Palazzo Hercolani, Bologna
| Palazzo Hercolani | |
|---|---|
 Decoration of the interior. Photo by Paolo Monti, 1969 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Palace |
| Architectural style | Rococo |
| Location | Bologna, Italy |
| Groundbreaking | 1785 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Angelo Venturoli |
The Palazzo Hercolani or Ercolani is a large Rococo or Neoclassic-style palace in Strada Maggiore in central Bologna, which now serves as the offices for the Political Science Department (Facoltà di Scienze Politiche) of the University of Bologna.
History[]
The palace we see today was commissioned in 1785 by aristocrat Filippo Hercolani; the architect was Angelo Venturoli. While 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 . Other rooms bear decorations and paintings by Giovanni Battista Frulli, Luigi Busatti, Antonio Basoli, , Flaminio Minozzi, Vincenzo Martinelli, and other artists.
Of particular note two ground floor rooms, the neoclassic Zodiac Room with frescoes probably by Basoli, and the Winter Garden room - the "woodland" painted by . 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[]
- Houses completed in the 18th century
- Palaces in Bologna
- Neoclassical architecture in Bologna