The Medieval Civic Museum in Bologna , opened in 1985, is located inside the Ghisilardi-Fava Palace, one of the most important architectural examples of the Bolognese Renaissance . In the rooms of this important building, works belonging to collections dating back to the seventeenth century have been brought together, among which the collection of the Marquis Cospi , a true encyclopedic summa of natural and artificial wonders , the collection of General Marsili, mainly composed of weapons , and finally the Palagi collection (1860). The works that make up the most important nucleus of the museum are largely evidence of medieval Bolognese life.

The museum's collection is enriched by the wide selection of French and Italian ivories , precious Murano glass , a considerable number of weapons and armor, numerous and rare testimonies of the life of the Bentivolesque court . Finally, substantial sections of the museum are dedicated to the art of Renaissance and Baroque Bolognese bronze sculpture (model for Neptune by Giambologna , San Michele Arcangelo by Algardi, bust of Gregory XV Ludovisi by Bernini ) and to the art of Bolognese miniature , with famous specimens of choirs, statutes of art societies and liturgical books belonging to the 13th-16th centuries.