Parco della Montagnola
Parco della Montagnola is a few steps away from Bologna's central railway station. This park is a vast green area opened in the second half of the 17th century, and now a place where people spend their free time and a venue for concerts and summer events.
The origin of the Montagnola Park
Compared to the surrounding area, it is easy to see how the Montagnola Park rises on a small hill that overlooks Via Indipendenza and Piazza VIII Agosto. This hillock is the result of the
accumulation of debris and rubbish following the numerous destructions of the papal fortress.
The area of the park coincides with the site of the papal legate's
fortress built by Bertrando del Poggetto, which was destroyed four times by the people of Bologna as a sign of protest against the Pope, and rebuilt each time. With the last destruction, it was decided to no longer proceed with the rebuilding of the palace.That’s why today we can only admire a few traces of it at the foot of the Montagnola itself, on the side of the bus station, as well as in the basement of the nearby Hotel I Portici which still preserves the ancient ice house of the fortress.
The
name 'Montagnola' was inspired by the conformation of the area, an artificial 'small mountain' near the centre of Bologna, which in 1662 was transformed into a garden open to the public. The Montagnola was
one of the first public gardens in Italy, where green spaces were still only intended for the higher social classes.
What to see in the Montagnola Park
Entering the park you find yourself in a multifaceted space crossed by a wide tree-lined avenue. The central part of the Montagnola was designed by Giovanni Battista Martinetti, a pro-Napoleonic architect known in the city for other great works such as Villa Spada, and his brilliant wife, Cornelia De Rossi. The Bolognese matron's cultural salon was famous, as was her charm that bewitched the likes of Stendhal, Canova and Foscolo.
The Montagnola Park is also home to a
fountain designed by Diego Sarti, transported here from its original location in the Giardini Margherita and decorated with zoomorphic statues, as well as a nursery school and some summer bars.
The park has been the burial place of Luigi Zamboni and Giovanni Battista de Rolandi for a few years, two Bolognese patriots who fell during an episode of revolt and were buried here on Napoleon's orders. In Austrian times, however, they were exhumed, and their bodies are now missing.
The entrances to the park
There are
two monumental entrances to the park. Coming from the railway station, on Via Indipendenza and Piazza XX Settembre, one encounters the first, which is striking for its imposing staircase built between 1893 and 1896 by Tito Azzolini and Attilio Muggia. In addition to the bas-reliefs and sculptures created by artists such as Arturo Orsoni, Pietro Veronesi, Tullo Golfarelli, Ettore Sabbioni and Arturo Colombarini, the most important work of the staircase's decorative apparatus is certainly the
Fountain of the Nymph. Sung by Giosuè Carducci in one of his famous sonnets, the fountain features a nymph clinging to a steed at its centre, intent on escaping the sights of the sea monster that is attacking her.
The second point of access to the garden overlooks
Piazza VIII Agosto, named in memory of the Bolognese who fell in the battle of 8 August 1848 against the Austrian forces in an attempt to free Bologna from foreign control. The monument we see today, located next to the entrance to the park and designed by Pasquale Rizzoli in 1904, commemorates precisely these events. Since the 13th century, Piazza VIII Agosto has been used as a
marketplace, once for cattle and today for clothing, household goods and much more. The Bolognese call it 'la piazzola', and it takes place every week on Fridays and Saturdays.
