Bologna, August 12, 2026 – A spectacle like this has not been seen for exactly 27 years. Since that August 11, 1999, when continental Europe was able to enjoy for the last time a total solar eclipse. The same one that yesterday delighted the thousands of people who watched with their noses up at all the phases in which, between 7:30 PM and 8:20 PM sunset time, the moon overlapped the sun. A coverage that in the city reached percentile peaks of 92-94 percent, almost total indeed, for the many citizens and tourists crowded in the places set up in the city and more functional to admire the astronomical phenomenon.
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A phenomenon for which the certified glasses approved by the Ministry of Health to safely observe the eclipse, with adequate solar light shielding, literally ‘sold out’.
But the limited availability of accessories did not scare those who managed as best they could to shield their eyes as much as possible and not miss the appointment with astronomical History, even taking some risks, including directly leaning out from behind the west-facing office windows.
Among the most crowded places in the city was the San Luca hill, where at the foot of the Sanctuary, facing West until sunset, hundreds and hundreds of people gathered. In the provincial territory, other spaces set up to enjoy the total solar eclipse spectacle were crowded at Lippo di Calderara and Crespellano.
Besides the Municipal Observatory of San Giovanni in Persiceto (Vicolo Baciadonne) and the Velodrome of Pianoro, inside the Ginepreto park, where from 7 PM the scientific communicators of the Sofos association and the INAF researchers accompanied the viewing of the eclipse with insights and, indeed, the certified glasses for observing the phenomenon.
Read more The solar eclipse live streaming from 7:15 PM. The show in video
