Academy of Fine Arts

The Jesuit Novitiate complex and Church of Sant’Ignazio, today the Academy of Fine Arts and Art Gallery, sits behind a portico that, as is customary in Bologna, puts its façade in the background, making it nearly invisible. The large complex, built between 1670 and 1685, housed young Jesuit novices. The church, however, was built only from 1728 to 1735 from the design by Alfonso Torreggiani. Today it serves as the Academy’s great hall and is visible to passers-by through the all but constant opening of the main entrance under the portico. Its interior is arranged in the shape of a Greek cross, with shortened arms punctuated by tall free columns in composite style. The large hollow at the top of the sizeable dome, reduced in size in 1805, floods the interior with light. During this period, the building underwent an overall makeover for the Academy’s use.