What to see in Bologna? Although the Emilian city is best known for its medieval soul, made up of towers and palaces that have watched over the historic centre for centuries, it is home to several examples of Art Nouveau buildings, an artistic movement that, with different declinations, emerged in Europe and the United States between the late 19th and early 20th century, and that mainly involved the applied arts and architecture.
Here we propose an itinerary that will guide you to discover the main testimonies of this artistic current in Bologna.
Our journey of discovery through Art Nouveau Bologna starts from Palazzo Ronzani, jokingly nicknamed Palâz di Pistulén in Bolognese. Situated on the corner of Via Rizzoli and Piazza Re Enzo, in the area where the old Mercato di Mezzo used to stand, it was built between 1914 and 1915 to a design by architect Gualtiero Pontoni, commissioned by Alessandro Ronzani (hence the name), a well-known industrialist of the Casalecchio beer of the same name. The imposing building presents a pastiche of materials. The colourful iron and glass canopy facing the portico is curious and valuable, indicating the presence of an old tram stop, designed by Umberto Costanzini in 1921. The building also housed an underground theatre, later converted into a cinema (today the Cinema Modernissimo).
In the immediate vicinity of Palazzo Ronzani, specifically at number 16 Via Rizzoli, is another Art Nouveau building. We are talking about Casa Barilli, whose construction dates back to 1906-1907, designed by architect Leonida Bertolazzi. The building has four storeys, all differently characterised on the outside by decorations reminiscent of the so-called Viennese Secession style: lowered arches, full-height pilasters, wrought iron railings and almost continuous fenestration. The building, originally intended to house Bologna’s first department stores’, currently houses a shop of a well-known American computer company on the first two floors, while the third and fourth floors are for office and residential use.
The itinerary then continues to Piazza Nettuno, one of Bologna’s most famous squares, where the Salaborsa Library (opened in December 2001) is located. The original core was built in the 1880s and then underwent some structural changes in the 1920s. The extensive use of metal, which would become famous only a few years later with Art Nouveau, here has the dreamlike touch of an elegant premonition. The ceiling rose decorations also wink at the Art Nouveau current. The remains of Roman and mediaeval Bologna can be admired under the glass pavement of the so-called covered square.
The next stop is the elegant Palazzina Majani, located at number 4 Via Indipendenza. It was built between 1904 and 1908 to a design by the painter and architect Augusto Sezanne as the site of the Majani coffee and chocolate shop (Italy’s first producer of solid chocolate rinds). It currently houses an outlet of a chain of low-cost clothing shops. With its semicircular balcony, wrought-iron balustrade and floral decorations, it is one of the best examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Bologna. At the time it was built, traditionalists compared it to ‘a Vienna chair put there to bump into the legs of passers-by’.
The last stop on the itinerary is via Audinot, one of the most representative areas of modern Bologna. The street is almost entirely occupied by single-family villas characterised by flamboyant floral decorations and abundant Art Nouveau gates and balconies. The villas were designed in the early 20th century by the Milanese architect and entrepreneur Paolo Sironi, author of other important projects for Bologna, unfortunately not realised. The street, once called via Sironi in honour of the architect, was part of the cité-jardin envisaged by the 1889 expansion plan to the west of the 14th-century city walls. At the beginning of via Audinot, at number 9, stands the small Sironi villa.
Photo gallery © Bologna Welcome
AGRITURISMO IL BRUGNOLO
Welcome to il Brugnolo
If you’re looking for completely independent apartments surrounded by greenery you really are in the right place here!
In fact, Brugnolo is immersed in the green nature of the Emilian countryside. For your relaxation, for that of your children, and again for the runs of your 4-legged friends, you will have 6000 square meters of park at your disposal!
