Davia Bargellini Collection

Brief information

At Palazzo Davia Bargellini, the museum presents Bologna not through a single ceremonial hall, but through objects that usually remain on the margins of attention: keys, door handles, grilles, furniture, frames, tableware, marionettes, and carriages. Because of this, the palace reads as a place where family history, urban craftsmanship, and domestic life have been gathered into one setting.

The palazzo was commissioned in 1638 for the senatorial Bargellini family, and the museum was arranged in 1924 according to the concept of Francesco Malaguzzi Valeri. What matters more than the date itself is the principle of display: paintings from the Davia and Bargellini families are placed alongside objects of applied art to create the atmosphere of 18th-century Bolognese life. That is why here it is worth looking not only at individual rarities, but at how the objects together depict former everyday life.

What to notice right away

At the entrance, it is worth noticing the two telamons, which local residents call giants. They are not simply decoration for the portal: the figures support the palace’s first impression and immediately remind you that the building was constructed as a representative family palazzo. Beside them, another layer of time is set by the entrance staircase, designed already in the 18th century; you can mentally compare it with the earlier facade gesture at the entrance.

Inside, the main focus comes from objects that show the house as a system. The decorative marionette theater and the miniature model of a private house connect the museum with everyday urban life, while iron grilles, door handles, and carved wooden frames shift attention from the paintings to the details through which a house is usually touched, opened, and protected. The gilded carriage from the late 18th century adds a ceremonial side to this domestic world: the same culture of objects is visible not in a room now, but in movement through the city.