Palazzo Turchi-Di Bagno (1492), sede del Sistema Museale di Ateneo

Palazzo Turchi-Di Bagno (1492), seat of the University Library System

History
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Location

Grand staircase, Study Room, Palazzo Turchi-Di Bagno
Photo by Ursula Thun Hohenstein, University Museum System

Designed in 1492 by architect Biagio Rossetti, Palazzo Turchi-Di Bagno was part of the Renaissance city development of theErculean Addition and made up the Quadrivio degli Angeli along with Palazzo dei Diamanti and Palazzo Prosperi-Sacrati.

Built between 1493 and 1511 by the Turchi family, the palace also owes its current name to the last family that owned it, the Guidi-Di Bagno family from Mantua, who inherited the property thanks to the dowry of a Marchioness Trotti.

In around 1911/12, the palace was divided between the two Guidi-Di Bagno brothers, Carlo Andrea (the north wing) and Massimiliano (the west wing), and for this reason it was necessary to design the wooden staircase in thenorth wing that would lead to the main floor. To build it, it seems that a large number of ancient walnut trees were cut down from the Verginese Estate in Gambulaga.

In 1933 the palace was transferred to the military and was heavily damaged during the airstrikes in the Second World War. From the 1960s it was granted in perpetual use to theUniversity of Ferrara. The architectural structure, which is quite linear, is characterised by the corner pilasters in white stone with a double row of corinthian capitals. From the original construction, we can still see the ornate terracotta cornice with cherubs and eagles, and the beautiful main doorway in white stone, bearing the inscription “PIUS PIIS” and decorated with rosettes.

The palace is the seat of the University Museum System, with the Historical Herbarium and the Botanic Garden.

To find out more

Leonhart Fuchs, De historia stirpium commentarii insignes, Basel, Michael Isengrin, 1542 (Recreation of the illustration). Historical Collection of the Literature and Philosophy Library

This location is part of the permanent cultural tour Stories of books and palaces. Tours of the Unife libraries from the University Library System.(Tour guide.pdf)