L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano Y ou probably know about Bologna's rich culinary traditions, miles of porti- coes, terracotta medieval build- ings and the oldest university of the Western World; but did you k n o w a b o u t t h e t i m e t h e great Michelangelo lived and worked in Bologna? Could you have guessed it was the first city to abolish slavery? And how about when Bologna looked like Venice? Michelangelo in Bologna (and the sculpture that was destroyed) W e u s u a l l y a s s o c i a t e t h e n a m e o f M i c h e l a n g e l o w i t h Florence and Rome, where the great Renaissance artist was most active, leaving outstanding w o r k s o f a r t . H o w e v e r , n o t many know that, at some point during his career, Michelangelo spent time in Bologna – twice to be precise – and left some works of art there too. The first time Michelangelo came to Bologna was after the death of Lorenzo de' Medici (1492), when he found himself with no patrons and no salary. The young artist had decided to t r y h i s l u c k i n V e n i c e , b u t nobody wanted to commission him any work. On his way back to Tuscany, passing through Bologna, he was stopped at cus- toms and fined for not having paid the entry tax. A Bolognese senator, the wealthy Giovan F r a n c e s c o A l d r o v a n d i , w i t - nessed what was happening, paid the fine for the penniless Tuscan and offered him a job: to be a lecturer at his house for the works of Tuscan literary masters Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, s o h e w o u l d n ' t h a v e t o h e a r t h e m r e a d w i t h a B o l o g n e s e accent! Thanks to Aldrovandi's con- n e c t i o n s , M i c h e l a n g e l o w a s a s s i g n e d t h e t a s k o f m a k i n g three small sculptures (Saint Petronius, Saint Proclus and an angel holding a torch) for the Arca di San Domenico (Ark of Saint Dominic), the monumental tomb containing the remains of Saint Dominic, to which other major artists of the time con- tributed. The monument is one of Bologna's most important pieces of art, and this is how Bologna too can boast art by Michelangelo. Where can you see it? In the Basilica of San Domenico, on the piazza by the same name. And there could be one more w o r k b y M i c h e l a n g e l o i n Bologna, if only it hadn't been destroyed! Twelve years after his first stay, Michelangelo was summoned by the newly elected Pope Julius II to create a gigan- tic statue in bronze of him. The s t a t u e w a s m o u n t e d o n t h e façade of the Basilica of San Petronio in 1508 and destroyed three years later, when Annibale Bentivoglio, who was briefly lord of Bologna, ordered to take it down. The statue went into pieces, which were sold to the Duke of Ferrara and used to make a cannon, named "Giulia". Bologna, the free: First city to abolish slavery In 1256, the city of Bologna a p p r o v e d a l a w w h i c h p r o - claimed the abolition of slavery and the release of serfs (servi della gleba), making Bologna the first city in Italy, and possi- bly in the world, to abolish slav- ery. Ok, it was not just out of generosity; there was an eco- nomic reason to it. In 1249, after the battle of Fossalta, dur- i n g t h e w a r b e t w e e n t h e G u e l p h s a n d t h e G h i b e l l i n e s , a l m o s t a l l t h e S i g n o r i e ( L o r d s h i p s ) o f Bologna were defeated. Until then, slaves were an exclusive property of their lords, with no rights. It meant they basically did not exist. And, if they didn't exist, they couldn't be subjected to paying taxes. By emancipat- ing them, the city would be able to collect taxes from thousands of freed men. Thus, on 25 August 1256, the A r e n g o b e l l o f t h e P o d e s t à P a l a c e r a n g t o s u m m o n t h e B o l o g n e s i t o P i a z z a Maggiore, where the Podestà (head of city government) and the Capitano del Popolo (head of city militia) announced the liberation of 5855 serfs. The following year, the city ordered four notaries to list the n a m e s a n d d e t a i l s o f a l l t h e freed slaves and their 379 own- ers in a written memorial, which would be preceded by a pro- logue to explain the motivations f o r t h e a c t . T h e t e x t w a s called Liber Paradisus (Heaven Book), because the first written word in the text is "heaven", as a reminder that God created man in paradise "in perfect and per- petual freedom". "Paradisum voluptatis plan- tavit dominus Deus omnipotens a p r i n c i p i o , i n q u o p o s u i t hominem, quem formaverat, et ipsius corpus ornavit veste can- denti, sibi donans perfectissi- mam et perpetuam libertatem." (In the beginning God plant- ed a paradise of delights, where he put the man whom he had formed, and adorned his body of a bright dress, giving him the most perfect and perpetual free- dom.) So yes, the move was dictat- ed by an economic reason, but it was also the first attempt by a major municipality to put an end to the feudal society. Where can you see it? The Liber Paradisus is kept at the State Archives in Piazza dei Celestini and was digitized and published online in 2007 to cele- brate the 750 th anniversary of the law promulgation. H i d d e n c a n a l s : w h e n Bologna resembled Venice A n e t w o r k o f n a v i g a b l e canals had existed in Bologna s i n c e R o m a n t i m e s , f o r t h e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n o f g o o d s a n d heavy materials, such as stone and marble. In the 12 th century, the canal network was expanded w i t h t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e Reno and Savena rivers' gates to bring water directly into the city and drive the ever increasing number of water wheels, spin- ning plants and sawmills. In the 13 th century, Bologna, the 5 th largest city for the num- ber of inhabitants, became the main center of textile production in Italy. Water meant prosperity and economic progress and the city had a 60-kilometer network of canals by then. What remains of that exten- sive network? Not much. The canals were all buried under- ground, starting in the 1950s. But, you can still get an idea of what Bologna may have looked like if you go to Via Piella and look for a tiny window in the wall, the so-called Finestrella di Via Piella, which looks over the Canale delle Moline (Moline Canal). Silvia Donati is a freelance journalist. She writes about her hometown of Bologna and sur- r o u n d i n g r e g i o n o f E m i l i a - R o m a g n a o n h e r b l o g , www.bolognauncovered.com. SILVIA DONATI Three things you did not know about Bologna Three sculptures by Michelangelo that can be seen inside the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna Bologna's Canale delle Moline Liber Paradisus, proclaiming the abolition of slavery in Bologna

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