Happy birthday, Ulisse! Five hundred years of Professor Aldrovandi

To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Ulisse Aldrovandi's birth (11 September 1522), a weekend full of events is coming to the city on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September.

This is the continuation of the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the scientist's birth, which began last May thanks to the Sistema Museale di Ateneo - SMA, in collaboration with the University Library of Bologna, the Pinacoteca Nazionale of Bologna and the Bologna City Council.

From 10 AM on Saturday 10 September until late afternoon, visitors can take part in visits and educational workshops for all ages, learn how to recognise and preserve plants, visit Aldrovandi's ancient geo-paleontological collections, discover lesser-known aspects of Ulisse Aldrovandi's intense activity, and much more.

To further celebrate the important anniversary, on Sunday 11 September, at 11.00 AM, at the Ulisse Room (via Zamboni, 33), will be held the meeting “Between nature and fantasy: Ulisse Aldrovandi and artists from Bologna” with art historian Vera Fortunati, an expert on 16th century Bologna. The scholar will lead participants to the discovery of a theme that is as curious as it is representative of the historical context in which Aldrovandi conducted his research: the dialogue between the scientist and his contemporary artists in relation to the novelty of the method of investigating natural reality that he introduced, combined with his interest in the monstrous aspects of the “theatre of nature”.

Educational workshops will continue all day on Sunday and among other, at 3.30 PM in the city centre (more information) there will be an appointment with WunderBO, the videogame for discovering the city of Bologna. The game is enriched with a new section dedicated to Ulisse Aldrovandi, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his birth. It will be a real cultural trek in the footsteps of Ulisse, equipped with an app and three guides.

The new videogame “Aldrovandi Experience” is the latest addition to the WunderBO app, a project developed by Melazeta and in which various cultural organisation participated, in a synergy between Bologna City Council and the University. The University Library of Bologna, the Archiginnasio Library, the Civic Archaeological Museum, the Palazzo Poggi Museum, the Botanical Garden and Herbarium, and the SalaBorsa library provided materials, such as original texts and images, and scientific advice.

The celebrations for Ulisse Aldrovandi will continue beyond the anniversary date, with the second edition of guided tours organised by the Communication Sector - Unibocultura, in cooperation with SMA and the Academy of Sciences: "Un viandante di nome Ulisse" (A Wayfarer named Ulisse), three appointments (13 September, 13 October and 4 November) to visit the Aldrovandi Collection at the Palazzo Poggi Museum, the Ulisse Rooms at the Academy of Sciences and the Aldrovandi Herbarium at the Botanical Garden and Herbarium.