The University of Bologna is the oldest continuously operating university in Europe. It was founded in 1088 and has been going ever since. The picture above is a map of the different scholars that worked with the university in the early days and it shows how wide ranging the effort was. Lots of items have accumulated here over the centuries from zoological specimens, to animal oddities, to anatomical models, to military architectural diagrams, to model ships, to cannons, to Japanese wood block prints, to early electrical experimental equipment. To say there was a little bit of everything is an understatement.
The sidewalks got busier the closer we got to the University
Porticoes and churches lined the path
They really do help keep the pedestrians cool
We passed the opera house
Great banners listing the shows
It made the place brighter
There is a museum and library that is open to the public
Decorated with the busts of great revolutionary heroes
Some stone steps up to the museum
The stairs were long and so we stopped to admire the statues
Each one a work of art
Wings on the head
The ceiling above us was illuminated with various nature scenes
In the hall of zoological samples, two ostrich eggs
Big turtle shells
Puffer fish
A sperm whale tooth with scrimshaw
Woodcuts of accurate sketches of biological specimens
The insistence on accuracy was a new concept
As the collection room looked centuries ago
Swan song
The sea coconut we had seen years ago in the Seychelles
The room of curiosities, a two headed calf
A narwahl tusk
The ceilings and walls are works of art themselves
So many woodcuts
Some birdwatching!
Accuracy went out the door here
More beautiful ceilings
The man with six arms
Another room with glassware
An entire room of developing fetuses
This one was kinda cute
Nest room was straight up gruesome
All before palatized humans
A little humor as this skeleton is holding a sythe
Another ceiling masterpiece
Such fine workmanship
Getting an earful
Ceiling and walls decorated
Wax fingers
Seemingly random body parts, but all in the name of science
Cherubs are having some fun
A wax woman
A very early static electricity generator
Iridescent turkey?
A jaguar lurking, ready to pounce
The first folding ruler
This is a portrait of, Dr. Laura Bassi, the first woman to graduate Bologna University in 1732 with a PhD. She defended before 49 professors. and only the second woman in the entire world to earn a doctorate. Incidentally it was in physics and she was also the first woman to be elected into the Bologna Academy of Sciences in 1732 at the young age of 21.
Another part of the museum was devoted to military architecture
Cannons
Generals
Globes
Model ships
So many oars
A collection of Japanese wood block prints
Have Samurai will fight
More Samurai
Digging the hot tub
A huge map of the world made from tile
Elephants!
Another ship
But the detail is hard to fathom
A set of Samurai armor
