Palazzo Fava, Bologna


Palazzo Fava or Palazzo Fava-Ghisilieri is a historic palace at 2 via Manzoni in Bologna, now housing art exhibitions and the Caffè Letterario Carracci Fava. It is most notable for its three rooms of frescoes of scenes from the lives of Jason, Medea, Europa and Aeneas by Ludovico Carracci, Agostino Carracci and Annibale Carracci, commissioned in 1584 by Filippo Fava - he was introduced to them by his tailor Antonio, Agostino and Annibale's father.

History

The palace was already old when acquired by the Fava family in 1546. The present structure was built during the Renaissance, with important restorations by Filippo Fava, who received a major dowry on his marriage to Ginevra Orsi.

Palazzo delle Esposizioni

After restoration the building opened on 28 January 2011 with the inaugural exhibition Palazzo Fava. Palazzo delle Esposizioni, displaying works from the Fondazione Carisbo's collections across several floors. It formed part of the wider Bologna si rivela event and was curated by the art critic Philippe Daverio. The works were organised as:
  • Ground Floor: Modern and Contemporary Collections of the Fondazione Carisbo
  • Piano nobile: Old Masters of the Fondazione Carisbo
  • Piano galleria: Bologna yesterday and today - how a city changes
  • Library: When la Cina was far off: 1904-1947
It has 2.600 m² of display space and is part of the Genus Bononiae. Musei nella Città trail, created by Fabio Roversi Monaco, then president of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna.

Exhibitions

  • Tiziano Terzani Clic! 30 anni d'Asia. La mostra, curated by Folco Terzani.
  • I 1000 di Garibaldi, quelli che vollero inventare l'Italia, curated by Philippe Daverio, Massimo Negri and Roberto Guerri.
  • Quadri di un'esposizione. Pittura barocca nella collezione del maestro Francesco Molinari Pradelli, curated by Angelo Mazza.
  • Nino Migliori a Palazzo Fava. Antologica, curated by Graziano Campanini.
  • Arturo Martini. Creature, il sogno della terracotta, curated by Nico Stringa.
  • La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla. Il mito della Golden Age. Da Vermeer a Rembrandt. Capolavori dal Mauritshuis, curated by Marco Goldin.
  • Max Klinger. L'inconscio della realtà, curated by Paola Giovanardi Rossi and Francesco Poli.
  • Da Cimabue a Morandi. Felsina Pittrice, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi.
  • Guido Reni e i Carracci. Un atteso ritorno, curated by Sergio Guarino.
  • Edward Hopper, curated by Barbara Haskell.
  • Bologna dopo Morandi 1945-2015, curated by Renato Barilli
  • Costruire il Novecento. Capolavori della Collezione Giovanardi, curated by Silvia Evangelisti.
  • Astrid Kirchherr with the Beatles, curated by Kai-Uwe Franz.
  • México. La Mostra Sospesa. Orozco Rivera Y Siqueiros.
  • Sergio Vacchi. Mondi Paralleli, curated by Marco Meneguzzo.