Museo Intl. e Biblioteca della Musica

The International Museum and Library of Music … our destination when we left the house this morning.

I’ll be honest … it wasn’t the musical instruments on display that drew me to the museum. Rather, it was a couple of photos showing the setting in which the items are exhibited … rooms decorated with frescos. That said, I came away after our visit with an appreciation for more than just the frescos.

We arrived at Palazzo Sanguinetti, the 16th century palace in which the museum is housed … since 2004. The frescos, as I understand it, were restored after the building was donated to the city. The original paintings date back to the 18th-19th century and are representative of the city’s Napoleonic and Neoclassical period.

Stopping by the ticket office first, we showed our card culturas and received our free admission tickets … saved €3 each … 65+ rate.

Our steps then took us toward the courtyard, which seemed very familiar. Ah yes, it was the feature photo in the New York Times article our friend Kadi sent us a few weeks ago … a trompe-l’oeil fresco fronted by a green space … visible at the end of an arched portico.

Selfie taken, we headed up the amazing monumental staircase to the museum itself … on the piano nobile … aka the floor on which the principal rooms of the palazzo are located. Showing our tickets to the attendant at the desk, we then went on a DIY tour through the nine rooms that make up the museum.

It is to Father Gianbattista Martini that Bologna owes its music collection as it was the padre’s own collection that formed the nucleus around which it all grew. Described as “… one of the most illustrious and complex personalities” of the 18th century music world of Europe, he was not only a scholar, historian, and composer, he was one of the best music teachers in Europe. Counting Bach and Mozart amongst his many famous students, this “Father of all Masters” was also an avid collector … manuscripts, opera librettos, autographs and letters, effigies of musicians, and more.

The first room we entered — the Sala alla Boschereccia — set in motion a lot of WOW moments where we studied what was in the display cases, as well as on the walls and ceilings. Being careful so as not to crane my head too far back, and thus trigger a vertigo episode, I wasn’t able to check out all the fresco details to my satisfaction … but that’s just something I have to get used to.

Each room of the museum has a theme, if you will. Rooms 2 and 3 are dedicated to Father Martini … not surprising. The themes continue with the idea of music; and operas, manuscripts, and instruments … segregated by centuries; and musicians such as Farinelli and Rossini.

Another fantastic museum experience in Bologna. As has been the case with all of our museum visits so far, this one was of an exploratory nature. I look forward to returning for a more in depth visit, and also to check out the music library (across the hall from the museum) … there are more frescos there that are calling my name.

So, if I came away with an appreciation for more than just the frescos, you might ask why there are so few photos of the instruments, music scores and librettos, and portraits of the greats of classical music in this footprint. Alas, with a few exceptions, the instruments were all inside glass cases … as was the written material … too much glare to get decent photos. As for the portraits, this time they did take a back seat to the frescos.

P.S. We now have €18pp to go to break even on our €25pp Card Cultura purchase.Read more