Museo del Risorgimento and Piazza Carducci
Perhaps one of Bologna's lesser-known museums, the Museo del Risorgimento is located in Piazza Carducci, on the edge of the centre. Inaugurated in 1893, the museum was built at a particular time for the city, namely in the years following the unification of Italy. At that time, various cultural buildings sprang up in Bologna with the aim of reviving and exalting its past history, so as to create a link with post-unification rhetoric.
The foundation of the Museo del Risorgimento was an example of this. In the past, however, its collections were housed in other locations. It was only in 1990 that they were moved to its current home, Casa Carducci, which in the eyes of the curators was the most suitable place for this type of museum. For them, Carducci represented the perfect embodiment of the late 19th century bourgeoisie.
The Origins of Casa Carducci
The structure of Casa Carducci was created from an
old oratory that was open until 1798, the year it was closed by Napoleon's troops. Proof of the existence of this place of worship is the name of the street bordering Casa Carducci, Via del Piombo (lead in English): this name in fact referred to the image of the Pietà engraved on a lead slab housed in a church belonging to the Confraternity of Santa Maria della Pietà.
Over time, numerous testimonies of the ancient religious building were found, especially during a recent restoration. Carducci lived in this house from 1890 until his death in 1907.
What to see at the Museo del Risorgimento
The Risorgimento Museum was inspired by the
arrival of Napoleon's troops in the city in 1796. The idea was then developed throughout the following century, until the collections were finally moved to Casa Carducci.
Today, the museum includes a didactic room,
Carducci's library - a very important reference point for scholars of the Risorgimento in Bologna and beyond - and 5
themed sections, which delve into as many historical moments such as the Napoleonic era, the Restoration, the phase from the Unification of Italy to the First World War, and finally an in-depth look at Bologna during the First World War.
The objects on display, often linked to local events or personalities, are varied. Some refer to the military world, such as weapons, flags and uniforms, but there are also symbolic objects used by patriots and propaganda posters and pamphlets intended for the people.
The monument to Giosuè Carducci
Outside the museum we find the
monument to Giosuè Carducci, an
Art Nouveau sculptural complex dedicated to the poet that was inaugurated in 1928, in the presence of the Savoy royal family. The monument represents an
allegory of the poet's literary career. Moving from left to right we find the depiction of Love, the symbol of Carducci's early works, and the representation of Liberty on horseback, accompanied by Rhyme and Rhythm. The latter refers to the period of the 'Odi barbare' (Barbarian Odes), and to the poet's last compositions dedicated to the history of his homeland.
In the centre of the composition we find the
statue of Carducci himself with a large triptych in high relief behind him, which in the sculptor's intentions represented the synthesis of his literary work.
