A person gets to know an apartment and a landlord very well when renting for three months during the coldest and darkest time of the year. We had that experience with Laura, who rents out a cozy attic apartment in the southwest corner of the "inside-the-walls" section of Bologna.

First, the apartment: It is on the second floor of a multi-unit dwelling that is centered around a courtyard that gets very nice light during the day. The apartment itself has two stories. The downstairs portion consists of a sizeable kitchen and a sitting/sleeping area along with the bathroom. The upstairs portion consists of a large bedroom and a balcony. Both floors have southern exposures and get great light during the day. The view is exactly as pictured in the apartment write-up.

We found the kitchen to be very well equipped and the beds very comfortable. There was enough storage space to handle (with a little bit organizing) the many, many bags that my wife, son, and I are currently traveling with. All the appliances, heat, and Internet worked fine. The Internet was extremely reliable.

The neighborhood is in the southwest corner of the center of the city. You can walk to Piazza Maggiore in a little less than ten minutes. One street over is Via Pratello, which has many restaurants and bars along a pedestrian street. Less than five minutes away in the direction of the southwest gate is a very lovely park.

The bus system serves the apartment well. From the bus stop just a hundred meters away you can catch the No. 21 bus to the railroad station and any of the No. 14 busses over to the Two Towers.

Finally, the landlord: Laura proved to be a charming, lovely, hard-working host. As a family staying three months, we had our share of concerns and requests, which we were able to work out very well. Laura and I shared several moments where the difficulty of just living in Italy (bureaucracy, services) became very apparent. But we worked everything out. She is a wonderful person, who genuinely cares about her tenants.

I heartily recommend Laura's apartment as an extremely comfortable apartment in a good location. It is the perfect place to base a short or long term stay to explore Bologna and the regions/cities nearby.