The Palazzo Hercolani or Ercolani is a large

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

or Neoclassic-style palace in Strada Maggiore in central

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, which now serves as the offices for the Political Science Department (Facoltà di Scienze Politiche) of the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

History

The palace we see today was commissioned in 1785 by aristocrat Filippo Hercolani; the architect was Angelo Venturoli. Whilst the facade has classic restraint, the internal grand staircase and internal decorations are evidence of the late-Baroque or Rococo ornateness. On the first floor is a room frescoed likely by Pedrini with scenes dedicated to ''Fame and the Human Genius'' depicting Homer, Pindar, Hesiod and Democritus. Two rooms were decorated in chinoiserie style by Davide Zanotti. Other rooms bear decorations and paintings by Giovanni Battista Frulli, Luigi Busatti,

Antonio Basoli Antonio Basoli (1774–1848) was an Italian painter, interior designer, scenic designer, and engraver, active mostly in Bologna. Biography He was born in Castel Guelfo. His first teacher was his father, Lelio Andrea Basoli. His education was m ...

, Gaetano Caponeri, Flaminio Minozzi, Vincenzo Martinelli and other artists. Of particular note are two ground-floor rooms, the neoclassic Zodiac Room with frescoes probably by Basoli and the Winter Garden room - the ‘woodland’ painted by Rodolfo Fantuzzi. Both overlook the garden of the Palazzo, which in its heyday contained a "magnificent large garden, part French and part English, adorned with factories, small mountains".

Sources

Entry in City Tourism Website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hercolani, Bologna Houses completed in the 18th century Palaces in Bologna Neoclassical architecture in Bologna 18th-century architecture in Italy