Should you wish to extend your stay, we indicate the following three different routes to discover the main attractions of the city of Bologna, the history and the art, the music and the university, with the assumption of the time required to visit each site and some indications on the possible cost of the ticket.
Bologna highlights
h 15.00
visit to the Archiginnasio Palace, with the Anatomic Theatre and the Stabat Mater
The building of the Palace was commissioned by Cardinal Borromeo between 1562 and 1563 following the project by architect Antonio Morandi called Terribilia; it was to house the lecture halls for the University Study (Law and Arts). Up to 1803 it was the seat of the University and since 1838 it has housed the Civic Library. The palace was heavily damaged by a 1944 bombing and subsequently rebuilt. The main frontpresents an arcade with 30 arches, with two stories around a central courtyard. Two grand staircases lead to the upper storey with classrooms (closed at present) and two great halls one for Artists (today Reading rooms) and one for Jurists (called Stabat Mater Hall). In front of the entrance there is the chapel of S. Maria dei Bulgari. The Anatomical Theatre in carved wood, was built by Antonio Levante in 1637 for anatomy lessons.
Full price ticket includes entrance to the Anatomic Theatre and Stabat Mater | € 3,00
h 16.00
visit to the Basilica of St Petronio, with the Bolognini Chapel
The Basilica of St Petronio, honoring the patron saint (eighth bishop of Bologna from 431 to 450), is the most imposing and the most important church in Bologna. Building started in 1390 under the supervision of the architect Antonio di Vincenzo. The main entrance of the Church known as Porta Magna was built in 1425 by the famous artist Jacopo Della Quercia. The side doors of the Church are beautifully decorated with magnificent operas such as the Resurrezione by Alfonso Lombardi and the Deposizione by Amico Aspertini.
Many other treasures are hidden inside the Church of San Petronio, one of them is the Bolognini Chapel which has preserved in its interior the original decoration.
Free entrance
h 17.00
visit to Santa Maria della Vita in order to see the beautiful Compianto sul Cristo Morto by Niccolò dell’Arca
The monumental site of Santa Maria della Vita, the cupola of which was designed by Bibiena, is the most important example of Baroque architecture in Bologna. It includes the Sanctuary, which houses the largest collection of terracotta sculptures of the Italian Renaissance, the Compianto sul Cristo Morto by Niccolò dell’Arca; the Oratorio dei Battuti, which houses the Transito della Vergine by Alfonso Lombardi, and the Museum of Health, situated in the old Santa Maria Della Vita hospital.
Free entrance
h 17.45
visit to the Complesso delle Sette Chiese
Santo Stefano’s church is a complex of religious buildings of Bologna. The Church is also known as Complesso delle Sette Chiese and comprises the facades of Crocifisso, Calvario and Ss. Vitale and Agricola Churches. The Complex stand in the beautiful Square of Santo Stefano located in front of it.
Free entrance
Bologna city of Music
h 15.00
visit to the International Museum and Library of Music
The International Museum and Library of Music, inaugurated in 2004, can be found in the historic center of Bologna. It is in the prestigious Palazzo Sanguinetti. It hosts an exhibition whose uniqueness lies in the synergy created between different collections of all kinds, but linked by a single thread: music. The rooms are splendidly decorated and trace back over six centuries of history.
Full price ticket | €5,00
h 16.00
visit to the Basilica of St Petronio
The Church hosts the most important musical chapel of Bologna which was built in 1436. Inside the chapel, built by Lorenzo Da Prato in 1470, is possible to admire the most prestigious and older functional organ in the world. Another organ, more recent (1596), belongs to Baldassarre Malamini and despite its 400 years it is still functional as well.
Free entrance
ore 17.00
visit to the Collection Tagliavini of San Colombano
Inaugurated on 21 June 2010, the site houses a collection of ancient musical instruments donated by Maestro Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, comprising seventy pieces, including harpsichords, spinets, pianos, clavichords and other instruments, as well as the specialised library of Bolognese musicologist Oscar Mischiati.
Full price ticket | €8,00
Group ticket (more than 15 people) | €5,00
*The Ticket includes the entrance to Palazzo Pepoli (Museum of the Hystory of Bologna) and San Colombano (Tagliavini Collection)
Discovering Bononia
h 15.00
visit to the Archiginnasio Palace, with the Anatomic Theatre and the Stabat Mater
h 16.00
when outside the Archiginnasio Palace, passing Piazza Maggiore it is possible to admire on the left the enchanting Accursio Palace and the statue of Pope Gregorio XIII (1502-1585) which was once a law Professor of the ancient University of Bologna.
h 16.15
visit to the Medieval Museum
The museum opened in 1985 in the Palazzo Ghisilardi-Fava. The Palazzo was built as a noble residence towards the end of the 15th century and is one of the most important and beautiful examples of Bolognese architecture of the Bentivoglio period.
The most important part of the museum is dedicated to the Medieval Period from the most antique artefacts of the Medieval Age (7th-9th centuries), to the great statue of Bonifacio VIII in gold-plated copper on wood. Furthermore, a part of the Museum is dedicated to the ancient University of Bologna.
This part contains many funeral sculptures dedicated to the teachers of the “Studio” (l4th-15th century), in which a strong will to praise is combined with the expressiveness of the local Gothic culture.
Full price ticket| € 5,00
Reduced ticket | € 3,00
h 17.15
visit to the Oratory of Santa Cecilia
The Oratory of Santa Cecilia is one of the most extraordinary piece of Bologna Renaissance. Inside it is possible to admire ten frescos representing the life of Santa Cecilia produced by Francesco Francia, Lorenzo Costa e Amico Aspertini.
Free entrance