The Archiginnasio of Bologna is one of the most important buildings in the city of

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 ...

; once the main building 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 ...

, it currently houses the Archiginnasio Municipal Library and the

Anatomical Theatre An anatomical theatre (Latin: ) was a specialised building or room, resembling a theatre, used in teaching anatomy at early modern universities. They were typically constructed with a tiered structure surrounding a central table, allowing a lar ...

. In the heart of the palace is the university Chapel of Santa Maria dei Bulgari, a reflection of history.

History

The construction of the Archiginnasio dates back to the 16th century, when Piazza Maggiore was drastically remodeled under papal orders; the Fountain of Neptune was built during this same period. The construction of the Archiginnasio was commissioned by Pope Pius IV through the papal legate

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

and the vice-legate Pier Donato Cesi during the years of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

, who then entrusted the project to Antonio Morandi (known as ''il Terribilia''). The building was begun at the end of February 1562, built very quickly, it was inaugurated on October 21, 1563. The goal of this project was to create a single place where the Schools of the "''Legisti"'' (Canon and Civil law) and "''Artisti''" (philosophy, medicine, mathematics, natural sciences and physics), previously located in various places across the town, could be hosted together. The building of the new "Schools" was named Archiginnasio after the classical term which was used to designate the ''Studium,'' as the University was first called'','' of Bologna. The Archiginnasio ceased to be a University in 1803 when the University was moved to

Palazzo Poggi The Palazzo Poggi is a ''palazzo'' in Via Zamboni 33, Bologna, Italy. It is the headquarters of the University of Bologna and of the rector of the university. History The Palazzo Poggi was built as the home of Alessandro Poggi and his brother th ...

where it is still located today. Scuole Pie (primary schools) were housed in this building for a few years and later, from 1838 onwards, were replaced by the city library. Archiginnasio Municipal Library is the largest library in

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. It was first established to keep the books collected from the closure of the religious orders made by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. At present it boasts 850,000 volumes and pamphlets, including 2,000 incunabula, about 15,000 16th century editions, 8,500 manuscripts, letters, collections of autographs, prints and drawings, and 250 archives. All of this material, handwritten and printed collections, are of the utmost importance. They deal with the civil, cultural, religious and social history of Bologna and its territory. Upon entering, visitors are asked to hand over all bags and writing materials which can be picked up when leaving.

The building

Externally the building presents a porch some 139 meters long comprising thirty arches supported by sandstone columns, inside a central courtyard with two line of loggias that surrounds the former church of Santa Maria dei Bulgari. Two stairways lead to the upper floor where are located the study rooms of the ''legisti'' (students who studied civil and canon law), and the ''artisti'' (students of other subjects such as philosophy, literature and medicine). Each of the ''legisti'' and the ''artisti'' had five classrooms in their respective wings, however only the legisti, who were considered the university's top students, had their classrooms in the main hallway. At the end of each wing there are two great halls, one of them has now become the library's reading room, the other one is now used as a congress room and is known as "Sala dello Stabat Mater" in memory of the first performance of Rossini's ''Stabat Mater'', directed by Gaetano Donizetti, on March 18, 1842. The walls of the building form an enormous

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

complex, made up of six thousand coats of arms painted on its walls. The honor of putting a coat of arms on the walls was reserved for those students who were elected by other students as heads of the ''nationes'' (student organizations)'','' and called ''councillors''.Touring Club Italiano 2000, p. 126-7. "Il diritto di far disegnare il proprio stemma era riservato esclusivamente a quegli studenti che rivestivano un ruolo di rappresentanza in seno agli organismi dell'Università (The permission to design one's own coat of arms was exclusively reserved to those students that filled the representative role in the University's system.") The coats of arms indicate the home country or city of the student, along with the student's name. On the walls of the lower portico are located a number of busts of the 17th century portraying lecturers from the university. Moreover, on the walls is also possible to notice the connection with the papal power (Bologna was the second main city of the Papal States), many are the coats of arms with the symbols of the church: triple crowns, St. Peter's keys and the clerical hats.

Anatomical theatre

The upper level of the building still houses the anatomical theatre, which was built in 1636 by Antonio Levanti. It was the hall used for anatomy lectures and displays. It is shaped like an amphitheater and made from fir wood with a

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...

ceiling, decorated with statues. It is overlooked by the ornate seat of the professor, topped by a baldaquin and supported by the statues of two naked and skinless men, known as "gli spellati" (the skinned ones), made by

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 ...

. The numerous sculptures that decorated the walls represent doctors from ancient and modern times: the busts are of people considered of lesser importance, while the most revered are represented in full. The two main statues, from left to right, represent

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

and

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

, the most prominent physicians of Greece and Rome, respectively. Another statue on the wall opposite the chair represents a medic holding a nose in his hand: it is a portrayal of Bologna native

Gaspare Tagliacozzi Gaspare Tagliacozzi (his last name has also been spelled Taliacotius, Tagliacoze or Tagliacozzio; Bologna, March 1545 – Bologna, 7 November 1599) was an Italian surgeon, pioneer of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Biography Tagliacozzi w ...

, an early pioneer of

rhinoplasty Rhinoplasty ( grc, ῥίς, rhī́s, nose + grc, πλάσσειν, plássein, to shape), commonly called nose job, medically called nasal reconstruction is a plastic surgery procedure for altering and reconstructing the nose. There are two typ ...

. As a result of Allied bombings on January 29, 1944, the room suffered extensive damage, but was subsequently reconstructed with exemplary philological rigour, using all the surviving elements retrieved from the rubble.

Notes

Bibliography

* The Palace of the Archiginnasio in Bologna, Bologna: Tipografia Metropolitana, 2010 * Michael Kiene
''L'architettura del Collegio di Spagna e dell'Archiginnasio. Esame comparato dell'architettura universitaria bolognese con quella europea''
en "Annali di Storia delle Università italiane", volumen 1, 1997 * Touring Club Italiano. ''Bologna.'' Trieste: Editoriale Lloyd, 2000. Print.

Image gallery

File:The Archiginnasio, Bologna, Italy, the wing with the Anatomical theatre.JPG, {{center, The palace seen from the inner courtyard. File:Bologna, Archiginnasio 04.JPG, The inner courtyard. File:Bologna, Archiginnasio 03.JPG, The inner courtyard portico. Access to the staircases. File:BO-Archiginnasio-Stemmi1.jpg, Student's coats of arms File:Archiginnasio-Stemmi2.jpg, Other coats of arms File:BO-Archiginnasio.jpg, Inscription in honor to

File:Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio, Bologna, Italy - the teacher's chair and the Spellati (skinned).JPG, Anatomical theatre. The baldequin of the "''spellati''". File:Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio, Bologna, Italy - the statue of Apollo on the ceiling.JPG, Anatomical Theater. Wooden ceiling with statue of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

. File:Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio, Bologna, Italy - the statue of Hippocrates.JPG, Teatro anatómico. Statue of

. File:Fotografia dell'Emilia - n. 101 - Bologna - Archiginnasio - Cortile interno.jpg, Inner courtyard. Historic photograph by Pietro Poppi (1883–1914)

External links

Stemmi e iscrizioni della decorazione parietale del palazzo dell'Archiginnasio

Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio - Bologna
{{coord, 44, 29, 32, N, 11, 20, 37, E, region:IT-45_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Archiginnasio Of Bologna Palaces in Bologna Tourist attractions in Bologna Libraries in Bologna