Museums of Bologna: which ones to visit absolutely | Sav Hotel

BOLOGNA CITY OF ART: THE MUSEUMS 

From the medieval history one to the contemporary art museum: the metropolitan area of Bologna hosts over 100 museums, both public and private, offering a vast cultural heritage for art lovers and more.

Just stroll through the historic center to discover how history and art are not just a part of Bologna but can be seen in every corner of the city.

There are so many historic buildings, fountains, monuments and museums that they are one with the city which, not surprisingly, is called the Learned among the various names.

Art lovers will find numerous places in Bologna where they can explore their interests: the main museums include the Pinacoteca Nazionale, for an in- depth study of Emilian painting from the 13th to the 18th century, the MamBo, a modern art museum, the Must, a multipurpose center and exhibition space, Palazzo Pallavicini, a 15th-century building that now houses art exhibitions, as well as the Civic Archaeological Museum, Egyptian Museum, Music Museum, Medieval Museum.

But for those in search of places of art, Bologna does not only offer museums: the Basilica of San Petronio with its 22 chapels, the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca which houses the icon of the Virgin and Child, the Basilica of San Domenico with inside the remains of the saint who gives it its name, the Basilica of Santo Stefano also known as the "Complex of the seven churches", the Church of Santa Maria della Vita which houses the well-known Lamentation of Niccolò dell'Arca and much more.

And in a city of art like Bologna, a fair cannot be missing: Arte Fiera.

Inaugurated in 1974, it is the oldest modern and contemporary art fair in Italy and takes place every year in pavilions 25 and 26 of the Bologna exhibition centre.

Since 2013, this great event has been joined by another: Art City, a set of artistic initiatives that "contaminate" the city of Bologna on the occasion of the Arte Fiera days.

The intent is to increasingly merge art with the city, bringing it to various points in the historic center to allow union with the urban context and give access to a wider audience and also to non-experts.

MAMBO: MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN BOLOGNA 

The MamBo, as the name suggests, is the modern art museum of Bologna, built inside a former bread oven.

The large rooms and high ceilings tell the story of the building of the past, built in 1915 to deal with the citizen's difficulty in finding cheap bread, due to the First World War.

Only several years later, in the second half of the 1990s, the bread oven took on a new face: the building was transformed into a three-story museum to house, in addition to the temporary and permanent exhibitions, also the entire Morandi Museum, famous Bolognese artist.

CIVIC ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM IN BOLOGNA

Another museum of excellence in the Bologna area is the Civic Archaeological Museum.

The Civic Archaeological Museum is located inside Palazzo Galvani, a fifteenth-century building which contains works from the period ranging from prehistory to the Roman age, as well as the history of the city and its surroundings.

The civilization of the valley “Po” Etruria had Bologna as its capital.

By visiting the Civic and Archaeological Museum, you have access to the collection of Egyptian antiquities, one of the most important in Italy.

Composed of approximately 4000 objects, the collection was formed starting from the exhibits present in the University Museum up to the one visible today, thanks to the contribution of the painter Pelagio Palagi and to private donations received over time.

INTERNATIONALE MUSEUM AND LIBRARY OF MUSIC IN BOLOGNA 

In a city of art like Bologna, a music museum cannot be missing.

The International Music Museum and Library was inaugurated in 2004 inside the sixteenth-century Palazzo Sanguinetti, in the rooms that hosted world-famous artists such as Gioacchino Rossini.

Rich in printed musical repertoires dating back to the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, precious manuscripts, letters, opera librettos and much more, it allows enthusiasts to even enter the laboratory of the Bolognese luthier Otello Bignami, faithfully reconstructed.

In one of the rooms it is also possible to admire a Mozart portrait who spent the summer of 1770 studying in the learned city.

The splendidly frescoed halls of the building house one of the most prestigious collections for the repertoire of printed music from the 1500s to the 1700s, for its incunabula, precious manuscripts, opera librettos, as well as for the unique collection of autographs and letters, the result of a correspondence held by Father Martini, spiritual father of the Museum, with eminent personalities, scholars and period musicians.

MEDIEVAL CIVIC MUSEUM IN BOLOGNA 

Jacopo della Quercia, Vincenzo Onofri and Francesco del Cossa are just some of the artists that can be admired in the Medieval Civic Museum of Bologna.

In the historic center, Palazzo Ghisilardi has been hosting this collection since 1985, in which the visitor can discover ancient artefacts made between 600 and 900 AD, illuminated manuscripts, Bust of Gregory XV Ludovisi by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the "San Michele Arcangelo slaying the devil" by Alessandro Algardi and much more.