Portico dei Servi

In 1392, the Municipality of Bologna transferred a portion of public space to the Servite Order, which had already occupied this stretch of Strada Maggiore since the turn of the century, on which to build a portico. In return, it seems that the monks decided to use materials that would bring back the city’s symbolic colours red and white. Thus we see the Verona marble and Istrian stone that distinguish the portico.
It is one of the very first masonry-built porticoes. The creators of the design might have been Antonio di Vincenzo and Andrea Manfredi da Faenza who were working in the construction site of the adjoining church. The former was also the architect of San Petronio and the latter was the participating client.
Also worthy of note is the width of the portico: at almost 6 metres, it is Bologna’s broadest.
In-depth studies have recognised in the sizing of these spaces the use of the golden ratio, which generates an unmistakable feeling of balance and proportion.
The characteristic configuration of the column interrupted at the centre by a moulded ring originates with this portico. The explanation lies in the need to connect and reinforce the joint between two segments of abutment. We will find this stylistic feature again in many other city porticoes.
The constructed segment was then developed in later times in accordance with the original style.
The four-sided portico in front of the façade resulted from the demolition of a church that stood alongside the present-day Via Guerrazzi, San Tommaso. Giuseppe Modonesi and Enrico Brunetti Rodati were its creators between 1852 and 1857.