Museo Civico Medievale - Museo Cospiano

In the 17th century, the "stanza cospa" within Bologna's city hall displayed the remarkable collection of Marchese Ferdinando Cospi. This engraving by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli shows the space, featuring a dwarf named Paolo Biavati, who served as both custodian and guide, along with Cospi's favored nephew, Vincenzo Ferdinando Ranuzzi. The shelves and walls were adorned with a captivating array of dried animals and prized objects, both ancient and modern, forming a captivating exhibition of "natural curiosities" and "ancient oddities".