Raphael, Giotto and the Carracci in Bologna's great gallery
Photo © Ministero della Cultura – Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Why go
The gallery occupies the former Jesuit novitiate of Sant'Ignazio on Via delle Belle Arti, refurbished in 1726–1732 by the architect Alfonso Torreggiani, and its collection grew out of the city's own history: the first works given by Francesco Zambeccari in 1762, the picture gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti founded in 1808, and the many paintings that arrived from churches and convents suppressed in the Napoleonic years.
The route follows Carlo Cesare Malvasia's Felsina pittrice of 1678, the classic history of Bolognese painting, so you walk through the centuries in order. The early rooms hold Vitale da Bologna and Giotto's polyptych of 1330; the Renaissance rooms Francesco del Cossa, Francesco Francia, Raphael and Parmigianino; then come the Carracci, a hall devoted to Guido Reni, Guercino and Giuseppe Maria Crespi.
Gallery
Photo © Ministero della Cultura – Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Photo © Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Photo © Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Photo © Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Photo © Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Photo © Ministero della Cultura – Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna
Highlights
The star of the Renaissance rooms is Raphael's Estasi di santa Cecilia, dated about 1513 in the museum's official guide. Around it hang works by Francesco del Cossa, Ercole Roberti, Francesco Francia and Parmigianino's Pala di Santa Margherita, along with an early El Greco, Tintoretto's Visitation and a late Titian, so give this section time.
Rooms 1 to 8 cover the 13th to the early 15th century: Vitale da Bologna, Giotto's polyptych of 1330, the Pseudo Jacopino, Simone dei Crocifissi and the detached frescoes from Mezzaratta. Together they show how lively painting already was in medieval Bologna, long before the city's famous 17th century.
Rooms 22 and 23 move from late 16th-century Mannerists such as Passerotti, Fontana and Calvaert to the three Carracci, Lodovico, Annibale and Agostino. It is the turning point of the visit: from here the route leads into the 17th and 18th centuries and the Bolognese painters who followed them.
Rooms 24 to 29 open with a hall dedicated to Guido Reni, followed by Domenichino, Albani, Tiarini and Guercino, and then the 18th century of Pasinelli, Burrini, Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Donato Creti and the Gandolfi brothers. Save some energy for this last stretch, where Bologna's own painters take centre stage.
You enter through the former house of novices of the Jesuit convent of Sant'Ignazio. The entrance staircase rises in the old Cappella del Noviziato, decorated with Giuseppe Barbieri's frescoes of the Glory of Saint Ignatius. The Department of Prints and Drawings, known for the legacy of Pope Benedict XIV Lambertini, is open to scholars on request.
Practical information
From the official website:
Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays 9:00–19:00, last admission 30 minutes before closing; closed on Mondays. Bookshop: Tuesday to Sunday and holidays 10:00–19:00. The official page still shows holiday notes for Christmas 2024–25 and says the second venue, Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, closed for renovation on 1 July 2024 with reopening scheduled for spring 2026; check the page for current notices.
Full €12. Reduced €10 (by agreement), €8 (Bologna Welcome Card or Card Cultura), €2 for ages 18–25 and for holders of Carta del merito or Carta cultura giovani. Free for visitors under 18, disabled visitors and one companion, ICOM members, members of the Società di Santa Cecilia, certain EU teachers, students, interpreters, tour guides and journalists, and for everyone on the first Sunday of the month (Domenica al museo); tickets for free days cannot be bought online. Prices may change during temporary exhibitions. Groups of 8–25 must book through the PinboBooking app, up to two months ahead.
Checked on the official sources in November 2026. Hours can change on holidays: check the official website before you go.
Getting there
The gallery is at Via delle Belle Arti 56, in the historic centre.
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.
Insider tips
Admission is free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month under the Domenica al museo scheme, but tickets for free days cannot be bought online, so get yours at the desk on arrival. Groups can enter without booking that day, within capacity limits.
Visitors under 18 enter free and young people aged 18 to 25 pay only €2, which makes the Pinacoteca an easy choice for families and students. Disabled visitors and one companion also enter free of charge.
Groups of 8 to 25 people must book through the PinboBooking app, up to two months in advance, and arrive 10 minutes before their slot. Guided groups must use a whisper system with microphone and earphones; groups under 8 need no booking.
The Pinacoteca is closed on Mondays. It opens Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 9:00 to 19:00, with last admission 30 minutes before closing, so an afternoon visit can follow a morning in the centre.
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
Raphael's Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia, dated about 1513, hangs in the Renaissance rooms of the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, at Via delle Belle Arti 56. In the same section are Parmigianino's Pala di Santa Margherita, works by Francesco Francia and Francesco del Cossa, Tintoretto's Visitation and a late Titian.
The official page lists a full ticket at €12, reduced tickets at €10 or €8 for some agreements and cards, and €2 for visitors aged 18 to 25. Under-18s, disabled visitors with a companion and some other categories enter free, as does everyone on the first Sunday of the month.
Tuesday to Sunday and on public holidays from 9:00 to 19:00, with last admission 30 minutes before closing. It is closed on Mondays. The bookshop opens from 10:00 to 19:00 on the same days. Check the official page for special holiday openings before you go.
The route follows the history of Bolognese painting: Vitale da Bologna and Giotto's polyptych of 1330, Renaissance works by Francia, Raphael and Parmigianino, the Carracci, a hall for Guido Reni, Guercino, and 18th-century painters such as Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Donato Creti and the Gandolfi brothers.
The former Jesuit convent of Sant'Ignazio, specifically its house of novices, refurbished in 1726–1732 by the architect Alfonso Torreggiani. The entrance staircase rises in the former novitiate chapel, frescoed by Giuseppe Barbieri with the Glory of Saint Ignatius.
