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Look at... |
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BOLOGNA Things to see
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Cathedral of San Petronio
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| This is the most important monument in the Piazza Maggiore, one of the most significant creations of Italian Gothic architecture. Begun in 1390 by Antonio di Vincenzo, it was finished in the 17th century. Its marble façade, from the beginning of the 15th century, is by the Sienese artist Jacopo della Quercia. Re-worked and updated many times, it is still unfinished. The upper half even today is undergoing revision. The central doorway, considered a masterpiece of the early Renaissance, is decorated with low reliefs and sculptures by Jacopo della Quercia (1425-1438). The interior, majestic in form and with a nave entryway, has ogival vaults on top of the pilasters and numerous spans. In the side chapels there are many works of art, including paintings by F. Francia, L. Costa and Parmigianino; frescoes by Giovanni del Modena; stained glass windows by Giacomo da Ulma; statues by Sansovino; and a floor in Faenza majolica designed by P. d’ Andrea da Faenza in 1487. |
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Church of San Domenico
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| The great monastic church of S. Domenico, situated in the piazza with the same name, was built by the Dominicans between 1221 and 1223 and modified in 1728 by F. Dotti, who preserved the original façade. The interior, with three naves, is rich in works of art. The most outstanding is the celebrated Arch of S. Domenico, from the workshop of Nicola Pisano, with low reliefs by Fra Guglielmo (1267) and statues by Niccolò dell’Arca and Michelangelo. Other outstanding works are the San Raimondo di Penafort by Ludovico Carracci; paintings representing the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary, executed by G. Remi, Agostino and Carracci; The Redeemer and the Archangel Michael, by F. Franci; The Wedding Ceremony of S. Catherine and a work from the 1500’s by Filippino Lippi. From the right nave of the church one reaches the cloister of the dead, built between the 14th and the 15th centuries, dominated by the apse of the Chapel of S. Domenico and the belltower from the 1300’, in Romanesque Gothic style. |
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Church of San Francesco
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| The church, situated in the piazza of the same name, was built by the Franciscans between 1236 and 1263. It is French Gothic in form, with an apse and a chapel in a radiating pattern. Damaged during the second World War, it was restored in 1949. The façade, Romanesque in style, is characterized by a cusp and a protyrum that proceeds the doorway. To one side, the 13th century late Gothic Chapel of S. Bernardino projects outward. The shorter belltower is from 1260; the other, by Antonio di Vincenzo, is from 1402. The interior has architectonic elements typical of the trans- Alpine Gothic. It has three naves without a transept, and there is a large chorus bench, corridor, radiating side chapels and ogival (pointed) vaults. On the main altar is the large marble altar table, Gothic in style, by Piera Paolo delle Masegne (late 1300’s). This is decorated with numerous statues. In the nave on the left is the tomb of Pope Alexander V, from 1424. On the right is the tomb of A. Zambeccari, created in 1571 by Casario. The sacristy in the two cloisters are also very interesting. They are from the end of the 14th century. |
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Church of San Giacomo Maggiore
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Situated in Piazza Rossini, the Church of S. Giacomo Maggiore, from the 1200’s and 1300’s, conserves the original Gothic construction. It has a beautiful façade with the doorway flanked by sepulchral niches and absidal chapels. The side that faces Via Zamboni is reached through a Renaissance doorway with decorations in terracotta. The interior with a single nave, Renaissance in style with Baroque decorations, houses numerous works of art: S. Rocco Consoled by an Angel, by Federico Carracci; The Mystic Wedding of S. Catherine, by Innocenzo da Imola; a polyptych by Paolo Veneziano, a crucifix by Simone da Bologna; and the tomb of Anton Galeazzo Bentivoglio, made in 1435 by Jacopo dell’ Quercia and collaborators.
Of special interest is the Bentivoglio Chapel, square in form with an elegant dome This was consecrated in 1486. There are 15th century frescoes by L. Costa on the walls and an altar table (1494) by F. Francia.
Continuing along Via Zamboni, one reaches the Oratory of S. Cecilia (1400’s), with a painting cycle representing the lives of Saints Cecilia and Valeriano. This was created in 1506 by F. Francia, L. Costa and students. |
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Church of Santa Maria dei Servi
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| The Gothic church of S. Maria dei Servi, rising up on Strada Maggiore, was begun in 1346 and enlarged between 1386 and 1396. It was completed in the beginning of the 16th century. In front of the church is a quadri-portico of noble forms partially from the 1400’s. The three-naved entrance contains many works of art: frescoes by Vitali da Bologna, a polyptych representing the Madonna Enthroned and Saints, by Lippi di Dalmasio, a tablet with the Madonna Enthroned by Cimabue, and at the "peribolo", the monument to Gian Giacomo and Andrea Grati, by V. Onogri, from the 1500’s. In some of the rooms of the convent annex, some detached frescoes are preserved, including The Four Angels by G. Reni. |
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The Santo Stefano Complex
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| A group of sacred medieval buildings representing the holy places of Jerusalem, perhaps dating from the 5th century. Now, for the most part, they are from the 11th and 12th centuries. Overlooking the Piazza are the Church of the Saints Vitali and Agricola, the polygonal Church of San Sepulchre and the Church of the Crucifixion. |
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The Fountain of Neptune
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The celebrated Fountain of Neptune, also called "of the giant", rises on the Piazza of the same name, in front of the Palace of Re Enzo (1200’s), which was so named because it was closed up until the death of the son of Frederick II, Enzo.
