Events by city · Italy · Bologna
28 upcoming events in Bologna you can go to alone, 14 of them free, from Tuesday 27 Oct to Monday 18 Jan 2027. Picked from city open data and official agendas. Check the official page before you go: times and prices can change.
Upcoming · by date
10 events in the next 14 days.
The Balthasar-Neumann choir under Lionel Sow sings five centuries of music for peace and light — Palestrina, Monteverdi, Jonathan Harvey and a world premiere by Osvaldo Coluccino — in the church of Santa Cristina della Fondazza. Tickets on the official page.
Eleonora Zocca presents 'Disobbedire a Confucio', on feminist struggles in East Asia, in conversation with Ilaria Maria Sala and Collettiva Yilou. With the Libreria delle donne di Bologna. Free.
With a portable record player, Riccardo Negrelli guides a listening journey through the library's Francesco Guccini records — the stories and words behind the songs of one of Italy's great songwriters. Free until full.
On Tuesday 3 November 2026 at 21:00 the Teatri di Vita theatre in the Parco Pierangelo Bertoli, on the western edge of Bologna, stages Mohábbat, a contemporary dance piece about Iran. The title is a Persian word meaning affection and care. The choreography and direction are by Afshin Varjavandi, performed by three dancers of the INC Innprogress Collective, with a sound edit by Francesco Fiorucci and costumes by Sara Lanzi and the director. The production is supported by Astràgali Teatro and the experimental theatre LaMaMa. The show lasts about fifty minutes, so it fits a weeknight without a late finish. The listing marks the event as paid and the ticket price is on the theatre page. A short, focused performance in a small auditorium is a comfortable choice for a solo visitor who likes to watch quietly and then talk, or not, in the foyer. «Mohábbat (sull’Iran)» Starts 21:00, ends about 21:50. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
Singer Kurt Elling joins the Yellowjackets for a tribute to Weather Report at Teatro Duse — one of the most awaited nights of the 2026 Bologna Jazz Festival. Tickets on the official page.
On Tuesday 3 November 2026 the Locomotiv Club in Bologna hosts Imarhan, the Tuareg band from the Algerian Sahara, presenting their new album Essam, a word meaning lightning in Tamasheq. The listing describes a sound that mixes desert blues with funk, psychedelia, electronic textures and pan-African rhythms, built on synthesisers, traditional percussion and a modern production. Doors open at 20:30 and the concert starts at 21:30. The venue page lists advance entry at 20 euros, with entry reserved for members of the AICS association, so check how to join when you buy. A standing club gig with a hypnotic groove is an easy night out for someone coming alone: everyone faces the stage, nobody expects conversation, and the bar is close if you want a drink afterwards. «IMARHAN» Starts 21:30, ends about 23:15. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
On Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 18:00 the Biblioteca Amilcar Cabral on Via San Mamolo hosts a free talk titled Sulle tracce dei residenti cinesi a Bologna, subtitled flavours, stories, identity. The association Sinomondi presents the results of a survey of Chinese restaurants active in the city, carried out over recent months with student interns. Conversations with restaurant owners gave first-hand biographical details about long-established Chinese residents and about the places where second generations and Chinese-speaking students gather. The speakers add broader reflections on the Chinese presence in Bologna. The listing describes the evening as free and the end time is estimated at about an hour and a half. It is a good fit for a solo visitor who likes to learn something about the city, with an easy opening for questions to the speakers afterwards, and a few restaurants to try on another evening. «Sulle tracce dei residenti cinesi a Bologna» Starts 18:00, ends about 19:30. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
On Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 20:30 the Sala Professor Marco Biagi in the Baraccano complex, on Via Santo Stefano in Bologna, hosts a string quartet concert in the Conoscere la Musica autumn season. The Quartetto Goldberg, with two violins, a viola and a cello, plays music by Bartók, Puccini and Mendelssohn. The listing marks the evening as paid, with tickets and reservations handled directly by the organisers by email or phone, so contact details are on the official page. The concert is in the Santo Stefano district, within easy walking distance of the old centre. A chamber concert in a small hall is one of the easiest ways to spend an evening alone in a new city: you sit in the dark, listen, and leave when you like. The end time is estimated at about ninety minutes. «Quartetto Goldberg» Starts 20:30, ends about 22:00. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
On Thursday 5 November 2026 at 18:00 the Sala della Musica on the second floor of the Biblioteca Salaborsa, right on Piazza Nettuno in Bologna, hosts a free talk called Dinamiche, stories of women artists and the record sleeves worth knowing. It is part of the series Solchi, segni e disegni, promoted by the city as Bologna is a UNESCO City of Music. The event is curated by author, speaker and DJ Laura Gramuglia, who talks with Radio24 presenter Marta Cagnola, a juror of the Best Art Vinyl Italia contest and a printer's daughter. Together they look at iconic covers that marked changes in custom, in the fight for opportunity and in the music industry, and at how women performers shaped their own image. The listing says admission is free and the venue is step-free. The end time is estimated. A talk in a central library suits someone who likes records and wants to meet other fans. «Dinamiche | Storie di artiste e copertine» Starts 18:00, ends about 19:30. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
