Description of the attraction
Palazzo Bianconcini, formerly known as Palazzo Zaniboni, is today the office of the Department of Scientific Statistics of Bologna. Immediately below the main balcony is an exquisitely decorated entrance door, whose creation is attributed to Francesco Tadolini, who worked in the late 18th century. Passing through this door, you find yourself in the first small courtyard, surrounded by several columns. Further on, there is a second courtyard with ancient arches with surprisingly well-preserved small details. The arches are supported by 4 columns with fine marble capitals from the early 16th century. It is believed that the artist who created them belonged to the Ferrara school.
To the right of the doors, right in front of the stairs, is the sculpture "Madonna, Child and Saints" by Giuseppe Mazza, dating from the early 18th century. On the walls along the stairs, there are striking paintings by Pietro Scandellari, Petronio Fancelli and Gaetano Gandolfi. Scandellari and Gandolfi worked together to create a canvas that depicts a small chapel from the late 18th century. Brush Gandolfi also belongs to the painting "Arianna and Bacchus". Other works of art can be seen among the office and study rooms, such as the ceiling painted by Giovanni Giuseppe Dal Sole and Enrico Haffner in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Unfortunately, little is known about the history of the Palazzo itself. It can be reliably argued that the Zaniboni family, who became the first owner of the palace, did not come from Bologna, but, possibly, from nearby Modena. It is also unclear where the Bianconcini family, whose name today bears the Palazzo, comes from, and how this luxurious building was used throughout its history.
