Please note: online booking is compulsory.
Individual visitors: bookings must be made via this page, choosing between the audio guide and the guided tour
School and university groups: to book a visit to the Palace, please use the dedicated booking page
Tour guides and tour operators: bookings for groups must be made via this page by selecting the option ‘Audio guide and groups accompanied by their own tour guide’ and the relevant price categories
Duration
With audio guide: 40 minutes
With guided tour: 1 hour 15 minutes
Language
Audio guide: ITA / ENG / FRA / ESP / DEU
Guided tour: ITA / ENG
Description
Visit ancient university lecture halls such as the Aula dei Legisti, known as the Stabat Mater, and the Anatomical Theatre, completed in 1637 for anatomy teaching, with its wooden benches and curious sculptures.
Walk through the corridors among countless frescoed coats of arms and celebratory monuments that make up the world's largest mural heraldic complex.
Choose the guided tour if you fancy gaining access to usually closed-to-the-public chambers, such as the Chapel of Santa Maria dei Bulgari and the Cubiculum Artistarum, and have an expert local guide lead you; or the audio-guided admission, if you prefer to use your smartphone to listen to the history of the place by accessing a webapp with exclusive video, audio and image content.
Prices:
With guided tour
Full: € 12
Reduced: € 10 (youths aged 13 to 18; university students with ID; over 65; participants in the “Discover Bologna” tour with voucher)
Reduced for Card holders and residents: € 7 (Card Cultura and Bologna Welcome Card holders; residents in Bologna and in the municipalities of the Metropolitan City with a valid ID)
Free for children up to 12 years of age; visitors with disabilities and one accompanying carer.
With audioguide
Full: € 10
Reduced: € 8 (youths from 13 to 18 years of age; university students with ID; Card Cultura and Bologna Welcome Card holders)
Reduced for residents: € 3,50 (residents in Bologna and in the municipalities of the Metropolitan City with ID)
Free for visitors with disabilities and one accompanying carer;
Free (free admission without audioguide) for children up to 12 years of age ; tour guides and tour leaders.
Groups accompanied by their own tour guide
P/person: € 3,50To book, select ‘Audio guide and groups accompanied by their own tour guide’, choose the preferred entrance time and then the relevant price: Free for the guide, tour leaders and children up to 12 years of age, and Groups accompanied by their own tour guide for regular group participants.
Please note that the use of earphones is mandatory for groups.
What's included:
With guided tour
- Tour Guide
- Entrance to the Anatomical Theatre
- Entrance to the Stabat Mater Hall (when not otherwise occupied by special or institutional activities). For more information, visit this page.
- Exclusive entrance to the Chapel of St. Maria dei Bulgari and the Cubiculum Artistarum (when not otherwise occupied by special or institutional activities)
- Audio guide (own smartphone and earphones required)
- Webapp for unlimited access to videos, images and exclusive content
- Admission to the Anatomical Theatre
- Admission to the Stabat Mater hall (when not otherwise occupied by special or institutional activities). For more information, visit this page.
Address:
Archiginnasio, Piazza Galvani 1, Bologna.
- For audio guides and private groups, the entrance area is on the first floor
- For guided tours, the meeting point is in the courtyard of the Palace, on the right-hand side of the entrance. Please arrive at least 10 minutes before your booked time to meet the guide.
Before booking, remember that:
- Reservation: online booking is required.
- Timetable: late visitors will not be granted entry to the subsequent slot and will not be entitled to a refund. Please arrive 10 minutes before the selected time for both the audio guide check-in and the guided tour.
- Audioguide: You will need your own smartphone and earphones to use the audio guide.
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Groups: inside the Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, the use of earphones is mandatory for groups with their own guide. The use of microphones and loudspeakers is also prohibited inside the Palazzo.
- Animals: Access to animals of any size is prohibited.
- Luggage: access with bulky bags and backpacks is prohibited.
- Bikes: access with bicycles is forbidden
- Reductions: in case of purchase of reduced-price tickets, a proof of entitlement will be required (Card Cultura, Bologna Welcome Card, residency, student, guide and caretaker cards, etc.).
- Stabat Mater: if the hall is occupied by other activities, the admission will be granted within seven days by showing the same ticket
- Library: the Library area is not accessible for tourist visits
Refund and changes:
Cancellation and full refund up to 24 hours before the booked arrival time, excluding the following ticket types, for which no refund is available: school and university groups, and groups accompanied by their own tour guide.
The sale of this service is managed by Bologna Welcome Travel Agency
Dates and times
Monday to Saturday:
10:00 – 17:30
Admission every 10 minutes
(August 2026: Last admission at 5:20 p.m.)
Guided tours
From 1 March
Monday to Saturday
ITA: 11:30, 15:30, 16:40
ENG: 10:20, 14:20, 16:00, 17:10 (August 2026: last admission at 5.00 pm instead of 5.10 pm)
Accessibility
Visitors with impaired mobility can visit the Palazzo from the entrance in Via de' Foscherari no. 2 (see map).
During library opening hours (Monday-Friday 9am-6.30pm and Saturday 9am-1.30pm) ring the bell on the right and wait or call 051/2196616 or 051/2196622.
On Saturdays from 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. please call +39 349 059 8282 (Anatomical Theatre ticket office).
For people with mobility impairments, guided tours are only accessible for the part taking place on the first floor, as the ground floor has architectural barriers (it can only be reached via stairs). Visitors will meet the guide on the first floor at the entrance to the Anatomical Theatre.
Map
Interests
- Art & Culture
