Once the main building of the University of Bologna, often considered the oldest university in the world, the Archiginnasio of Bologna houses currently the Archiginnasio Municipal Library and the Anatomical Theatre. The last one is a hall once used for anatomy lectures and displays. A first anatomical theatre was constructed in 1595, in a different location, but it was replaced by a bigger one built between 1636 and 1638 in the current location, following the design of the architect Antonio Levanti.
The ceiling and the wall decoration were completed from 1647 to 1649 but only the lacunar ceiling dates from this period, with the figure of Apollo, the god of Medicine, in the middle, surrounded by symbolic images of constellations carved in wood. The theatre underwent several modification and reached its final shape between 1733 and 1736. In this period, Silvestro Giannotti carved the wooden statues which decorate the theatre walls.
They represent some famous physicians of ancient times (Hippocrates, Galenus, etc.) and of the local athenaeum (Mondino de Liuzzi, Gasparo Tagliacozzi). The two famous statues of the Spellati (skinned) are the work of the well-known artist of anatomical wax displays, Ercole Lelli. The statues carry the canopy, surmounting the teacher's chair, and topped by the allegorical image of Anatomy. In the centre of the theatre stands the white table on which the dissection of human or animal bodies took place.
References
Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio - Wikipedia
Sender: Andra Ivănescu
Sent from Bologna (Emilia-Romagna / Italy) on 21.04.2018
Photo: Giovanni Ricci Novara
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