16th century progress in science!

 The Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio was built following the orders of pope Pius IV.  The local architect, Antonio Morandi, was the master behind this project in 1562, which was to build an impressive edifice to house studies in anatomy, medical science and research.  

For hundreds of years on, groundbreaking work was done here as part of the larger scheme of the university.  When you walk in to the inner courtyard, you are confronted with countless crests of important benefactors, rulers and scholars who all contributed to making this facet of the university 'world renown.'

One of the remarkable scientists who taught and worked here was Luigi Galvani.  In the late 18th century, he developed a theory about the 'secret of life.'  He was pretty convinced that it was some form of electricity which streamed through our bodies, keeping us going.  He was known for doing experiments with dead animals (frogs were a favorite) where he shocked the corpse and noticed that the limbs jerked and seemed to animate.  It was his work that inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein, in which a scientist puts together a human out of bits and pieces of various corpses and uses electricity to bring it to life.  Voila!  Here is a statue of him... along with his famous frog:

To add to the fabulousness, here is the infamous dissection room.  Students would gather around in this place to watch a doctor dissect a cadaver on a marble slab:

There is a library with early anatomy books:

And various statues of skinless human beings:

You continue to another part of the building where you have the Stabat Mater lecture hall.  This room was used for lectures on law and other disciplines.  And there is a remarkable library of endless tomes.... god knows what sorts of treasures are here:

Pranzo time!  The cuisine of Emilia-Romagna is variations on a theme of ragu (called Bolognese here).  Tagliatelle, lasagna with delicate and paper thin sheets of pasta, rich sauces, glorious seasonal vegetables, cheap and luscious house wine:

Pannacotta with noccioli for dolce:

Perfetto!