The visit route of the Rocca Sforzesca, restored in the Sixties and inaugurated as a museum headquarters in 1975, winds through rooms, walkways, and towers. Inside them are preserved two remarkable collections, of weapons and ceramics, which have been subjects of study, cataloging, and restoration. The weapons collection consists of about six hundred pieces ranging from the 13th to the 19th century, only a small part related to the history of the building. Differently, the ceramics, found during restoration works carried out in the ’60s, are tangible testimonies of life inside the fortress.
The weapons collection mainly consists of bladed weapons, but there are also a good number of armors and firearms, including Renaissance siege artillery. The preserved pieces do not properly belong to the Rocca’s history but were purchased by the Municipality to form the collection, except for some finds made on site, in the water well, which brought to light two helmets and a bombarda. The archaic ceramics from the Alidosi period exposed in the keep and the southwest tower rooms, in a setup enriched by extensive didactic displays, instead come from the Rocca itself. In fact, these were found during restoration works in the 60s; the exhibit highlights their contexts of origin – especially the keep with its two wells, the water well and the “waste” well, and its dungeons. The ceramics gathered include graffito and maiolica pieces bearing initials, decorations, and symbols belonging to ancient tradition. Notable is the jug with the heraldic eagle of the Alidosi family. Rare is an entire service of eighteen graffito ceramic plates from the early 15th century found in the “waste” well at the foot of the keep.
Information about Rocca Sforzesca – Collections of Weapons and Ceramics
Piazzale Giovanni dalle Bande Nere,
40026 Imola (Bologna)
0542602609
musei@comune.imola.bo.it
https://www.comune.imola.bo.it/museicomunali
Source: MIBACT
