Bologna's town hall, with frescoed halls and a clock tower
Photo: Michael Shtern · Unsplash License
Why go
The palace grew out of the houses of the Accursio family, who lived here in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1287 Francesco Accursio, son of the jurist Accursio, sold the Comune the land for the first nucleus of the town hall, and in 1336 it became the seat of the Anziani. Walls followed in 1365, the façade by Fioravante Fioravanti in 1425, and in the second half of the 15th century the Clock Tower rose to its present height.
Look at the front before you go in. Above the entrance is Nicolò dell'Arca's terracotta Madonna and Child of 1478, and over Galeazzo Alessi's portal sits Alessandro Menganti's bronze Pope Gregory XIII, disguised as Saint Petronius in 1796 for fear of its removal under Napoleonic occupation, and restored in 1895. Upstairs, the frescoed council hall and the art collections in the Cardinal Legates' apartment deserve an unhurried hour.
Gallery
Highlights
The tower that gives the palace its skyline was raised to its present height in the second half of the 15th century. Its clock once came with a wooden carousel of automata, the Madonna and Child with the Magi in procession; the original carousel was removed in 1796 and the Automi dell'Orologio are now kept in the art collections.
From the staircase you reach the Sala d'Ercole, named after Alfonso Lombardi's large bronze-glazed terracotta of Hercules slaying the Hydra, made in 1519. The staircase itself was built in 1509 together with the western part of the courtyard and is known as the Bramante staircase, after the architect to whom it is attributed.
On the first floor, the Sala del Consiglio Comunale, the former Galleria del Senato, was frescoed in 1676 by Angelo Michele Colonna with the help of Gioacchino Pizzoli. Its painted quadratura vault, 34 metres long and 8.5 metres wide, turns the ceiling into illusionistic architecture that seems to open the room to the sky.
On the second floor, Sala Farnese is named after Pope Paul III Farnese, whose marble statue stood against its back wall from the mid-16th century until the French arrived at the end of the 18th. The monument to Pope Alexander VII, placed in the palace in 1660, was moved to that back wall during the restorations of 1845.
The city's art collections opened in 1936 in the former apartments of the papal legates on the second floor, with more than 200 works in about 20 rooms. Highlights include Luca Signorelli, Tintoretto, Artemisia Gentileschi and Francesco Hayez's Ruth, Donato Creti's paintings in the Galleria Vidoniana, and Prospero Fontana's frescoes of 1562 in the Cappella Farnese.
Practical information
From the official website:
Not verified: opening hours of the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte and of the Torre dell'Orologio could not be read on an official page (the Musei Civici site museibologna.it blocks automated reading). Contact: Musei Civici d'Arte Antica, tel. 051 2193998, museiarteantica@comune.bologna.it.
Not verified on an official page.
Checked on the official sources in November 2026. Hours can change on holidays: check the official website before you go.
Getting there
The palace faces Piazza Maggiore. The former Sala Borsa, now Biblioteca Salaborsa, is part of the same complex and is entered from Piazza del Nettuno.
TPER city buses serve the edge of the historic centre. Plan your route with TPER's journey planner and buy tickets in TPER's official ROGER app.
The historic centre is a camera-controlled limited-traffic zone (ZTL). Leave the car in a car park outside the centre and walk in, or ask your hotel how access works.
The regional heritage catalogue indicates wheelchair access for the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte.
Insider tips
Before going in, find Nicolò dell'Arca's terracotta Madonna and Child of 1478 above the entrance and Menganti's bronze Gregory XIII over the portal, the pope who was turned into Saint Petronius in 1796 and restored in 1895.
The former Sala Borsa, now the civic library, belongs to the same palace complex and opens onto Piazza del Nettuno. Step inside to stand on its glass floor over the remains of Roman Bononia, then come back to the square.
While the Asinelli is closed, the Clock Tower is the nearest tower climb to Piazza Maggiore. Times and prices could not be verified on an official page, so confirm them with the Musei Civici d'Arte Antica (tel. 051 2193998) before you plan your day.
The Clock Tower once had a wooden carousel of automata showing the Madonna and Child with the Magi in procession. The original was removed in 1796; the Automi dell'Orologio are listed among the furnishings of the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte, so look for them inside.
In the centre
Historic-centre restaurants and hotels from the Bologna City Guide, each with its own Holiplanet page.
Historic restaurant
Tortellini in brodo and lasagne verdi since 1909
Discover more →Traditional restaurant
Handmade tortellini and tagliatelle in Bologna since 1948
Discover more →Chef's restaurant
Mario Ferrara's Lucanian-rooted cooking in a 1600s convent
Discover more →Wine bar / osteria
Wine osteria since 1465: bring your own food
Discover more →Hotel
Romantic 3-star hotel in the ancient Quadrilatero
View hotel →Boutique hotel
12th-century building facing San Petronio's Gothic windows
View hotel →Unique stay
Sleep inside a 12th-century tower, sixty metres above Bologna
View hotel →All restaurants on the Bologna map → All hotels on the Bologna map →
Questions
The oldest part of the palace was the seat of the Accursio family in the 12th and 13th centuries, which gave the building its name. In 1287 Francesco Accursio, son of the jurist Accursio, sold the land for the first nucleus of the town hall to the Comune, and the palace became the seat of the Anziani in 1336.
According to the Comune's history portal, the present Clock Tower was raised to its current height in the second half of the 15th century. In the same period Nicolò dell'Arca made the terracotta Madonna and Child on the façade, dated 1478 by Bologna's civic library.
On the first floor are the Sala d'Ercole, with Alfonso Lombardi's Hercules of 1519, and the Sala del Consiglio Comunale, frescoed in 1676. The second floor holds the Legate's Chapel, Sala Farnese and the Collezioni Comunali d'Arte in the former Cardinal Legates' apartment.
It is Pope Gregory XIII, a bronze by Alessandro Menganti, a follower of Michelangelo, set above the triumphal entrance designed by Galeazzo Alessi. In 1796, fearing its removal during the Napoleonic occupation, the Bolognese turned it into a figure of Saint Petronius; it was restored in 1895.
The collections fill the former apartment of the Cardinal Legates on the second floor of the palace. They bring together works from the Palagi, Pepoli and Baruzzi private collections, with highlights by Luca Signorelli, Tintoretto and Artemisia Gentileschi and Francesco Hayez's painting of Ruth.
In 1936, according to the regional heritage catalogue. Guido Zucchini designed the display in the former apartments of the papal legates in Palazzo d'Accursio, where more than 200 works are shown in about 20 rooms, from Vitale da Bologna and Francesco Francia to Donato Creti, the Gandolfi brothers and Hayez.