One of the most beautiful fountains of the 1500’s, it was planned by Laureti and in 1566, decorated with figures by Giambologna: bronze statues of Neptune with his trident in the act of calming the waves, "putti" (little angelic babies), and sirenes. |
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Bevilacqua Palace
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| This palace, erected between 1474 and 1482 by various architects from the Tuscan School, is considered the most beautiful early Renaissance building in Bologna. It has a embossed façade with a double row of bifore and windows and loggia in wrought iron. It opens onto a beautiful interior courtyard. |
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Palace of the Comune (Town Hall)
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| This is a monumental architectonic complex made up of buildings from various time periods that partially overlooks Piazza Maggiore. The building to the left, with an sharply-peaked ogival doorway, is dominated by a tower from the 13th century that rises alongside. The building to the right, with bifore decorated by terracotta, was planned in 1428. In the center is a grandiose doorway designed in 1555 by G. Alessi and subsequently completed by D. Tibaldi. On the balcony is a bronzed statue of Menfanti representing Gregory III. On the left is a terracotta executed by N. dell’Arca in 1478, representing the Madonna with Child. Inside is a beautiful courtyard with entrances on three sides, with two lovely doorways from the 1500’s attributed to Alessi. On the upper floor one finds rooms rich with works of art. On the second floor is the Town Art Collection, with canvases from the Bolognese school, miniatures and various art objects. |
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Palace of the Podestà
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| This Palace, which is from the 1200’s, faces the Piazza Maggiore. It was rebuilt beginning in 1472 in elegant Renaissance forms, according to the plans of Fieravanti. Beneath the Palace, on the Tower by Arengo (13th century), two streets cross. At their corners are terracotta statures of the patron saints of Bologna. |
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Palace of the Merchants
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| An elegant building that looks onto the Piazza of the Merchants, it was erected in Gothic style beginning in 1382, probably according to the plans of Antonio di Vincenzo. It is decorated with a small terrace with a pointed "baldacchino" (canopy), bifore with Istria stones, merlon and a high doorway. |
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Piazza Maggiore
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| The Piazza Maggiore is in the heart of Bologna. Nearby are the Cathedral of San Petronio, the Palace of the Podestà and the Town Hall (see map). To the right of San Petronio is the medieval Palace of the Notaries, built between the 14th and 15th centuries. On the east side of the piazza is the Banchi Palace, planned by Vignola in 1568. |
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National Art Gallery
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The National Art Gallery of Bologna, divided into three sections, is especially noteworthy for its excellent collection of Emilian painting from the 14th to 18th centuries.
In the Primitives section are precious paintings of the 1300’s by Vitale da Bologna, Lippo di Dalmasio, Iacopino da Bologna, Giovanni da Modena, Andrea di Barolo, Giovanni da Bologna and others.
The Renaissance section includes works dating from the second half of the 15th century up to the 16th century. Among these are the polyptych by Vivarini, the altar painting of The Merchants by Francesco del Cossa, The Cry of Mary by Ercole de’ Roberti, The Madonna of Santa Margherita by Parmigianinio, The Supper of Saint Gregory the Great by Vasari and The Ecstasy of Santa Cecilia by Raphael.
The Baroque section contains canvases by Carracci, works by Guido Reni, Tiarini, Cavedoni, Domenichino, Pasinelli and many others. |
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Leaning Towers
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Among the many towers of the nobility of which the city boasted in medieval times, only two have remained: Asinelli Tower and Garisenda Tower. The taller one is Asinelli (97.6 meters), erected at the beginning of the 12th century to serve as a watchtower. The loggia was added in 1488. One can go up the tower, which has a tilt to the west of 1.23 meters, by climbing up the 498 steps.
The Garisenda Tower, which is older, was built at the end of the 11th century, for an urban viewing post. It measures 48.16 meters and has an overhang, due to the settling ground, of 3.22 meters. In the 14th century it was "chopped off" at the top at the request of Giovanni Visconti da Oleggio. |
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