Montagnola's Staircase

Almost a century after the laying out of the Montagnola gardens, a project put forward by Napoleon in the early 19th century, the Municipality of Bologna decided to offer a "new facelift to the park and a sign of modernity to the town", by commissioning the construction of a monumental staircase at the entrance of the grounds. Montagnola, a very pleasant public park located in the centre of town, and one of the most favoured meeting and entertainment places of the Bolognese, was set with walking paths and lanes in the second half of the 17th century. The imposing staircase, built between 1893 and 1896 from a project by architects Tito Azzolini and Attilio Muggia, is decorated with allegorical and patriotic relief inspired by the town's history. In particular, the elegant sculpted group of the fountain, made by Diego Sarti and Pietro Veronesi, representing a nymph on the back of a sea horse, and struggling against the deadly embrace of an octopus, emerges from a shell set at the base of the stairs.

LM