Palazzo Re Enzo

Palazzo Re Enzo is the most prestigious historic residence in Bologna. Located on Piazza Maggiore, it is now used to host major events. The building covers more than 2,500 square metres and consists of two large outdoor areas and halls of up to 800 square metres. The main entrance faces the adjacent square and leads into an arcaded courtyard of about 250 square metres. In the centre stands an ancient sandstone well, while on the right is the old Chapel of Santa Maria dei Carcerati, recently restored and decorated by the English artist David Tremlett. On the left side of the courtyard, a 15th-century staircase leads to the two upper floors. The first hall on the first floor is the Sala degli Atti, measuring 430 square metres. This hall, once known as the Sala del Trecento, was built in 1386, in the form it has today, by the most famous architect of the time, Antonio di Vincenzo. Over time it was used as the municipal archive. Passing the entrance to the Sala degli Atti and continuing up the staircase, you reach a loggia divided into two areas: one covered by a portico that connects the various halls and overlooks the courtyard below, and one open to the sky. From the loggia, a covered passage leads through an imposing solid wood door into the great Salone del Podestà, once a court of justice, which from 1581 to 1767 was used as the Public Theatre (where, in 1616, the second version of Euridice was staged) and later as a football pitch. Next to the Salone del Podestà are three smaller rooms of about 40 square metres each, which can be used as a cloakroom, registration area, press room, dressing rooms, guest reception and speakers’ room. On the second floor of the Palace are two more large halls: the Sala Re Enzo, of about 400 square metres, named after the son of Frederick II of Swabia, who was imprisoned in the Palace, in this very room, until his death; and the Sala del Quadrante, of about 150 square metres, named after the ancient clock face frescoed on the adjacent ceiling. This hall overlooks Via Rizzoli, from where you can admire some of Bologna’s medieval towers.