[6] Tibaldi, a native of Bologna, returned to the city in 1555 and painted frescos for the Cardinal in the palace and the family chapel.

The Institute of Science was a model learning establishment in Europe during the Age of Enlightenment and a key part of the University of Bologna.

During the Napoleonic period, scientific equipment from the Institute was dispersed among different faculties (anatomy, optics, chemistry, geography, nautical science, physics, astronomy) and the historical collections were scattered in various museums.

[8] At the end of the twentieth century, a cultural project was promoted by the University to return and gather the dispersed collections back to their historic home.

Also on the ground floor there is the Hercules Room, holding a statue of the mythological hero sculpted by Angelo Piò in 1730.