Collezioni Comunali d'Arte & Palazzo d'Accursio Courtyard
Most visitors stream past Palazzo d'Accursio on Piazza Maggiore without realising that its grand courtyard and the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte upstairs contain one of Bologna's most rewarding and least-crowded art experiences. Frescoed halls, a magnificent Sala Farnese and a collection spanning medieval altarpieces to Baroque canvases await — for a fraction of the price and crowds of Florence's gal
The palace itself
Palazzo d'Accursio has been the seat of Bologna's city government since 1336 and its façade dominates the western flank of Piazza Maggiore. Step through the main portal and into the arcaded courtyard — a serene Renaissance space with a monumental staircase designed to allow dignitaries to ride up on horseback.
The Cappella di Santa Maria dei Bulgari on the ground floor contains a luminous Madonna and Child by Luca della Robbia in glazed terracotta — a small masterpiece that most visitors walk straight past.
The civic art collections upstairs
The Collezioni Comunali d'Arte occupy the piano nobile: room after room of Bolognese and Emilian paintings from the 14th to 19th centuries, displayed in frescoed salons with original furniture, tapestries and decorative arts. Giorgio Morandi's early still-life paintings and works by Guido Reni and Donato Creti are highlights.
The Sala Farnese is the showstopper: a vast ceremonial hall with an elaborately painted ceiling and two enormous equestrian bronzes of Pope Gregory XIII and Pope Urban VIII that dominate the space with theatrical grandeur. You will almost certainly have it to yourself.
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