Square, Bologna
The square takes its name from a well-known Bolognese citizen, Marco Minghetti, deputy of the Italian right-wing and twice president of the Council of Ministers: the first time from 1863 to 1864; the second time between 1873 and 1876. During his second government Italy achieved a balanced budget for the first and last time.
A statue representing him, made by Giulio Monteverde, stands out in the middle of the square in memory of his contribution to his country, and especially to his city. Minghetti is one of the founders of the Cassa di Risparmio of Bologna (1837).
Great traveller, Ugo Bassi’s pupil and great friend of D’Azeglio, he was also an associate of Cavour who nominated him Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and put him in charge of the annexation of Romagna to the kingdom of Sardinia.
Minghetti was a main character during many of the main political events that took place in the years after the unification of Italy. He died in Bologna and now rests along with his wife in the Monumental Cemetery of La Certosa. One of the High Schools in Bologna is dedicated to him, the Liceo Ginnasio Statale Marco Minghetti in Via Nazario Sauro, inside the 16th-century Palazzo Lambertini Taruffi.
Piazza Minghetti (1893-1896) offers some respite to Via Farini and was designed by Ernesto Balbo Bertone di Sambuy, a count specialized in garden design and to whom we owe the design of the then new-born park Giardini Margherita. Relevant and imposing buildings help decorate this area of the city, such as Palazzo delle Poste and the building hosting the Cassa di Risparmio.
Palazzo delle Poste was designed by Emilio Saffi and inaugurated in 1911. It still currently holds the central Postal Service of the city. Its atrium is decorated with a sculpture of workers concentrating in telecommunications on the war field, made by Alfonso Borghesani in remembrance of the fallen postmen during the first World War (1922).
Palazzo della Cassa di Risparmio was instead designed by Giuseppe Mengoni, the same architect who designed the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, and inaugurated a few years before, in 1877. The whole building is garnished in marble and cast iron and holds different frescoes and statues by Arturo Colombarini, Giuseppe Pacchioni, Stefano Galletti and Giuseppe Romagnoli.
A natural monument worth of consideration is the century-old plane tree that overlooks the square, over 40 metres high. The tree is part of the protected list of the Institute of Artistic, Monumental and Natural Heritage of Emilia-Romagna.
