via del Monte 8, Bologna (Italy)
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Palazzo Boncompagni is social
The first of the five scenes is situated on the large monumental fireplace. It is a painting on wood representing the anointing of David as King of Israel by Samuel.
On the left of the central scene there is an episode not particularly common in the iconography of the time: David appears at the court of King Saul with gifts from Jesse, his father.
Depicted above the entrance door is the delivery, by Jesse, of some gifts for the other brothers who were engaged in a war against the Philistines. This is unique as there are no known precedents for it except the engravings by Dutch artist Maerten Van Heemskerck.
To the right of the central scene, David puts on the armor of King Saul as he prepares to fight Goliath. In reality, David refuses to wear the armor and fights the Philistine giant armed only with a sling.
In the center of the ceiling is the climactic scene of David’s story: the beheading of the giant Goliath.
The decoration of the room is very rich and there are grotesques painted on a white background, as found in Castel Sant’Angelo, with fantastic animals and phytomorphic figures such as exotic birds, parrots, imaginary landscapes, ruins and mythological figures like Athena and Aphrodite, and Ceres or Fortuna; probably inspired by the decorations of the Domus Aurea in Rome, discovered at the end of the 15th century.
The alternation of fantastic figures with the fauna of the area, from a luxuriant nature to the more typically Emilian one, is perhaps due to the cultural influence of Ulisse Aldrovandi, the great Bolognese scientist and botanist who is a contemporary of and related to the Boncompagni family.
June 17 to July 31, 2025
From June 17, 2025, the dreamlike, anthropomorphic world of Marta Roberti invades Palazzo Boncompagni. An exhibition that interweaves myth, nature and history in a unique dialogue between contemporary art and the ancient architectural splendor of the residence of Pope Gregory XIII.
June 7 and 19; July 3 and 10; August 14 and 28, 2025
Castello Benelli, which has joined the Grandi giardini italiani and Residenze D’epoca, will open its doors and those of its magnificent surrounding garden.
