INSIDER! Tour

Basilica of San Petronio and Music Archive

HALF DAY (1.5 hours)

Meeting point: Piazza Maggiore, entrance to the basilica

The Basilica of San Petronio is the symbol of the affirmation of civic power. It dominates Piazza Maggiore with its magnificence. This is a church that people of Bologna wanted for their city and they financed it entirely themselves. With its size it dared  challenge the basilica of St. Peter in Rome and the Papacy. It was for this reason that the construction of the Basilica of San Petronio was opposed and blocked in its growth. Visiting it represents a journey through history starting from the year its first stone was laid (1390). This tour enables you to discover the anecdotes and events that made the church one of the most beloved places and monuments to all Bolognese people.

The storytelling will start with the unfinished façade, to which Jacopo della Quercia and Michelangelo gave their contribution, and it will continue inside with the visit of the 22 chapels that contain works of art created by the greatest artists. You’ll see the famous Chapel Bolognini (or The Magi Chapel) with the fresco of the Last Judgment by Giovanni da Modena that depicts Dante’s Inferno and Paradiso, and also the representation of Muhammad, so much discussed in recent years. You’ll see the tomb of Elisa Bonaparte, sister of the great Napoleon, and walking along the side aisle you will pass in front of the San Rocco del Parmigianino. You can visit the Museum where you can find wooden models to-scale and plans relating to the construction of the basilica. From here you can access, with special permission, the Rooms of the Fabriceria with the San Petronio Music Archive, containing ancient books thanks to which it is possible to follow the evolution of music writing.

Finally, returning to the aisles, we can see two of the oldest musical organs preserved until the modern day and the Cassini sundial, the largest in the world, which always amazes visitors with its precision and which still shows the date and astrological coordinates thanks to the sun  that filters through the hole  and from the magnificent stained glass windows of this amazing cathedral.

RESERVATION REQUIRED – Cost of the visit: € 15 per person / Children under 10 years € 5 (The tour will be carried out with a minimum of 10 visitors – Reservations will close the day before the visit). The amount for the guided tour will be paid before the visit,  you are kindly requested to attend the appointment 15 minutes before.

Entrance ticket for Bolognini Chapel : for groups € 1 per person / Single € 3 per person

The Music Archives can not be visited during the hours of religious services.

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