Chances are, if you are reading these words, that you are in Bologna or are planning to come here soon. You might have just made the happy discovery that this is a fabulous destination for a holiday, or perhaps you are a regular visitor - to the Children's Book Fair, say, or the annual Future Film Festival. Whether you are a first-timer or an old hand, you will find much to surprise and intrigue you in this second issue of Bologna for Connoisseurs.

Bologna is a city that is cheerfully evolving, and so it's a slightly different place every time you visit. That sense of creative novelty is reflected in our magazine. Read, for example, our piece on the rebirth of the Palazzo Pepoli and the amazing transformation wrought by architect Marco Bellini.

You may be familiar with the playful furniture designs of Domodinamica, but its showroom is sure to have some new pieces - a green, bug-eyed sofa or some crazy zig-zaggy bookcase - that you will not have come across before.

If you love opera and ballet, the you must catch a production at the Teatro Comunale (read our interview with the director Francesco Ernani in the Spring Issue of Bologna for Connoisseurs). The theatre is in the heart of the university district; don't miss that most vibrant corner of town.