Patrimonio culturale dell'Emilia-Romagna

The Gallery has been reopened to the public after having undergone complex restoration work that led to the renewal of its exhibition setup and the reorganisation of spaces according to criteria that ensure the preservation of the exhibits in a suitable microclimate, of the Tapestry Room in particular. Today we can thus admire the exceptional collection of eighteen tapestries exhibited in its entirety. The upgraded and enlarged exhibition enhances the gallery’s precious art collections, that contain important paintings such as works by Gian Paolo Panini, Domenico Viani, Zenone Veronese, Giovan Battista Lenardi, many paintings of other genres, with sacred and historical subjects. Two new sections have been added: one with the ancient and precious vestments of Cardinal Alberoni, and one with sculptures. There is also a biographical section devoted to Cardinal Alberoni, where objects, clothes, furnishings that belonged to the high ranking prelate provide a realistic picture of his life and of the customs and tastes of the time.

The College, that has existed as a Charitable Institution operating as a seminary since the last century, was established by Cardinal Giulio Alberoni (1664-1752) to train poor seminarists; it was first opened in 1751 in the old Hospital of Saint Lazarus. Here a part of the cardinal’s collections are exhibited. Cardinal Alberoni was a key figure in the policies of the Farnese family, and, acting as the duke’s representative at the Court of Spain (1714-1719), he arranged the marriage between Philip V and Elisabetta Farnese. In 1802 the meteorological observatory was opened; in 1874 the astronomical observatory and the seismological laboratory were added, with a data archive starting from 1922. Among the artistic objects from the collections of Cardinal Alberoni, that were previously kept in the Roman palaces and in the cardinal’s Piacenza residence, there are important works by Antonello da Messina (Ecce Homo), Dughet, Cerquozzi, Courtois, Mola, Reni, Giordano, Gaulli, Solimena, Ceruti, Pannini, Ferrari, as well as a number of Flemish paintings by Bouts, Provost, Mabuse, de Blés, a unique collection in our region. Of equal importance is the collection of Flemish tapestries, divided into three series: the Priam series (15th century), that was woven for the marriage of Maximilian of Habsburg with Mary of Burgundy; the Aeneas and Dido series (17th century) based on cartoons by Gian Francesco Romanelli; the Alexander the Great series (17th century), based on cartoons by Jacob Jordaens.
Among the collection of religious gold items there is a monstrance with precious stones by the Piacenza artist Angelo Spinazzi (1761), author of reliquaries and other liturgical items belonging to the Charitable Institution. Together with its artistic collections, the College houses a library with many valuable books, the archive with the Alberoni Fund, and the equipment of the physics and natural sciences laboratories, the latter based on the collections that were donated to the College in 1810 by Father Zaccaria da Piacenza, of the Order of the Franciscan Friars Minor.