# Archiginnasio and Anatomical Theatre, the Old University Visit · 40 min with audio guide · Book online · From €10 Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/emilia-romagna/bologna/things-to-do/archiginnasio-anatomy-theatre · Revisado: 2026-11-11 Dónde: Bologna Since 1838 the palace has been the municipal library, but the visit is to the university of old: corridors and staircases with thousands of painted coats of arms of students and professors, the Stabat Mater lecture hall and the theatre where dissections were carried out in front of the students. ## What it is and why go The University of Bologna is one of the oldest in Europe, but for centuries it had no single home: classes were spread across different places in the city. The Archiginnasio, built in 1562 and 1563 next to the basilica of San Petronio, brought all the teaching under one roof for the first time. Jurists on one side, artists and doctors on the other. What impresses as you walk in are the walls. Corridors, staircases and lecture halls are covered with painted coats of arms and memorial plaques of students and professors from all over Europe: it is the largest collection of painted heraldry on walls in the world. And in the centre, the Anatomical Theatre of 1637, a wooden room with tiers in a circle around the marble table where dissections were carried out before the students. ## Who it suits Anyone curious about history, science or medicine, and teenagers, whom the anatomical theatre usually leaves silent. Children up to 12 get in free. It is a short visit, 40 minutes with the audio guide, easy to fit between other things in the centre. If you are looking for a big museum with collections, this is not one: it is a building and its history. The library, moreover, cannot be visited. ## Audio guide or guided tour Audio guide (€10). It lasts about 40 minutes and is in Italian, English, French, Spanish and German. It works with your own phone and headphones, through an app with videos and images. You go in Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:30, every ten minutes. Guided tour (€12). It lasts 1 h 15 min, only in Italian or English, and is the only way to see the chapel of Santa Maria dei Bulgari and the Cubiculum Artistarum. From 1 March, Monday to Saturday, there are Italian slots at 11:30, 15:30 and 16:40, and English at 10:20, 14:20, 16:00 and 17:10. If you do not get by in English or Italian, choose the audio guide: in Spanish you understand much more. ## What it costs The audio guide costs €10 (€8 reduced for young people aged 13 to 18 and students with a card). The guided tour, €12 (€10 reduced for young people aged 13 to 18, university students and over-65s). Children up to 12 and people with disabilities, with one companion, enter free. The booking can be cancelled with a full refund up to 24 hours beforehand. ## When to go It opens Monday to Saturday; on Sunday there are no visits. The first slots of the morning are usually the quietest. Because the Stabat Mater Hall and the rooms on the guided tour are used for other activities, they may sometimes be closed: the website itself warns of this. ## Accessibility and rules People with reduced mobility enter by Via de' Foscherari 2. The guided tour is accessible only in the first-floor part, and the guide waits for you at the entrance to the Anatomical Theatre. Animals, bulky bags, rucksacks and bicycles are not allowed. ## If it rains You arrive from Piazza Maggiore without getting wet, under the porticoes. It is a good visit for a rainy day: combine it with the basilica of San Petronio, next door, and a coffee under the porticoes. ## Paso a paso ### Before · Book online Booking is compulsory. Choose audio guide or guided tour, and arrive ten minutes early: if you are late, you are not moved to the next slot. ### Entrance · Piazza Galvani 1 With the guided tour, the meeting point is in the courtyard, to the right of the entrance. With the audio guide, on the first floor. ### The corridors of coats of arms The largest collection of painted heraldry on walls in the world: coats of arms of students from all over Europe. ### The Stabat Mater Hall The old lecture hall of the jurists, if it is not occupied by another activity that day. ### The Anatomical Theatre Wooden tiers around the dissection table, with wooden sculptures that catch the eye. ### With the guided tour · Closed rooms The chapel of Santa Maria dei Bulgari and the Cubiculum Artistarum, which cannot be seen with the audio guide. ## Qué llevar - The booking on your phone - Headphones for the audio guide on your phone - Enough battery on your phone - No rucksack: they are not allowed ## Consejos ### Audio guide in Spanish The guided tour is only in Italian or English; the audio guide is in five languages, Spanish included. ### Combine it with Piazza Maggiore The Archiginnasio is a step from the square and the Clock Tower. ### Arrive ten minutes early If you are late, you lose the slot and are not refunded. ### Book with room to cancel You can cancel with a refund up to 24 hours before your time. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How much does it cost? From €10 with the audio guide. The guided tour costs €12, €10 reduced for young people aged 13 to 18, university students and over-65s. ### Do you have to book? Yes, online booking is compulsory. ### How long does it last? 40 minutes with the audio guide and 1 h 15 min with a guide. ### Is it interesting for children? Older children find the anatomical theatre impressive, and with the audio guide it is only 40 minutes. Up to age 12 they do not pay. ### Is it open on Sundays? No. Visits are Monday to Saturday. ### Can you visit the library? No. The municipal library area is not open to tourist visits.