Museum of the History of Bologna, Bologna
The Museum of the History of Bologna (Museo della Storia di Bologna) is a very young and very modern museum. It is dedicated to the history, culture, and transformation of Bologna, from the Etruscan civilization to our days. This is an amazing multimedia journey through 2500 years of history. The tour revolves around the central personalities and events of different times and epochs.
History of the museum
The museum is located in the ancient Palazzo Pepoli. Originally, it was built by one of the first lords of Bologna, Taddeo Pepoli, in 1344. However, in 1360 the Holy See took the palace from the nobles and established the Gregorian College there. In 1474, the Pepoli family received the estate back and started improving it. The last wing of the building was completed in 1723. In 1910 the last male family heir died, and the palace came into state ownership under the condition that the Pepoli Museum here. Instead, the city authorities sold it to the local bank branch of Cassa di Risparmio in 1913.
The palace was restored during the time between two world wars. In 2003, the place was purchased by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna after which massive reconstruction works began. The well-known architect Mario Bellini and designer Italo Lupi were put in charge of the project. As a result, the ultramodern innovative museum was finally opened to the public on January 28, 2012.
Museum’s exhibition
Gigantic palace rooms have just as gigantic exhibition spaces that take up 6100 square meters in total. The museum tour is organized in a chronological order, and all historical events are presented in an interactive way, using beautiful scenographic effects. In the center of the exhibition, there is the "Torre del Tempo", which are meant to be copies of the famous Two Towers. It is, however, made of glass and metal which makes it more elegant. Various milestones of the city history are presented inside the museum:
- Ancient Bologna.
- The Middle Ages.
- The Renaissance and Bentivoglio’s reign.
- Bologna in the spotlight: politics, religion, and societal traditions.
- Cultural evolution: art, science, music and education.
- The City of Water. Here you will learn about watercourses impact on the development of the industry during the Industrial Revolution.
- Modern history (18th–20th century).
- Contemporary history. City development after World War II.
- The City of Languages.
- Modern culture.
The multimedia space of the museum offers a virtual walk through the streets of ancient Bologna, as well as a hall where interviews with famous people of the city are shown. The museum boasts a good 3D-cinema where educational films about the city history are screened.
How to get
The museum is located in the historic center of the city, on Via Castiglione, 8. The palace stands surrounded by just as noble residences and old houses. The Archaeological Museum and Jewish Museum can be found nearby. The closest bus stop is Piazza Minghetti (buses 11, 13, 14, 19, 20, 30, 62, 90, 96, C, T1, T2).
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00. The ticket office closes at 18:00. Closed on Monday. Contact number for inquiries: (+39) 051 19936370.
Admission: full ticket costs 10 euros, reduced one (visitors age 19–26 and over 70 years, groups of 15 people) – 8 euros. Children under 6 years old are free of charge. The information about admission and opening hours may be changed.
