Archiginnasio di Bologna
Bologna
In the heart of Bologna, the Archiginnasio was the first single home of the ancient University. With its porticoes, painted coats of arms and the incredible wooden Anatomical Theatre, this 16th-century palace keeps the memory of Bologna's learning. Your treasure map leads you to where students from all over Europe were already studying in the 1500s.
History
The Archiginnasio was built between 1562 and 1563 at the wish of the papal vice-legate Pier Donato Cesi, to a design by the architect Antonio Morandi, known as il Terribilia. The aim was to bring together in one building Bologna's various university schools, until then scattered around the city. The building remained the seat of the University until 1803, when it moved to Palazzo Poggi.
Since 1838 the palace has housed the Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio, one of the most important libraries in Italy.
What to see
The long portico and the inner walls are covered with thousands of coats of arms and inscriptions dedicated to the students and teachers who taught here: it is one of the largest heraldic wall decorations in the world.
The jewel of the building is the Anatomical Theatre, a room entirely lined with fir wood built in 1637, where public dissections of corpses were held for the study of medicine. In the centre stands the marble table for the lessons, while the lecturer's chair is topped by the two famous statues of the "spellati" (the flayed men).
Curiosities
The Anatomical Theatre was badly damaged by the bombing of January 1944 and later rebuilt using the surviving original wooden fragments.
Visiting
The portico and courtyard are free to enter; the Anatomical Theatre and the Sala dello Stabat Mater require a ticket. The Archiginnasio is a few steps from Piazza Maggiore, next to the Basilica di San Petronio.
