Museum sights in Emilia Romagna & San Marino
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Museo della Città
Rimini’s Museo della Città displays paintings upstairs, including a haunting Pietà by Giovanni Bellini and an altarpiece by Domenico Ghirlandaio. However, the museum’s centrepiece is the archaeological section on the ground floor. Spread over several rooms, with excellent bilingual (Italian-English) signage, are finds from two nearby Roman villas, including splendid mosaics, a rare and exquisite representation of fish rendered in coloured glass, and the world’s largest collection of Roman surgical instruments. You can walk through a life-size reconstruction of the surgeon’s offices, then visit the original excavation site across the street at the recently opened Domus…
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Teatro Anatomico
Housed in Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio, the fascinating 17th-century Teatro Anatomico is where public body dissections were held under the sinister gaze of an Inquisition priest, ready to intervene if proceedings became too spiritually compromising. Cedar-wood tiered seats surround a central marble-topped table while a sculptured Apollo looks down from the ceiling. The canopy above the lecturer’s chair is supported by two skinless figures carved into the wood. The theatre, and many of the building’s frescoes, was destroyed during WWII and subsequently rebuilt.
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Palazzo Farnese
The vast Palazzo Farnese was started in 1558 but never fully completed. It now houses the Pinacoteca, an art gallery, and four minor museums of archaeology, carriages, Italian unification and, in the main one, the Museo Civico, the bizarre Etruscan Fegato di Piacenza, a sheep’s liver in bronze that was used for divining the future. Single entry to the archaeology museum costs €3, to the carriages and unification museums €2.50, and to the Pinacoteca and Museo Civico €5.
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Museo Morandi
On the 2nd floor of Palazzo Comunale you'll find the art gallery Museo Morandi which is dedicated to the trademark still lives of Bolognese artist Giorgio Morandi.
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Musei Civici
To the north of Chiesa di San Prospero, the Musei Civici include Palazzo San Francesco, with its eclectic collection of mainly 18th-century art and archaeological discoveries, and the Galleria Parmeggiani, which boasts some worthwhile Italian, Flemish and Spanish paintings, as well as a heterogeneous collection of costumes, arms, jewellery and cutlery.
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Palazzo della Pilotta
Looming over Piazza della Pace's manicured lawns and modern fountains, the monumental Palazzo della Pilotta is hard to miss. Supposedly named after the Spanish ball game of pelota that was once played within its walls, it was originally built for the Farnese family between 1583 and 1622. Heavily bombed in WWII, it has since been largely rebuilt and today houses several museums.
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Oratorio di Santa Cecilia
Lorenzo Costa and Francesco Raibolini (known as Il Francia) were mainly responsible for the magnificent 16th-century frescoes in the Oratorio di Santa Cecilia, one of Bologna’s unsung gems. Depicting the life and Technicolor death of St Cecilia and her husband Valeriano, they are in remarkably good nick, their colours vibrant and their imagery bold and unabashed.
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Lombardi Museum
Of all Parma's rulers, Marie Louise of Austria is most beloved in her petite capitale. Napoleon's second wife, she embraced her little domain after brief tenure as Empress of France. Some of her belongings are in this recently revamped museum (Museo Glauco Lombardi), courtesy of an eponymous local collector. His miscellany illuminates Parma's long history.
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Museum Palace
There are several galleries within the vast palace (Palazzo dei Musei). The Galleria Estense features most of the Este family collection. The Biblioteca Estense, essentially a research library, has a valuable collection of books, letters and manuscripts. Other displays include local finds from Palaeolithic times and medieval stonework including sarcophagi.
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Tricolour Flag Museum
The flag is the city's national claim to fame, and Reggio Emilia's city centre makes a lot of it. With interactive and traditional museum displays, the museum gives important and interesting background to the Napoleonic period. The nearby Sala del Tricolore - the room the flag was birthed in - takes prominent place in the beautiful, 14th-century town hall.
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Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore
To the north of Basilica di Santo Stefano, along Via Zamboni, the 13th-century Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore houses a noteworthy collection of paintings and artefacts. The highlight is the Bentivoglio chapel with frescoes by Lorenzo Costa and an altarpiece by Francesco Raibolini (known as Il Francia).
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Museo di Glauco Lombardi
The Museo di Glauco Lombardi has a miscellaneous collection of clothes, paintings, furniture and historical knick-knacks. Many of the exhibits once belonged to Marie-Louise of Austria, who ruled Parma following her husband Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.
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Museo Archeologico Nazionale
You’ll find Etruscan artefacts, along with an impressive selection of Attic vases, in Palazzo di Ludovico il Moro at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. Many finds came from the Etruscan town of Spina, near modern-day Comacchio.
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Museo della Cattedrale
The Museo della Cattedrale houses various artefacts from the cathedral, including a serene Madonna by Jacopo della Quercia, a couple of vigorous Cosimo Tura canvases, and some witty bas-reliefs illustrating the months of the year.
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Palazzo Poggi
At the university museums at Palazzo Poggi you can peruse waxwork uteri in the Obstetrics Museum and giant tortoise shells in the Museum of Natural Sciences. Further surprises are to be found in museums dedicated to ships and old maps, military architecture and physics.
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Museo Nazionale
The Museo Nazionale is housed in the cloisters of a former Benedictine monastery. There’s a wealth of pottery, bronzes, icons and vestments, plus more Madonna and Child portraits than you can shake a halo at.
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Museo Arcivescovile
The tiny Museo Arcivescovile is well worth a visit for its fine collection of mosaics and an exquisite 6th-century ivory throne.
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Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza
The small Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza exhibits documents, proclamations and posters from the Italian unification movement and WWII, as well as numerous uniforms, guns and hand grenades.
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Museo Civico Archeologico
Running south off Piazza Maggiore, Via dell’Archiginnasio leads to the Museo Civico Archeologico with its well-documented Egyptian and Roman artefacts and one of Italy’s best Etruscan collections.
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Museo Archeologico Etnologico
Museo Archeologico Etnologico has some well-displayed local finds from Palaeolithic to medieval eras, as well as exhibits from Africa, Asia, Peru and New Guinea.
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Museo Diocesano
In the cellars of the former bishop’s palace, the Museo Diocesano statues are displayed. Highlights include a finely sculpted Solomon and Sheba and a 5th-century early Christian mosaic, which was discovered under Piazza del Duomo.
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Museo Archeologico Nazionale
For a change of period, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale exhibits Roman artefacts discovered around Parma and Etruscan finds from the Po valley.
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Museo di Stato
The archaeological artefacts and paintings at the small Museo di Stato are mainstream, including several canvases by Guercino.
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Palazzo dei Musei
Modena’s main museums and galleries are housed in the Palazzo dei Musei on the western fringes of the historic centre.
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Museo Civico d’Arte
The Museo Civico d’Arte’s eclectic collection are the sections devoted to traditional paper-making, textiles and musical instruments.
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