Scientific
Bologna
Suzerain and envoy bonuses summarised in our own words from the game data.
Suzerain bonus
Each of your districts that has at least one building generates +1 Great Person point of its own type (Theater Squares give Writer, Artist and Musician points).
Game data trace
MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_ADMIRAL_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_ARTIST_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_ENGINEER_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_GENERAL_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_MERCHANT_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_MUSICIAN_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_PROPHET_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_SCIENTIST_POINTS_BONUS, MINOR_CIV_BOLOGNA_UNIQUE_INFLUENCE_GREAT_WRITER_POINTS_BONUSStrategy guide
Each district with at least one building generates +1 Great Person point of its type, empire-wide. In a wide empire with Campuses, Theater Squares and Harbors everywhere, that is a quiet but permanent edge in every Great Person race at once.
Best civs & plans
Scales with district count — Germany and other wide builders benefit most. Valuable in any game where a specific Great Scientist or Engineer is contested.
Envoy plan
Three envoys placed once your core cities have their first district buildings is the natural moment; before that most districts are empty shells and generate nothing extra. Bologna is scientific, so the Library and University tiers add on top of the Campus points, making it a comfortable six-envoy target for a science player and a three-envoy one for everyone else. The AI values it highly and Great-Person-focused leaders will outbid a bare three, so plan to sit one envoy above the leader and refresh after each era. Redirect envoys from cultural city-states whose one-envoy bonus you were not really using; a wide empire with fifteen active districts gets more from Bologna's point trickle than from a couple of Culture in Amphitheaters, because the points decide who wins each Great Scientist and Engineer.
Value by era
In the ancient era one Campus with a Library gives a single extra point, which still matters because the first Great Scientist is often decided by a margin that small. The classical and medieval eras are where Bologna compounds: every new district that gets its first building adds a permanent point, so by the time an empire has eight cities with two or three built districts each, the bonus equals a second set of buildings in every specialty. It plateaus once expansion stops, usually in the Renaissance, and from then on its relative weight shrinks as buildings and wonders push per-district points higher. Late acquisition is still fine for a wide empire because all existing districts count instantly; a small empire that picks it up in the Industrial era gets little.
Pitfalls and how to protect it
Districts without a single building contribute nothing, so an empire that spams Commercial Hubs for trade routes and never builds Markets sees a much smaller bonus than the district count suggests; finish the first building before moving on. Holy Sites only pay while Great Prophets are still available, and Encampment points go to Generals you may not want, so count the districts that matter before ranking Bologna against other city-states. The bonus quietly raises your bids in every Great Person race at once, which is the real reason to guard it: an AI stealing suzerainty in the medieval era hands them the Scientist you were saving for. If Bologna is conquered, points stop the same turn; liberation is rarely worth a war on its own, but it pairs well with an existing campaign in that direction.
Envoy bonuses
- 1 envoy+1 Science in your capital and in each Library you own.
- 3 envoys+2 Science in each University and each Consulate you own.
- 6 envoys+3 Science in each Research Lab and each Chancery you own.
Envoy bonuses are shared by every city-state of the same type.
Other Scientific city-states
Related guides
- City-States and Envoys: Where Your Influence Should GoWhere envoys come from, how to spend the first handful, which city-state types match each victory plan, how to win and keep suzerainty against the AI, and when conquering a city-state is the right call.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Diplomatic Victory: Earning and Spending FavorA working plan for the Gathering Storm diplomatic victory: where Diplomatic Favor actually comes from, how World Congress sessions and votes turn into victory points, which emergencies, competitions and wonders matter, how to keep alliances alive, and when to spend favor versus hold it against a rival's lead.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Early District Planning: The First 100 TurnsHow to read city sites for future adjacency, decide between settling for yields now or reserving tile clusters, and know when a planned layout should be abandoned.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
Last reviewed: 2026-10-03