Schede
The monument was created in honor of the senator Girolamo Legnani, who was in one of the most important families of the city. The wall painting was realized in 1805 by Giuseppe Tadolini and Petronio Rizzi. This is a rare case of a tomb decorated with features of Egyptian inspiration. In Bologna's cemetery there is only another example: the monument dedicated to Giovanni Guidi , which was created a decade later. The use of Egyptian elements was typical of the 1700, as Piranesi did with his engravings. In fact it was only in 1798 that Europe get in touch with Egyptian culture, after Napoleon's expedition. The variety of images used was really common in Masonic culture, which was spread among the upper classes of European society. This culture was alternative to the religious role of the Church. For this reason it is not casual that in the tombs of the Bologna's cemetery there aren't any symbols of the Roman Catholic Church, but only from other religions. Here is a text taken from the description of the monument in the book "Collection of tombs of Bologna's cemetery" written by Giovanni Zecchi between 1825 and 1827: "The monument of Girolamo Legnani, who had respectable position: he died in 1805 when he was 84. The monument was realized by Petronio Rizzi and by Giuseppe Tadolini"
Roberto Martorelli
Translation from the italian language thanks to the 2017/18 students Candini, Tedesco, Caneti of the Galvani high school in Bologna, supervised by the teacher Annamaria Marconi.
