This palace was the seat of the city university from 1563 to 1805. These days its chief attraction is the fascinating 17th-century Teatro Anatomico, a well-preserved anatomical theatre where trainee surgeons once studied. The theatre, and many of the building’s frescoes, was destroyed during WWII and subsequently rebuilt.
In the adjacent wing is Bologna's 700,000-volume Biblioteca Comunale (off-limits to the general public).