Complex of San Michele in Bosco: Attraction informations
The historical complex of San Michele in Bosco is on top of a hill overlooking the city of Bologna. This religious building, flanked by the former convent of the Olivetan monks, is one of the biggest ones in Italy and offers an extraordinary view of the city.
The Olivetans installed themselves in this forsaken place in the 1364. They are still currently part of the Benedictine Order but present some differences regarding the other congregations of the order. For example, the role of abbot is limited in time and they can move through different monasteries.
Like many other buildings of the town center, the church has suffered different damages throughout the centuries and its current appearance is from the 15th century.
Between 1517 and 1523, the church underwent massive works of restoration that requalified the whole damaged areas inside the complex, thanks to the funds of the Olivetan Order.
The church also suffered expropriations in the hands of Napoleon troops, becoming first a military barrack and subsequently a prison, a common fate for many other religious buildings in Bologna, like San Giovanni in Monte.
During the period of Restoration the church was inhabited by the Papal State, and during the first years of the Kingdom of Italy it was also used a private quarters for the Royal Italian family.
The real change in its function came with the foundation of the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, that chose as its seat the complex of San Michele in Bosco. The structure was divided in the current hospital and its well-provided library.
The exterior and the decorations of San Michele in Bosco
The exterior appearance is due to the works of the
architect Biagio Rossetti, the same architect that was involved in the project of the Palazzo dei Diamanti or the Herculean Addition in Ferrara.
As soon as we enter the complex, we can see two different levels: one for worshippers and their functions, the other one for the exclusive attendance of the monks.
The decorations comprise
numerous paintings and statues, all from a period between the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the most beautiful and scenographic sites of the complex is surely the
Octagonal Cloister next to the church.
The sides of the cloister were once beautifully decorated, by artists from the school of the
Carracci. Unfortunately, being exposed to the weather conditions and the conflicts of history, very little of the decorations has reached our days.
The optical effect
The complex of
San Michele in Bosco hides a bit of magic too. Entering the presbytery, a long aisle (called by locals the “cannocchiale” – the telescope) ends in a huge glass window overlooking the city.
Walking down the aisle and towards the glass window, thanks to an optical effect, we can see the
Tower of Asinelli very near, although it is actually far away (the same effect as if looking at it through a telescope).
The library of Umberto I
This amazing ciomplex also houses the library of Umberto I, whose origins go back to the original monastery, that holds the first monastic archives of the 19th century.
In its rooms ancient manuscripts are treasured, and more importantly,
a huge world map finished in 1762 by
Father Rosini da Lendinara, who used the best available descriptions and cartographers of his time.
Once the Olivetans were thrown-out, the place was in hands of little conservative politics. It was only with the return of the Papal State to the city, during the 19th century, that both the monastery and the library started to be rebuilt and taken care of.
The
enlargement of the hospital in 1896, with the following restoration of many of its rooms in 1922, and the creation of another library inside the hospital, with one of the most famous and complete collections of
orthopedics texts in the world, are other details to be noted.
