Bologna Certosa. Guided tours 2012-2013


The daytime programme of the guided tours at the Bologna Certosa resumes, discovering the many hidden stories of our cemetery.


The series of tours – organized by the Museo civico del Risorgimento with the collaboration of Associazione Culturale Didasco – is possible thanks to the contribution of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna.

Sunday, October 7 | 3.30 p.m.
Elegance and passion: the XIX period between neoclassical and romantic art
The Bologna cemetery is a proper open air museum: cloisters, loggias and halls feature painted, stucco, marble and bronze monuments. A relaxed stroll allows understanding fully the development of the Italian artistic culture in the XIX century.

Meeting at 3.30 p.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday October 28 | 10.30 a.m.
race and unrest: XX century art between Academia and Modernism
The XX century cloisters of the Certosa feature hundreds of memories executed by the best Bologna artists, and not just them. The tour will show masterpieces typical of the Art Nouveau and XX century style, down to the ‘impossible avant-gardes’ of the mid-XX century.

Meeting at 10.30 a.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday November 25 | 10.30 a.m.
From the Certosa to the Museum. The Museo civico del Risorgimento
The Bologna museum hosts innumerable objects, memories and works of art, related to the life memories and the artistic vicissitudes of the cemetery. Art and history are merged in a path starting with the Napoleon’s period down to WW1.

Meeting at 10.30 a.m. at the Museo civico del Risorgimento, piazza Carducci 5, Bologna. Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. Minimum 10 participants. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. The admission ticket to the Museum – 5€ - is not included in the participation fee. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday December 16 | 3.30 p.m.
From the Certosa to the Museum. Carthusian masterpieces at the Pinacoteca Nazionale
With the exclusion of the Church of San Girolamo, all the very rich art collection, accumulated in the monastery over the centuries, was alienated during the Napoleon’s age. Luckily the masterpieces ended up at the Pinacoteca Nazionale: visitors will be able to see works by the Vivarinis, the Caraccis, Guercino and Gandolfi.

Meeting at 3.30 p.m. at the Pinacoteca Nazionale, via Belle Arti 56, Bologna. Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. Minimum 10 participants. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. The admission ticket to the Museum – 4€ - is not included in the participation fee. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday January 20 | 3.00 p.m.
The Church of San Girolamo: glory and splendour of the Bologna baroque
An intact testimony of the richness of the monastery abolished by Napoleon, it hosts the most important cycle of Bologna baroque painting still in its original location. Between XVI and XVII centuries the most important painters in town were asked to work there: Cesi, Pasinelli, the Siranis, Gessi, Canuti among others.

Meeting at 2.45 p.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday February 24 | 10.30 a.m.
The hidden graces: Pietro Fancelli, Innocenzo Giungi, Arturo Orsoni
Over two centuries more than seventy artists were active at the Certosa. Besides the famous ones, also others who, despite their sublime hand, did not manage to gain the most prestigious commissions. Paintings, marbles and bronzes will show the skills and greatness of artists unfairly considered to be ‘minor’.

Meeting at 10.30 a.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday March 31 | 3.30 p.m.
Conquering the world: Bologna travellers and explorers between the XIX and XX centuries
The visit will identify known – but especially unknown – personalities who launched out into long and dangerous explorations around the globe, often with any available means. An adventurous journey among the explorers of the past.

Meeting at 3.30 p.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday April 28 | 3.30 p.m.
Other cultures, different thoughts: foreigners who lived and stayed in Bologna
In the XIX century, Bologna lost its age-long international role but remained as a crossroads of cultures, which is reflected in several ‘foreign’ presences among the Certosa marbles and epigraphs. Very well known or illustrious unknown figures who contributed to enrich the local culture and history.

Meeting at 3.30 p.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday May 19 | 10.30 a.m.
Cemeteries in the cemetery: Jews and Protestants
Even though the cemetery was built following egalitarian ideals, it shows some exceptions for those belonging to religious denominations that are different form the Christian one. The Jewish cemetery remains the only important material evidence of the small but extremely lively Bologna community. The Protestant cemetery features graves and epigraphs of deep feeling and grace.

Meeting at 10.30 a.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free. Please wear a hat to be able to enter the Jewish Cemetery.

Sunday June 16 | 10.30 a.m.
Following Charles Dickens’ steps
During his stay the famous writer visited only the Certosa cemetery, the preferential destination of the cultivated XIX century traveller. It has been possible to reconstruct his visit thanks to the recovery of the letters by the custodian-guide who accompanied him, thus opening up also funny and entertaining glimpses into the Certosa everyday life.

Meeting at 10.30 a.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.

Sunday July 7 | 10.30 a.m.
A cemetery more cheerful than the town: known and unknown anecdotes and peculiarities
Under the shade of the cypresses, halls and loggias to go over known and less known stories of the town, and it will be also possible to recall many events that took place at the Certosa: loves, suicides, prostitution, swindles and conspiracies.

Meeting at 10.30 a.m. at the main entrance of the Cemetery (Church). Booking required please call 348-1431230 (afternoon - evening). Contribution due to Didasco: 8 € adults and children. 2 € will be donated to restore the cemetery. The tour will take place also in case of bad weather. Reserved to members. It will be possible to join on the day of the guided tour, the membership fee is 10 euro and the first guided tour is free.


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