the city, and Parco di San Pellegrino offer further elevated views toward the sanctuary, while Giardini Margherita, about 26 hectares, gives central lawns and a lake foreground. Torre degli Asinelli is currently closed to the public for area maintenance, so it is not an available observing location.

Q. Where does the moon rise and set in Bologna, and how high does it climb?

At about 44.5°N, Bologna's moonrise and moonset points swing across the horizon each month, from roughly northeast to southeast for rising and northwest to southwest for setting. A winter full moon culminates high in the south, at roughly 70° above the horizon, while a summer full moon stays low, peaking near 20°. Because San Luca stands to the southwest of the centre and the southern hills raise the horizon by a few degrees, a low summer moon setting toward the southwest can be lined up with the sanctuary from the city side, while a moon in the northeast or northwest sits over open plain. Use your exact observing spot to check the azimuth before committing to a composition.

Q. Is light pollution a problem for moon observing in Bologna?

The moon is bright enough to observe and photograph from almost anywhere in Bologna, so light pollution rarely limits the lunar disc itself. It does wash out earthshine on a thin crescent and any faint sky detail. Giardini Margherita, Villa Ghigi and the hill parks are urban or peri-urban spaces with substantial artificial lighting nearby, so Bologna is a light-polluted location rather than a dark-sky site. The southern hill parks sit away from the brightest central lighting, which makes them the better choice for new-moon and earthshine work.

Q. What camera settings and phases work best for moon photography in Bologna?

For a full moon, start with Looney 11 (f/11, ISO 100, 1/100 s) and refine using your histogram, since it is a baseline rather than a guarantee. The moon is much brighter than the city foreground, so shoot RAW and bracket or blend exposures to keep both crater detail and the lit rooftops. A waxing gibbous is useful for blue hour at San Michele in Bosco and Villa Ghigi while the foreground is still lit, and a full moon rises around sunset. A 200–400 mm lens helps isolate the moon against the San Luca sanctuary or distant towers, with a tripod for bracketing and manual focus on the moon using magnified live view.

Q. How do haze and fog on the Po plain affect moon viewing in Bologna?

Bologna sits at the edge of the Po plain, where humidity, haze and fog can reduce sky transparency and soften lunar contrast, and conditions can change quickly. A low moon near the horizon passes through the thickest air, so it often looks dimmer and more orange, which can work well for atmospheric shots but costs fine detail. Elevated spots such as San Luca and San Michele in Bosco can sit above shallow ground haze, though not always. Check local forecasts for cloud, haze and visibility before heading out, and carry a lens cloth for dust, dew or condensation.

Q. Can I shoot the moon at Bologna's viewpoints after dark?

Access varies by site. Torre degli Asinelli is currently closed for area maintenance, so do not plan for nighttime access there. The San Luca portico is a public pedestrian route of about 3.8 km with 666 arches, but check current conditions and lighting before a nighttime visit. The San Michele in Bosco park is currently listed as open 24 hours, though that status should not be assumed for the terrace or courtyard of the religious and hospital complex. Villa Ghigi and Giardini Margherita have their own opening hours, so confirm them against current notices.

Q. Does this page work for cities besides Bologna?

This page is set up specifically for Bologna, Italy. For the moon phase in any other city or location worldwide, use the Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the moonphase.today home page.