Davia Bargellini Museum, Art museum in Strada Maggiore, Bologna, Italy.
The Davia Bargellini Museum occupies Palazzo Davia Bargellini, a baroque building on Strada Maggiore marked by two large telamons sculpted into its facade in 1658. Inside are paintings spanning the 14th to 18th centuries along with furnishings, a Venetian puppet theater, and a historic carriage.
The museum was founded in 1926 when Francesco Malaguzzi Valeri merged the Davia Bargellini family's art collection with the city's industrial art holdings. This combination created an important center for preserving Bologna's artistic treasures from different eras.
The collection reflects the taste of Bologna's wealthy families, showing works by local masters like Vitale da Bologna and the Fontana family who shaped the city's Renaissance. These paintings reveal what art meant to the patrons who lived and worked in the surrounding streets.
The museum sits in a historic palazzo in Bologna's center, making it easy to reach on foot. The rooms are spread across multiple levels connected by traditional stairs, so visitors with mobility concerns should plan accordingly.
The museum preserves a rare 18th-century Venetian puppet theater with intricately crafted marionettes that you can observe in detail. This collection of movable figures offers a glimpse into the theatrical entertainment that was popular during that period.
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