Bologna’s image
In the 18th century Bologna was made a coveted destination on the Grand Tour by its geographical location and glorious history. Bologna “The Learned” as it was called attracted flocks of students from all corners of Europe thanks to the prestige of its ancient university. Travellers were drawn by the fertile soils or the majestic senatorial palaces with their scenographical staircases, the large convents, the never-ending galleries, the active theatre and music scenes.
The Bolognese school of painting started to claim its autonomy from that of Tuscany, as was proclaimed by Carlo Cesare Malvasia in his Felsina – the city’s Etruscan name – The Painter published in 1678. The same Malavisa is the author of the first artistic guide to Bologna in 1686. Artists such as Ludovico, Agostino and Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni and Guercino rose to fame through the journals of the first Tourists, as did the rich Bolognese art collections. As the second city in the Papal States, Bologna was governed by a Cardinal-legatus standing in for the Pope’s power, who lived in the Palazzo Publico. The religious authority instead resided at the Archbishop’s palace nearing the San Pietro cathedral.
ThThe real communal church was the San Petronio Basilia, dedicated to the patron saint of the city and built in the late 14th century by popular demand. It overlooked the Piazza Maggiore as well as the Palazzo del Podestà and the Banchi gallery, redesigned by architect Jacopo Barozzi AKA Il Vignola. The reorganization of the power centers that occurred in 1560 had seen the opening Piazza del Nettuno with the famous fountain by architect Tommaso Laureti and the bronze statue by Giambologna and the foundation of the Archiginnasio where the University’s classes had been regrouped to ensure the new doctrinal control birthed by the Counter-Reformation. The repeated Plague epidemics, the demographic plummeting and the economic stagnation which ensued had delayed the city’s development. During the course of the 18th century, Bologna instead started establishing itself as a cultural capital.
