Description of the attraction
Since 1985, the Museum of the Middle Ages has been located in Palazzo Gisilardi, built on the ruins of an ancient palace in the 15th century. Today, the museum's collection contains an extensive collection of rare and curious things, such as a Syrian-Egyptian jug from the late 13th century, a pair of Turkish arrows from the 17th century, a gilded cross from the 8th century, ivory with a 12th century engraving depicting Christ, and a gilded saddle. There are also numerous bronze statues and medieval tombstones. The decoration of the museum is the frescoes of the great Jacopo della Quercia. And the most valuable part of the collection consists of medieval documents. You should definitely look at the statue of Pope Boniface VIII by Manno Bandini - the Pope became famous for having dedicated his life to ending the war between Bologna and Ferrara. It is said that this statue was the first to be erected in a public place.
The entire museum is divided into 4 zones, each of which, in turn, is divided into halls. On the ground floor, you can get acquainted with the history of the museum itself and see a collection of ceramics, as well as French and Italian ivory products. In the hall dedicated to the Middle Ages in Bologna, there are objects made in the 13th century from Carrara marble. And in the adjoining room, numerous statuettes are kept - in those years in Bologna, as in many other university cities, it was common practice to create funerary sculptures of deceased professors. Here you can also see the figures of Saints Dominic, Pietro, Floriano, Ambrosio, Petronio and Francis. They were completed around 1382. In one of the halls there is a magnificent fountain depicting the figures of the four Atlanteans - this is the creation of an unknown master of the early 13th century. Room 21 contains a collection of intricate boxes, probably used by women from noble families to store jewelry and trinkets dear to the heart. Finally, one of the greatest works of art on display in the museum is the bronze bust of Mercury, created by Giambologna in honor of the Austrian Emperor Maximilian II.