On Thursday 5 November 2026 at 18:00 the Feltrinelli bookshop on Piazza Ravegnana, at the foot of the Two Towers in the centre of Bologna, hosts a free book presentation. Giovanni D'Alessandro presents Lo specchio non basta, a book on the future of aesthetic medicine published by Pendragon, in conversation with Alessandra Montelli and Chiara Nisi. The event belongs to the PattoLetturaBO programme, the city's reading network, and the listing marks it as free and accessible. The official page gives no end time, so about an hour is assumed. A bookshop presentation is a gentle way to spend an early evening alone: you stand or sit among the shelves, hear a conversation, can ask a question at the end and then browse the books on the way out. It also puts you in the middle of the old town, close to the cafes and bars along Via Rizzoli for an aperitivo afterwards. «Lo specchio non basta» Starts 18:00, ends about 19:00. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
On Friday 6 November 2026 at 21:15 the Unipol Auditorium in Bologna hosts pianist Emmet Cohen in the Bologna Jazz Festival with a programme called Miles and Coltrane at 100, marking a century since the births of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Cohen leads a new quintet through the questions every jazz musician asks, in the straight-ahead tradition with deep roots in stride piano and a modern sensibility. The rhythm section is listed with bassist Joey Ranieri and drummer Joe Farnsworth. The listing marks the evening as paid, and tickets and presale are on the festival page linked from the official event entry. The end time is estimated at about 23:00. A seated jazz concert is among the most comfortable evenings to enjoy alone, with the music doing the talking and a festival crowd of fellow listeners for a chat at the interval or on the way out. «Emmet Cohen | Miles & Coltrane at 100» Starts 21:15, ends about 23:00. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
On Saturday 7 November 2026 at 21:30 the Covo Club, a long-running live music venue on Viale Zagabria in Bologna, hosts Irossa, a band from Turin. They play post-punk and art rock with wind instruments and a constant dialogue between a female and a male voice, with fragmentary lyrics and arrangements that move between dreamy and sharp. Their second album was ranked sixth in Rockit's list of the fifty best Italian albums of 2025, and the band has played more than a hundred concerts in Italy, Germany, France and Switzerland. The listing marks the night as paid and points to presale tickets on the venue page. The end time is estimated at about 23:30. A small club gig is an easy solo night out: you stand near the stage, share the energy with the crowd and can leave whenever you like. Bars along the road make a good stop before or after. «Irossa» Starts 21:30, ends about 23:30. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
'Classica in Sneakers' brings classical recitals to informal places: pianist Alberto Schiffo plays Grieg's Sonata op. 7 and Chopin at the Birreria Popolare. Tickets on the official page.
On Tuesday 10 November 2026 the Locomotiv Club in Bologna welcomes drummer Mark Guiliana, described in the listing as one of the most innovative and visionary drummers of the contemporary scene, with his Beat Music project. The new release, Beat Music 2.0, came out on 25 September and is presented as eight cinematic compositions in which synthesisers, electronic production and tight grooves meet jazz and futuristic sounds, around a precise, powerful idea of rhythm and a close dialogue between the musicians. Doors open at 20:30 and the live set starts at 21:30. The venue page lists advance entry at 20 euros, with entry reserved for members of the AICS association. The end time is estimated at about 23:15. A standing club night where the music fills the room is an easy outing for someone coming alone: you can stand near the drums, listen closely and move on to a bar nearby afterwards. «Mark Guiliana» Starts 21:30, ends about 23:15. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
On Wednesday 11 November 2026 at 18:00 the Biblioteca Amilcar Cabral on Via San Mamolo in Bologna hosts a free meeting with Haile Gerima, one of the major directors of Pan-African and diaspora cinema, together with his partner and co-producer Shirikiana Aina Gerima. The visit is part of his tour in Italy around the film Black Lions, Roman Wolves, which centres on the Italian occupation of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian resistance; the full screening is the day before at the Cinema Modernissimo. The aim of the evening is a broad, plural discussion about Italy's colonial past and its memory sites, and about the groups in Bologna who have worked on this history for years. The listing says admission is free, and about two hours are assumed for the end time. It suits a solo visitor who enjoys cinema and open discussion in a friendly library setting. «Incontro con Haile Gerima» Starts 18:00, ends about 20:00. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
Trumpeter Paolo Fresu and saxophonist John Helliwell meet on stage for the first time, in a benefit concert at Teatro Celebrazioni. Tickets on the official page.
