The Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna was originally the Portrait gallery for the city's College for Fine Arts. It was only in 1882 that it became a museum in its own right. It was opened to the public in 1885. The gallery is divided into sections and has a valuable collection of paintings from different periods between the 14th and 18th Centuries. There are many famous names of artists amongst the list of paintings. Some of the following are particularly famous: the fourteenth century polytych by Giotto, the late Gothic paintings by Lippo di Dalmasio and Jacopo di Paolo, as well as some masterpieces by Raffaello, Parmigianino, Franceso Cossa and Lorenzo Costa to show the Renaissance styles. The Mannerists are represented by Prospero Fontana and Bartolomeo Passarotti. There is also work by Guercino, Lorenzo Sabbatini, Denjis Calvaert and Guido Reni. Much of the museum has been given over to work by Carraccio and to the prestigious Art school which he founded. There is also an entire room which houses a collection of paintings by Crespi. Call ahead or check website to know more.
Inaugurated at carnival time in 1865, Teatro Duse is dedicated to the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse. It was built by Emilio Brunetti, with the help of the engineer Evangelisti. The theater underwent a complete renovation from 1940-42, which gave it a completely different appearance from its original style. The well-known Bolognese theater is still a major city focus today, with a highly regarded program. On performance days, the box office is open from 9a-10p.
Built around the 12th Century, probably at the same time as the Torre degli Asinelli was built, the leaning Torre della Garisenda is about 48 meters high. It is also called the Mozzata (Docked) tower, because it is said to have been hight than it now is. Dante Alighieri supports this hypothesis in Canto XXXI of Inferno (v136-138) when he said: "...Qual pare a riguardar la Garisenda sotto 'l chinato, quando un nuvol vada sovr'essa sì, che ella incontro penda..." ("It seems that I am looking at the Garisenda Tower under its incline, and when a cloud passes over, it leans a little..."). We can also deduce that the tower acquired its lean quite quickly, perhaps due to a subsidence in the ground. There is a plaque inscribed with Dante's verses on the leaning side of the tower. Admission: Not open to the public.
MAMbo, or Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologn, is located in the former Forno del Pane (Bread Bakehouse), a huge building constructed at the beginning of 20th Century to feed a population dealing with the aftermath of World War I. It took 12 years of restoration to turn the bread factory into a 9000 square meter museum on two levels, organized around the central Ovens Hall and its two original smokestacks. The first floor houses the museum’s permanent collection: 3500 works dating from the 1960s onward, outlining features of Italian contemporary art. The ground floor holds temporary exhibitions.
The Teatro Europauditorium, designed by the architect Trialdi, first opened in 1983 under the name of Sala Europa. It was renamed as the Europauditorium in 1997 and was dedicated to its first director, Mario Cagli. It can seat 1348 people and has an acoustic room and electro-acoustic equipment to enhance the natural sound. The Europauditorium is one of the largest and most important auditoriums in Emilia-Romagna. Classical music and jazz concerts take place here and involve artists of international importance. Contemporary dance performances also feature in the program. The concert season is organized by the Associazione Bologna Festival and includes a packed program of events from April to June.
Named for the impulsive, uninhibited character in Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Estragon is host to famous acts from the international indie music scene, from dance rockers the Klaxons to the gentler, subdued sounds of Isobel Campbell (of Belle and Sebastian). Not too big, not too small, it's a great place to hear the best of the underground. For further details, please check the website.