The Museo San Colombano – Collezione Tagliavini, located in the heart of Bologna, offers an unexpected experience—an artful blend of a Renaissance-era church adorned with frescoes and filled with a remarkable collection of harpsichords, pianos, and other keyboard instruments. The story behind the museum’s unique location within a deconsecrated church is a fascinating one.
The site’s history dates back to the seventh century when it originally housed a church, although little of the original structure remains today. In 1591, an oratory was built atop the church, and its interior was later adorned with frescoes. The church was closed in 1798 during the Napoleonic era, reopened in the 1800s, and eventually deconsecrated in 1959.
The museum’s impressive instrument collection, however, is unrelated to the church’s past. It was assembled by renowned organist and musicologist Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, who began collecting in 1969. His first acquisitions were a 16th-century spinet and a 17th-century harpsichord. Over the years, Tagliavini amassed over 90 fully functional instruments, most of them keyboards.
In the early 2000s, the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna launched a project to renovate several historic buildings, including the Oratory of San Colombano, and transform them into museums. During the renovations, a 13th-century fresco depicting the crucifixion was uncovered in a crypt. When the San Colombano Complex opened as a museum in 2010, it proudly displayed Tagliavini’s extensive instrument collection.
Despite its hidden location on a quiet side street in Bologna’s city center, the museum is well worth seeking out. Its humble exterior and secluded position may mean it’s off the radar for many, but those who venture inside are treated to an extraordinary and unique cultural experience.
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