This palace was the seat of the city university from 1563 to 1805. These days its chief attraction is the fascinating 17th-century Teatro Anatomico , a well-preserved anatomical theatre where trainee surgeons once studied. Cedar-wood tiered seats surround a central marble-topped table once used for public body dissections under the sinister gaze of an Inquisition priest, ready to intervene if proceedings became too spiritually compromising.
A sculptured Apollo looks down from the ceiling, while the canopy above the lecturer's chair is supported by two skinless figures carved into the wood. Down the hall, and covered by the same entrance ticket, is the Aula Magna di Stabat Mater , a grand former classroom. In the adjacent wing is Bologna's 700,000-volume Biblioteca Comunale (off-limits to the general public).
