In St. Cecilia are frescoes representing the legend of St. Cecilia and St. Valerian, by F. and G. Francia, Costa and Amico Aspertini. During the French occupation they were considerably damaged. At the commencement of the Strada Donato are the [Two Towers] (28 in plan), seen from a great distance. The taller, the Torre degli Asinelli, commenced in 1109, is 272 feet high, with an inclination of 3½ feet, and ascended by a rickety dirty staircase of 447 steps to the summit, whence there is the best view of the town. The Torre Garisenda, commenced in 1110, is 139 feet high, with an inclination of 8½ feet. From the towers, the Mercato di Mezzo leads W. to the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, with, on the S. side, the church of S. Petronio; on the N., the Palazzo del’ Podesta; on the E., the Pal. dei Banchi; and on the W., the Pal. Pubblico, an immense edifice, commenced in 1290, consisting of various buildings thrown together. In front is the Fountain, by Laureti, adorned with a statue of Neptune, by Bologna.
Bologna: S. Petronio.
[S. Petronio], commenced in 1390, but still unfinished, is of brick, and in the pointed arched Gothic style. The doorways of the façade are remarkable works; the middle one was by Jacopo della Quercia (1425). In the interior, notice on the right side the stained glass of the 4th chapel; Sansovino’s statue of St. Anthony of Padua, and Treviso’s grisaille pictures relating to that saint in the 9th chapel; the windows are said to be from M. Angelo’s designs; in the 11th chapel, a bas-relief, an Assumption, by Tribolo, with Angels at the sides, attributed to Properzia de’ Rossi, a Bolognese lady (d. 1535), who was at once painter, sculptor, engraver, and musician. The campanile is over this chapel. The large fresco of the choir is by Franceschini. On the floor of the left aisle is the meridian line traced by Cassini in 1652. In the 1st chapel, on this side, is some modern Milanese glass; in the 7th, a Madonna, by L. Costa; and in the 10th, Sa. Barba, by Tiarini. At the southern end of the church is (29 in
plan) the Biblioteca Comunale, in the building called the Archiginnasio Antico, originally the University, before it was removed to its present edifice. Besides the Library, open daily from 10 to 4, it contains a valuable Museum of Antiquities. Between S. Petronio and S. Stefano are (17) the [Pal. della Mercanzia], the Chamber of Commerce, erected in 1294; (18) the Pal Pepoli, 1344; and (9) the Casino. [ Bologna: Santo Stefano.] Santo Stefano is a combination of ancient churches, chapels, and courts, on the site of a temple dedicated to Isis. Enter first the Church of the Crucifix, so named from the old painting at the great altar. In the 1st chapel on the right is a picture by Muratori; in the 2d on the left St. Elisabetta, by Gessi. Then pass through a small chapel into the circular chapel styled San Sepolchro, which contains the tomb of St. Petronius, with curious carvings, and a miraculous well, considered to have healing virtues. This building is thought to have been formerly the baptistery of the next chapel (originally, perhaps, the principal chapel), dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. From a small court, called the Atrium of Pilate, from its alleged resemblance to that at Jerusalem, we gain access to the chapel of the Trinity, which contains four marble columns said to have belonged to the temple of Isis, and some pictures by Tiarini and others. There are ancient mural paintings in the sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation; and in the subterranean chapel of the Confession, a broken column is shown which is said to afford the measure of the Saviour’s height. After visiting a cloister, where the columns show much variety of form, we have made the complete tour of this singular labyrinth of buildings, which are of great interest to the ecclesiologist. Behind Santo Stefano in the Strada Maggiore are (beginning at the leaning-towers’ end, see plan), 2, S. Bartolommeo; 23, the Pal. Zampieri; 24 is the house of the celebrated composer Rossini, built by him in 1825. On the opposite side is the church Ai Servi, and No. 13 the Pal. Hercolani, once famous for its collection of pictures. Bologna: San Bartolommeo.
