Museo Civico Medievale — Attraction in Bologna

A quiet, yet deeply rewarding museum that offers a rich dive into Bologna’s medieval heritage. Housed in the 15th-century Palazzo Ghisilardi-Fava, the setting itself is part of the story; an elegant Renaissance building layered with centuries of history.

The museum focuses on Bologna’s medieval period, when the city was one of Europe’s great centers of learning and power. Highlights include intricately carved tombs of university professors, which reflect the city’s deep academic roots, as well as weapons, armor, illuminated manuscripts, and religious art. Each room feels like a step further into the daily lives, beliefs, and ambitions of the people who built Bologna’s early legacy.

It’s not overwhelming in size, but it’s beautifully curated and thoughtfully laid out. The museum strikes a balance between the scholarly and the accessible, offering a space where you can really take your time. If you're interested in medieval culture, or just want a deeper sense of the city beyond its churches and piazzas; this place is a...

Amazing museum with many interesting artifacts and collections. We were very disappointed to see that nobody from the stuff spoke any English and they were not helpful at all. Also, there are no English descriptions of the exhibits, but only some leaflet for each room where you got information in English for just some of the exhibits (around 20% of the whole room). The most disappointing was the fact that they were urging us to finish up our promenade in the museum 30 minutes before closing time. They were very rude and some of the stuff were actually moving around rooms and clapping very loudly to make us leave like we were a herd, without even trying to speak to us. The museum is great and deserves a 4/5 (if we had the possibility to read more things in English it would be 5/5), but the whole experience including the rude staff would be rated at...

The museum was a boring experience. I did not learn anything about medieval Bologna, nor the life of the people who lived here. I did not learn about professions, politics, or society, nor did I learn about warfare or agriculture or religion or art. The museum is a collection of objects without any sort of underlying theme, or explanation to accompany them.

If you do not speak italian the museum is definitely a no-go, because 80% of titles, texts and explanations are only in italian. The exhibition rooms include an English card with explanations for the most important highlights, but even these are mostly focused on the properties of the objects not the historical context of them.

The audioguide app did not work on my android phone.

This musem should be completely reorganized with a set of talented curators.

I do not recommend spending...