On Thursday 12 November 2026 at 19:30 the Teatro San Leonardo on Via San Vitale in Bologna hosts Luca Cavina in the AngelicA 2026-2027 season, now in its thirteenth year. The concert is called Camera oscura deformata and presents Cavina's new record, released by the Bologna label Trovarobato in September 2026. Cavina plays synthesiser and samplers with cellist Giuseppe Franchellucci, Francesco Campora on piano and synthesiser, Matteo Lenzi on vibraphone and pads, and Cristian Naldi on electric guitar and electronics. The ticket costs 10 euros, with reductions to 5 euros for University of Bologna students and 2 euros for conservatory students, and the box office opens thirty minutes before. The end time is estimated at about 21:00. Listening to adventurous contemporary music in a small theatre is a good solo evening, with a curious, attentive audience and room for a chat afterwards. «Luca Cavina» Starts 19:30, ends about 21:00. Source: Comune di Bologna — Eventi, Bologna Agenda Cultura (opendata.comune.bologna.it, CC BY 4.0).
A trio mixing MIDI guitar, samplers, vocoder, brass, Polynesian shells and percussion plays original music as part of the AngelicA new-music season. Tickets are inexpensive, and the box office opens 30 minutes before. Adventurous concerts like this draw curious listeners who are happy to talk about what they just heard.
Four choirs, from traditional mountain-song ensembles to pop a cappella groups, share the stage in the church of Santa Cristina della Fondazza for the feast of Saint Cecilia. Entry is free and the evening supports a women's rights association. A festive, community atmosphere makes it easy to come alone.
A duo with baroque harp, archlute, voices and percussion performs Sephardic songs, Eastern melodies and Italian baroque pieces about love and separation. The late-morning concert is held in the history museum at Palazzo Pepoli. A Sunday concert followed by a coffee nearby is a relaxed way to meet fellow listeners.
Yin Shuai and Zheng Ningyuan lead a free seminar on Chinese contemporary art practices since the 1990s, starting from the 1994 exhibition Out of the Centre. A small library seminar is a good setting for questions and conversation afterwards.
Dance icon Carolyn Carlson leads an evening of improvisation, poetry and live music with Sara Simeoni and Paki Zennaro. The page lists it as free; a single-evening performance like this attracts a curious, mixed crowd.
A talk on the poetry of Giosuè Carducci, set in its Bologna context, marking 120 years since his Nobel Prize, from his landscapes to his civic commitment. Admission is free and no booking is needed. A cultural association lecture is a quiet, welcoming solo outing.
This concert closes a four-day residency and recording: music by Laura Agnusdei and Daniele Fabris played with the Rifrazioni Ensemble of flute, cello and violin, conducted by Bernardo Lo Sterzo, as part of the AngelicA season. Tickets are 7 € (5 € reduced). Experimental-music crowds are small and curious, so chatting with neighbours comes naturally.
Concordanze's much-loved New Year concert, titled 'Balla, Ludovico, balla!', is held on Sunday late morning at the Goethe Zentrum. Entry is free, and booking is recommended by email to concordanze@gmail.com. A small venue and a festive mood make it an easy outing to enjoy alone.
This monthly reading group meets on a Monday evening to swap impressions of a book chosen by the library or suggested by members. It is free and open to anyone, though you should sign up by phone or email first. Talking about a shared book is a gentle way to meet neighbours.
The Borges library's reading group explores lesser-known stories and new strands of contemporary fiction, with each month's book picked from library or member suggestions. Participation is free and open to all, but places are capped at 20, so register ahead. A small group with one book in common makes it easy to join the conversation.
The library's long-running reading group meets on the third Monday evening of the month to talk about a book chosen from the library's suggestions or the members' own. Over the years it has ranged across crime, historical, dystopian and psychological novels. It is free and open to anyone, but places are capped at 15, so sign up by phone or email first.
More for Bologna
How it works
The next event in Bologna is "Balthasar-Neumann-Chor: 'Songs for Peace and Light'" on Tuesday 27 Oct at 20:30. 10 events are listed in the next two weeks, and 28 up to Monday 18 Jan 2027.
14 of the 28 upcoming events listed here are marked free. The rest are low-cost or ticketed; the price is on each official page, so check it before you go.
Right now: music (16), learning (8), culture (4). Common venues are Biblioteca Amilcar Cabral, Teatro San Leonardo, Chiesa di Santa Cristina della Fondazza.
Yes, that is the point of this list. We pick talks, concerts, walks, language cafés and workshops where many people arrive on their own and there is a natural moment to start talking. Nobody checks whether you came with a friend.
Many of these events are also in the Meet & Mint app, where every event has its own chat and you can join alone. If one is not there yet, tap "+" in the app to add it and gather a group to go together.
Meet & Mint
Meet & Mint shows events and people near you on one map. Join an event alone, chat with the group, meet at the event. Free on iPhone and Android.