Museo di Palazzo Poggi (University Museum)

The Museo di Palazzo Poggi is the university museum of Bologna, housed in a sixteenth-century palazzo at Via Zamboni 33 in the university quarter of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The building, decorated with frescoes by Pellegrino Tibaldi and Niccolo dell'Abate, became the seat of the Istituto delle Scienze in the eighteenth century, when the city's scholars gathered collections to teach science through objects. Today the museum preserves those collections: anatomical wax models made by Ercole Lelli, Giovan Battista Manzolini and Anna Morandi Manzolini, detailed and unsettling teaching models of the human body; models of ships and fortifications; physics and chemistry instruments; natural history specimens; and a collection of military architecture. A highlight is the Specola, the astronomical observatory tower that rises above the palazzo and can be visited by guided tour, with views over the university quarter. The visit takes 1.5 to 2 hours, since the rooms are full of detail and the painted ceilings reward looking up. Visitors who enjoy the history of science will find it a rich stop, while those short of time can focus on the wax models and the Specola. The museum is quiet on weekdays and quieter than the major monuments, with the best time being a weekday morning. Opening days and hours change, and the museum is normally closed on Monday, so check sma.unibo.it for current hours and prices. Student discounts and the Card Musei Metropolitani may apply. Photography for personal use may be allowed in some rooms, but confirm at the ticket desk. The museum lies about 15 minutes east of Piazza Maggiore along Via Zamboni and combines naturally with the Pinacoteca Nazionale.