Bologna, Italy is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. It is the second economic center of southern Italy and is well known as a port and university city. Bologna has a population of approximately 375,000 people. Over the centuries, Bologna has taken on several nicknames, including Bologna the Red, due to the red brick and marble buildings. The nickname is also referred to the city's politics. Until the election in 1999, the city was a historic bastion of socialism and communism. They were overthrown in 2004, with the election of Sergio Cofferati. It was one of the first European settlements to experiment with the concept of "free" public transport. Another nickname is Basket City because of the city's obsession with basketball, which is unusual because football dominates the sport scene in Italy. The town is full of medieval architecture and reconstruction, and Bologna has remained on of the best preserved Medieval cities in Europe.