Archiginnasio of Bologna

[1] The construction of the Archiginnasio dates back to the 16th century, when the 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 papal legate Charles Borromeo and vice-legate Pier Donato Cesi during the years of the Council of Trent, who then entrusted the project to Antonio Morandi (known as il Terribilia).

Externally the building presents a porch some 139 meters long comprising thirty arches supported by sandstone columns, inside a central courtyard with two lines of loggias that surround the former church of Santa Maria dei Bulgari.

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.

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, an early pioneer of rhinoplasty.

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.