BOLOGNA: “CITY OF MUSIC”
BOLOGNA: “CITY OF MUSIC”
The musical history and traditions of Bologna are very wide, ancient and popular, so much to make Bologna known as UNESCO City of Music, since 2006.
This city has been a very important musical reference for artists from all over Europe. The famous musical institutions, such as The Philharmonic Academy, The Martini Conservatory, The Municipal Theater, The San Colombano Church were able to attract well known music students, as for example Mozart, Wagner, Liszt, Rossini, Farinelli or Mendelssohn.
For these reasons our hotel with art exhibitions in Bologna has decided to dedicate a room to the music.
The Philharmonic Academy:
The Philharmonic Academy was for instance an important musical European institution. This conservatory dates to 1666, it was founded in Bologna, in Via Guerrazzi 13, by Vincenzo Maria Carrati and it is dedicated to Giovanni Battista Martini, a friar and music teacher renowned in all Europe. He wrote sonatas for the organ and the harpsichord, now held in The Museum of Music in Bologna. Father Martini was able to attract popular European musicians to this academy, such as the very famous Mozart, who decided to spend his Erasmus in Bologna and study music here.
Since 1804, the Municipal Council of Bologna approved a plan for public education for the academy, that’s how the Philharmonic High School was born. This school of composition was also attended by the very young Rossini, who introduced himself as a singer, in 1806, at only fifteen years old. Later, after new regulations, the high school became the State Giambattista Martini Conservatory.
Still today this institution teaches training classes for young musicians, conferences, congresses and musical projects, in addition to being an attractive place for tourists, who can listen to concerts held by interpreters in the Mozart Room, visit exhibitions and other rooms holding paintings and musical instruments, like the Carrati Rooms, or attend the library.
The Municipal Theater:
Not far from the Museum of Music, in Piazza Santa Cecilia, we can find the Municipal Theater, one of the most important theaters in Bologna. Still today it offers the public the opportunity to attend beautiful theatral and musical events, concerts or guided tours. Moreover, thanks to the activities of The School of Opera, it deals with the training of young artistic talents, who want to engage in the theatral professions.
This structure was built starting from 1756, in place of a previous theater, The Malvezzi Theater, which was destroyed by a fire, and it was inaugurated in 1763, with the name of “Public Theater”. This theater staged a lot of important spectacles, and it was the first in Italy to stage Wagner’s works, consequently Bologna was nicknamed “Wagnerian city”. Over the years it was able to experiment with more cutting-edge genres, becoming the fulcrum of classical music in Bologna.
Our hotel in Bologna centre has dedicated the room 323 to the Municipal Theater and inside of it, on the side wall, the guest can admire a wooden artefact, which is part of a setting of the XVIII century.
The San Colombano Church:
The San Colombano Church is a very ancient monastic complex, today deconsecrated, situated in Via Parigi 5 in Bologna. It is composed of various buildings, which were brought together over time. The more ancient is the abbey church, that dates to 616 and was commissioned by the bishop Pietro I.
Nowadays, on the first floor, it houses the Collection of Tagliavini, a precious collection of about ninety ancient and renovated musical instruments, which date back from the XVI to the XIX century. It was born in 1969, when Master Tagliavini decided to buy a 16th century spinet and a big harpsichord of 1679, that is still today one of the most important musical instruments of this collection.
For art lovers, it is possible to also visit the crypt, under the church’s apse, that preserves a 13th century fresco by Pisano, depicting the Crucifixion. Otherwise, in the Oratory, built in 1591, we can see a cycle of frescoes inspired by the Passion and Triumph of Christ, realized in occasion of the Jubilee of 1600.
The art of luthiery in Bologna:
Bologna stands out in the world of music also thanks to her art of luthiery, that was born from the influence of the German one. One of the exponents was Otello Bignami, born in Bologna in 1914. At first, he was aroused by the violin and then, in the 40s, he got interested in the luthiery. In 1957 he achieved the price of being “the best luthier of Italy” and in 1979 he was named as Director of the School of Artistic Lutherie of Bologna.
Today the Museum of Music, placed in Strada Maggiore 34 in Bologna, allows you to visit a faithful reconstruction of the Otello Bignami’s laboratory of lutherie, located in a room on the Palazzo Sanguinetti ground floor. Here you can find all the equipment and work tools of master Bignami and, if you book a guided tour, an expert will show you the work phases and methodologies used for the creation of musical instruments.
The Jazz Stars:
Near this Hotel, in Piazza Maggiore of Bologna, more precisely in Via Capraie and Via Orefici, you can walk over the jazz stars: around fifteen stars drawn on the floor in Hollywoodian style, with the names of the most international jazz musicians engraved. Among them there is also the one dedicated to Lucio Dalla, a very famous singer native of this city. He lived in Via D’Azeglio, in the street parallel to the one of our luxury hotel in Bologna, which has decided to commemorate him with a room named “Piazza Grande”: the title of one of his most popular songs.
Hotel Commercianti is waiting for you:
If you are fascinated by the world of music, Bologna is the city that suits you and will be able to offer you beautiful opportunities and events.
We will be pleased to welcome you in our rooms overlooking the Basilica of San Petronio, located in a great position to reach the attractions that can satisfy your musical interests and beyond.
Our our pet-friendly accommodation in Bologna will be happy to host also your four-legged friends and offer them the kennel and a bowl.
Moreover, it will be possible to leave your car in our sustainable garage and if you want to visit our city by bike, we will make available one of them for you free of charge.
We are looking forward to welcoming you, hoping to make you have an unforgettable stay.