Bologna, Palazzo Bentivoglio opens the Eugenio Busmanti Library, featuring works of contemporary art


Starting Oct. 15, 2024, Palazzo Bentivoglio opens the Eugenio Busmanti Library to the public, housing 6,000 volumes and contemporary artworks in an environment that combines history and modernity. Access by reservation every Tuesday morning.

In Bologna, Palazzo Bentivoglio expands its cultural offerings with the opening of the Eugenio Busmanti Library, a new space dedicated to scholars and lovers of art and history. Starting Oct. 15, 2024, it will be possible to access this fascinating and memory-laden place, where the collection of some 6,000 volumes that belonged to Eugenio Busmanti will be made available to the public, alongside works of contemporary art.

Busmanti’s bibliographic fund, known for his studies on the mature 18th century, Neoclassicism and interior decoration, has been entirely rehoused at Palazzo Bentivoglio, Via del Borgo di San Pietro 1, preserving the original furnishings of the historic residence at Via Marsala 20. This new acquisition testifies to the Bolognese institution’s commitment to protecting the city’s cultural heritage, offering a space that combines past and present in a perfect fusion of ancient books and contemporary art.

Prominent among the works on display are the cycle Geografia Temporale. Rondello (2021) by Sophie Ko, which complements the library’s magnificent Baroque architecture, and installations by Nicola Melinelli and the duo Elmgreen & Dragset. The main hall has been transformed by artist Andreas Angelidakis with the POST-RUIN Bentivoglio modular system (2020), which ironically reinterprets the concept of monumental ruin, offering comfortable seating for those consulting the volumes.

The official opening will take place on October 12, 2024 on the occasion of the Day of the Contemporary, while access to the library will be available, by reservation, every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting October 15. Users will be able to check out the volumes, carefully cataloged in the OPAC system, by making reservations via email at beb@palazzobentivoglio.org.

The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
The Eugenio Busmanti Library in Palazzo Bentivoglio, Bologna. Photo: Paolo Abate
Elmgreen & Dragset, ELM-216-A (2020). Photo: Carlo Favero
Elmgreen & Dragset, ELM-216-A (2020). Photo: Carlo Favero
Sophie Ko, Temporal geography. Rondello (2021). Photo: Carlo Favero
Sophie Ko, Temporal Geography. Rondello (2021). Photo: Carlo Favero

Bologna, Palazzo Bentivoglio opens the Eugenio Busmanti Library, featuring works of contemporary art
Bologna, Palazzo Bentivoglio opens the Eugenio Busmanti Library, featuring works of contemporary art


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