Museo di Palazzo Poggi

Welcome to the Museum of Palazzo Poggi, the historic headquarters of the University of Bologna and a place where, as the sources suggest, 'life multiplies' through the pursuit of knowledge. This extraordinary palace is not just a…

We begin in the galleries dedicated to military architecture, a field that underwent a radical transformation starting in the mid-15th century. The introduction of gunpowder and increasingly powerful artillery rendered…

No exploration of Palazzo Poggi is complete without understanding its founder, Luigi Ferdinando Marsili. Born in Bologna in 1658, Marsili was a true Renaissance man of the Enlightenment. …

As fortifications became more complex, so too did the techniques of those trying to capture them. This gallery illustrates the sophisticated 'copione' or script that a military siege would follow during the 17th and 18th…

In the battle between the siege and the fortress, artillery was the deciding factor. The models here show the placement of batteries in the trenches. …

While the battle raged on the surface, an equally intense conflict took place underground. This is one of the most fascinating and terrifying aspects of the 'Art of the Siege.' Attackers would dig 'gallerie' or tunnels aimed at…

The final stage of the 'copione' was the capture of the 'controscarpa' and the opening of a practicable breach. Once the attackers controlled the surrounding works, the fate of the fortress was essentially 'segnato'—marked. …

As our tour of the Museum of Palazzo Poggi concludes, I hope you have felt the 'estrepitoso'—the sensational—nature of this temple to human inquiry. We have moved from the geometric elegance of the 'Tras Italien' bastions to the…