The Palazzo Poggi is a ''

palazzo A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

'' in Via Zamboni 33,

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. It is the headquarters of the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

and of the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the university.

History

The Palazzo Poggi was built as the home of Alessandro Poggi and his brother the future Cardinal Giovanni Poggio. The building was erected between 1549 and 1560. The design of the Palazzo Poggi has been attributed to Bartolomeo Triachini. He was apparently given the commission for the Palazzo Poggi by the Bishop

Giovanni Poggi Giovanni Poggi may refer to: *Giovanni Poggio Giovanni Poggio (also written Poggi) (21 January 1493 – 12 February 1556) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. He is mainly known for the elaborate decorations he arranged for his ...

shortly before he was elevated to Cardinal. Other sources attribute the design of the Palazzo Poggi to Pellegrino Tibaldi. Cardinal Poggi met Pellegrino Tibaldi after the painter moved to Rome in 1547, and later commissioned him to paint the Palazzo Poggi. Tibaldi, a native of Bologna, returned to the city in 1555 and painted frescos for the Cardinal in the palace and the family chapel. The frescoes are considered Tibaldi's masterpiece. In 1714 the Palazzo Poggi became the House of the Instituto dell Scienze of Bologna. The Institute of Sciences was founded by Luigi Ferdinando Marsili. The Tower Observatory (La Specola) was built between 1712 and 1725. The library was built in 1744 following designs by

Giuseppe Antonio Torri Giuseppe Antonio Torri (1655 – c. 1713) was an Italian architect of the early 18th century. He was born and died in Bologna, where he was active in a late-Baroque style. His surname is also spelled Tórri. He initially trained with his fat ...

and Carlo Francesco Dotti. The collection of images was begun in 1754. The monumental Great Hall of the institute was added to the north side of the palace in the eighteenth century, opened in 1756. The Institute of Science was a model learning establishment in Europe during the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

and a key part of the

. It enjoyed the protection of the Bolognese Pope

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

(Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini). During the Napoleonic period, scientific equipment from the Institute was dispersed among different faculties (anatomy, optics, chemistry, geography, nautical science, physics, astronomy) and the historical collections were scattered in various museums. Only the library remained in the Palazzo Poggi, to form the nucleus of the future university library. The Palazzo is now one of the main buildings of the

. At the end of the twentieth century, a cultural project was promoted by the University to return and gather the dispersed collections back to their historic home.

Layout and usage

The current appearance of the Palazzo Poggi, with a large courtyard with loggia and a large staircase to the piano nobile is due to the interventions by Cardinal Giovanni Poggi. The palace has fresco decorations mainly from the

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

and early- Baroque periods, the works include:Muuseo Palazzo Poggi
mural decorations. *Rooms of ''Moses'', ''David'', and camerino of the ''Sphinxes'' by Prospero Fontana *Rooms of ''Susana'' and of the ''Zodiac'' by Pellegrino Tibaldi *Rooms of ''Camilla'', ''Landscapes'', the concert hall with ''Labors of Hercules'', and of ''Winemaking Putti'' by

Niccolò dell'Abbate Niccolò dell'Abbate, sometimes Nicolò and Abate (1509 or 15121571) was a Mannerist Italian painter in fresco and oils. He was of the Emilian school, and was part of the team of artists called the School of Fontainebleau that introduced the I ...

*Rooms of ''Grotteschi'' and ''Telemons'' by Fontana, Nosadella and Ercole Procaccini the Elder. On the ground floor there is a hall dedicated to the poet

Giosuè Carducci Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci (; 27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907) was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was very noticeably influential, and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906, h ...

, the ''Aula Carducci'', in which the poet gave lectures on the Italian language and literature for 40 years. Also on the ground floor there is the Hercules Room, holding a statue of the mythological hero sculpted by Angelo Piò in 1730. The palace also houses various university museums, the university rectorate, the Bologna University Library and the picture gallery, with over 600 fine portraits.

Museum collections

*Natural history **

Ulisse Aldrovandi Ulisse Aldrovandi (11 September 1522 – 4 May 1605) was an Italian naturalist, the moving force behind Bologna's botanical garden, one of the first in Europe. Carl Linnaeus and the comte de Buffon reckoned him the father of natural history st ...

Museum **Collections of Luigi Ferdinando Marsili **Diluvian Museum of the Institute of Science *Anatomy and obstetrics **Obstetrics School ** Anatomical wax models of

Ercole Lelli Ercole Lelli (14 September 1702 – 7 March 1766) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque, active mainly in Northern Italy, including his native city of Bologna, as well as Padua and Piacenza. Lelli was a pupil of the painter Giovanni Pietro ...

**Anatomical wax models of Giovanni Manzolini and Anna Morandi Manzolini. **The Venerina of Clemente Susini *Physics and chemistry **Light and optics **Electricity *Geography room *Military Architecture *Library of the Institute of Science *Gallery of ships

Gallery

File:The ceilings in Palazzo Poggi - Bologna.jpg, Ceiling of ''Sala of David'' by Prospero Fontana File:Seventeenth century globe - Palazzo Poggi.jpg, Seventeenth century globe by

Vincenzo Coronelli Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (August 16, 1650 – December 9, 1718) was an Italian Franciscan friar, cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes. He spent most of his life in Venice. Biog ...

(Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna) File:Biblioteca dell'Universita di Bologna.jpg, University library File:Scheletri - Palazzo Poggi.jpg, Exhibits in the anatomical museum File:2017-03 Bologna Mattes Pana (33).JPG, ditto File:Obstetrical room - Palazzo Poggi.jpg, Models illustrating the birth process File:Museo Palazzo Poggi.jpg, The "Venerina" of Clemente Susini (anatomical wax model)

Notes and references

Notes Citations Sources * * * * * * * * {{refend External links
MeuS Museo europeo degli Studenti
Houses completed in 1560 University of Bologna Poggi