Bologna Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna
Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna Photos
About Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna
This door leads into the Accademia di Belle Arti e Accademia Clementina. Inside to the right is a beautiful oak library which essentially lives in the lecture theatre across from it as restoration work has been taking place for quite some time now.
The whole building actually comprises of an art gallery and Pinacoteca National Museum next door while this one is used solely for teaching purposes.
This incredible room, still incomplete, is by far the most distinguished one here. It’s the result of a series of architectural modifications based on the original San Ignazio College for Jesuit novices built mostly between 1670-1685 for religious teaching. It was later enlarged during the XVIII century with the addition of a retreat and church, currently this lecture hall.
The origins of Accademia Clementina are traced back to 1706 when a group of artists led by Giampietro Canotti founded the academy with its headquarters in Palazzo Poggi. It was officially recognized by Pope Clemente XI in 1711and henceforth named in his honour. The institute eventually transferred here in 1803.
In the meantime, Alfonso Torreggiani began work on the church in 1726 that included a dome and central plan. The church was completed in 1735, then in 1739 an extension was provided linking up the Jesuits’ building to the nearby Collegio Ancarano.
The various paintings in this room were donated to the academy by the city as a result of its successful efforts to promote and encourage interest in the arts.
When the Jesuits were suppressed by the French ‘the building was turned over for use as part of the Università Nazionale of the Napoleonic era, which housed Accademia Nazionale di Belle Arti, formerly the Accademia Clementina.’
Further restructuring work resulted in the demolition of the dome and the tambour by G.B. Martinetti. As a consequence the ex-church became the main lecture theatre. Other alterations were carried out later by F. Antolini.
If we continue up another flight of stairs there’s more evidence of art work hiding in every nook and cranny. Besides the apparent size and long corridors here this complex is made up of a rectangular block linked around this courtyard which was constructed on the site formerly occupied by houses of the Gabrielli family and designed by Francesco Martini. It’s said to date back to 1660. Incidentally, the ancient well in the centre was created by Francesco Terribilia in 1568 and once adorned the Botanical Gardens of the Palazzo Comunale
Back down on the ground floor once more are various works of art lining the corridors. All of the exhibits on display in the building are copies of original Roman works of art. However, these are not merely copies since they are in fact the only permitted copies dating to the 1700s when an accord was struck between the academy and Pope Benedetto XIV.
The statues are made from a type of plaster even though they do appear to be solid. This by no means devalues them either since of course they are so old in the first place but the type of plaster used then was also said to be far superior than its modern counterpart.
Classrooms and spaces along the corridors are often used to display students works which in modern day terms includes photographic and digital exhibits.
Finally, one last room here called ‘Sala Duca di Curlandia’, the Duke of Curland Room. Inside is this marble monument to the Duke by Angelo Venturoli and Giacomo de Maria dating to 1786. Records show that when he stopped by here in the late 1700s he was so impressed by the academy that he bestowed upon them the equivalent of 2million euros – a sum that was invested towards an annual award in his honour, which lasted a mere 250 years!
References
Giuseppe Lipparini, L’Accademia di Belle Arti e L’Accademia Clementina di Bologna, Bologna, 2003, pp5-76.
Giuseppe Sassatelli, Cristiana Morigi Govi, Jacopo Ortalli, Francesca Bocchi, Atlante Storico Delle Città Italiane Emilia Romagna Bologna, Bologna III, Bologna 1996, p185.
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