The Palazzo Davìa Bargellini is a Baroque style palace located on Strada Maggiore in central

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It presently hosts the Civic Museum of Industrial art and Davìa Bargellini Gallery, which is an eclectic collection of paintings as well as applied arts and functional ornamentation, described as ''curiosities of the old Bologna''. The diverse applied art collection includes ceramics,

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

robes, keys, ornamental door knobs,

marionette A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...

s from street theaters, furniture, iron

grille Grill or grille may refer to: Food * Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function * Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants, ...

work, elaborately carved wooden frame, and a gilded carriage.

Palace

Construction of the palace was commissioned in 1638 by Camillo Bargellini of a Bolognese Senatorial family. The architect was Bartolomeo Provaglia, and building was directed by Antonio Uri. A notable feature of the palace entrance are the two flanking

telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argo ...

s, locally called ''giganti'' or giants. These were sculpted in 1658 by Gabriele Brunelli and Francesco Agnesini. The scenic entrance stairwell was designed in 1730 by Carlo Francesco Dotti and Alfonso Torregiani. After a feud between the Bargellini family and the Ariosto family in the late 17th century, that led to both families' extinction, the Davìa family inherited the name, property and money of the Bargellini. In 1839-1874, the Davìa family occupied the palace. The last member left everything to public institutions. The idea of a museum was forwarded in 1924 by the then owner and Superintendent of Galleries, Francesco Malaguzzi Valeri, in part to display the collection of paintings assembled by the Davìa Bargellini families, and his personal collection of applied art. It became a "Museum of "Industrial Art".

Collections

The painting collection is varied and includes works from medieval age through the 19th century, from icons to portrait miniatures. Artists represented include

Vitale da Bologna 250px, ''St. George and the Dragon'' Vitale da Bologna (–1360), also known as Vitale di Aymo de' Cavalli or Vitale degli Equi, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He is a representative of the 14th century school of painting ...

with a ''Madonna dei Denti'', Simone dei Crocifissi with a ''Pietà con Giovanni da Elthinl'' (1368),

Cristoforo da Bologna Cristoforo da Bologna was an Italian painter. He was active in Bologna, Modena, and Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. ...

with a ''Madonna and Child'', Jacopo di Paolo with a ''St John the Baptist'', and Michele di Matteo with a ''St John the Evangelist''. Other artists in the collection include

Marcantonio Franceschini Marcantonio Franceschini (; 1648 – 24 December 1729) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mostly in his native Bologna. He was the father and teacher of Giacomo Franceschini.''The picture collector's manual'' by James R. Hob ...

Bartolomeo Cesi Bartolomeo Cesi (; 16 August 1556 – 11 July 1629) was an Italian painter and draftsman of the Bolognese School.Andrea Bayer. "Cesi, Bartolomeo" Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 7 November 2020 He made ea ...

Alessandro Tiarini Alessandro Tiarini (20 March 1577 – 8 February 1668) was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School. Biography Alessandro Tiarini was born in Bologna. His mother died when he was a child, and he was raised by an aunt. Early on his f ...

Prospero Fontana Prospero Fontana (1512–1597) was a Bolognese painter of late Renaissance and Mannerist art. He is perhaps best known for his frescoes and architectural detailing. The speed in which he completed paintings earned him commissions where he wor ...

and his daughter Lavinia,

Giuseppe Maria Crespi Giuseppe Maria Crespi (March 14, 1665 – July 16, 1747), nicknamed Lo Spagnuolo ("The Spaniard"), was an Italian late Baroque painter of the Bolognese School. His eclectic output includes religious paintings and portraits, but he is now most ...

and his son

Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

. There are portraits of the Bargellini family by

Bartolomeo Passerotti Bartolomeo Passarotti or Passerotti (1529–1592) was an Italian painter of the mannerist period, who worked mainly in his native Bologna. His family name is also spelled Passerotti or Passarotto. Life and work From approximately 1550 to 1555, h ...

. Among the sculpture represented is the bust of Virgilio Bargellini by Vincenzo Onofri, statuettes by

Giuseppe Maria Mazza Giuseppe Maria Mazza (13 May 1653 – 6 June 1741) was one of the leading sculptors of Bologna, Italy, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was trained as a painter, but is best known for his fine sculptural work in terracotta and stucco. ...

and Angelo Gabriello Piò, and the rich collection of figures for ''presespi'' ( crèches). The

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

-type carriage likely had more than one owner, and while engraved with the heraldic shield of Filippo de Angelis (1792–1872), it likely previously belonged to the

Pepoli The Pepoli are an aristocratic banking family of Bologna, in northern Italy. They were lords of the city for thirteen years in the fourteenth century. A branch of the family moved to Trapani in Sicily and were granted several feudal lordships and ...

family.Website on European museums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bargellini Houses completed in the 17th century Palaces in Bologna Baroque palaces in Italy Museums in Bologna