Palazzo Zampieri. San Domenico. [San Bartolommeo], built in 1653, has some fine marbles and rather a gaudy dome. In 4th chapel right an “Annunciation,” by Albano. The paintings behind the high altar are by Franceschini. In the left transept, an oval picture of the Madonna, by Guido. The Latin inscription on the wall relates how it was returned from London in 1859. [Palazzo Zampieri] (admission, ½ fr.), although deprived of most of the pictures, still retains the admirable frescoes by Agos. Annibale, and Lod. Caracci and Guercino. The church of [Ai Servi], built 1393, has a fine interior, with thin columns. In the 2d chapel left is a “Touch-me-not,” by Albano; and in the 4th, a St. Andrew, also by him. In the 6th chapel an “Annunciation” by Inno da
Imola. South from the principal square is (No. 1 in plan) the church of [S. Domenico], attached to a convent where St. Dominic lived and died. The church dates from the 12th cent., but restored in the 18th. Interior—2d chapel right, Miracle of Ferrerio, by D. Creti. Right of south transept—the splendidly decorated chapel of St. Dominic, with his sarcophagus ornamented with bas-reliefs, by Nic. di Pisa. The garlands and statuettes were by Nic. di Barri (Arca), 1469. The kneeling angel on the right, and St. Petronius, over the sarcophagus, were by Michael Angelo in his youth. The base of the tomb, with its bas-reliefs illustrating the life of the Saint, was not added until 1532, a work of Alfonso Lombardi. On the beautiful ceiling of the chapel is a fresco by Guercino, “The Transformation” of St. Dominic. The painting of the Saint burning Heretical Books (on the left wall) is by L. Spada; that of the Saint recalling a Child to Life is by Tiarini. In a chapel on the right side of the high altar is the Marriage of Saint Catharine, by Filippino Lippi. The Adoration of the Magi at the high altar is by Bart. Cesi. In the left transept should be noticed the tomb of a Pepoli (1348), and on the wall a portrait of St. Thomas Aquinas, considered here an accurate likeness, though painted 100 years after the death of the saint. [ Bologna: Guido’s Tomb.] Opposite St. Dominic’s chapel, and in the north transept, is the chapel of the Rosary, containing in the centre, under a slab, the grave of Guido Reni (b. 1575; d. 1642). Near him lie the remains of his favourite lady pupil, Elizabeth Sirani, who, with her master and the Caracci, executed the small paintings which adorn the frame of the reredos of the altar in this chapel.
Bologna: San Pietro.
Directly north from the Palazzo Pubblico is [S. Pietro], rebuilt in 1605, containing, on the arch above the high altar, an Annunciation, the last painting by Lodovico Caracci, who died a few days after finishing it. Near S. Pietro is a small church Madonna di Galleria, with, in 1st chapel left, St. Philip Neri, by Guercino, and in the next, a fine Albani. N.E. from S. Pietro is S. Martino, 1217, restored. In the 1st chapel right, Giorlanno da Carpi’s Adoration of the Magi; and in the 5th chapel on the left side is an Assumption, attributed to Perugino; in the next, a St. Jerome, by L. Caracci; and in the chapel next the entrance, Madonna and Saints, by F. Francia. Old monuments in the cloisters. East from the leaning-towers is S. Vitale, consecrated in the fifth cent., and lately restored. At the 2d altar, right, is a Flight into Egypt, by Tiarini; in a large chapel on the left, Angels, with a beautiful landscape, by F. Francia; and at the first altar in the body of the chapel on the left, an Adoration of the Infant in Perugino’s manner.
[ ENVIRONS OF BOLOGNA.]
Beyond the Porta Maniola are the convent and church of the [Annunziata]. In the 2d, 3d, and 4th chapels of the church are three pictures by L. Costa, and in the Chapel of the Sacrament a Madonna by Lippo Dalmasio. In the choir is a very fine work by Fr. Francia (1500), and in the sacristy an Entombment by Giacomo Francia.
Madonna di S. Luca. The Certosa.