Marconi itinerary in Bologna and surroundings

Guglielmo Marconi was an inventor, entrepreneur and politician from Bologna; inventor of wireless communications and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1909. His hometown is full of places that marked his history and still remember him today.

Discover the iconic places in the life and genius of Guglielmo Marconi, who was born in Bologna

Palazzo Orlandini is the place where Guglielmo Marconi was born on 25 April 1874, as testified by the plaque on the façade of the building; he was then baptised in St. Peter's Cathedral, Bologna's historic Baroque Episcopal seat. He lived in Villa Griffone, the family's main residence where the scientist set up his first laboratory. It now houses the Marconi Museum, dedicated to the origins and development of radio communications. He first moved to Palazzo Orsi-Marconi and later to Palazzo Albergati, now an exhibition venue.

The brilliant young man trained at the "Scuola di Applicazione per gli Ingegneri" (School of Applied Sciences for Engineers), now the State Archives, which awarded him an honorary degree in 1904, discussed in the Aula Magna of Palazzo Poggi. Home to university scientific collections, it was here that Marconi had his first meetings with the physicist Augusto Righi.

In 1926 he gave a lecture on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Wireless Telegraphy in the Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio. Immediately afterwards, he went to the Littoriale, today's Renato Dall'Ara Stadium, to inaugurate the Bologna Trade Fair. In addition, on 5 May 1934, the scientist opened the activities of the Italian Radio Industry Congress at the Physics Institute of the University of Bologna.

Several city museums today commemorate the work of the inventor, leaving visitors in disbelief. Among these is the Historic Museum of Bologna which, in the hall called "Sala Marconi e l'industria moderna" (Marconi and modern industry hall), houses films, photographic material, original devices and equipment. The Crescenzi-Pacinotti Museum does the same with more than 200 instruments built by famous Italian physicists; in the G. Pelagalli Museum of Communication and Multimedia one can admire a unique exhibition of original pieces made by the scientist and, finally, the Museum of Industrial Heritage where one can understand the climate of scientific progress in which Marconi was formed.

©Meridiana

The Basilica of San Petronio, on the other hand, remembers him at the moment of his end: his solemn funeral was held here in 1937; immediately afterwards he was buried in the family tomb in the Certosa in Bologna, pending the construction of the mausoleum at Villa Griffone in Sasso Marconi.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Guglielmo Marconi International Airport was named after him.