Spallanzani House

Address and contacts

Piazza della Libertà, 6 - 42019 Scandiano (RE)
Mobile +39 338 8233024 - Lazzaro Spallanzani Study Centre
Phone 0039 0522 764257 - Culture Department
info@spallanzani.it or segreteria@spallanzani.it
Centro Studi Lazzaro Spallanzani

Opening times

Upon phone agreements or together with the Boiardo Fortress during its opening days.

How to get there

Scandiano

By car
from A1 motorway Reggio Emilia exit, take SS467 ring-road towards Scandiano-Sassuolo; 
from Modena, take SS486 "Passo delle Radici" road towards Sassuolo, then at Veggia take SS467 road towards Scandiano-Reggio Emilia.

By train
There are local trains for Reggio-Sassuolo which leave from the Reggio Emilia Station

By bus
From Piazzale Europa  bus No. 46 line Reggio Emilia - Baiso (Cerredolo) - Carpineti - Castelnovo né Monti

HIstorical notes

It is characterized by harmonious Baroque architectural features, including the small windows of the basement with mouldings, brick-balustrades, and the first and second-floor windows crowned by a richly decorated cornice.
The interior of Casa Spallanzani has a typical XVI-century layout consisting of two symmetrical buildings arranged around a courtyard and connected by loggias and a XVIII-century stairway. The two-level open archway and the staircase are particularly impressive. The latter has three flights of stairs with brick columns and rounded arches with child-shaped railings in the small balconies. A number of remarkable Baroque features decorate the staircase, including balustrade railings, floral decorations, landings with bust statues, vases and brick columns and fine stuccowork on the cornices. The overall effect is of extraordinary variety and ornamental opulence.
The house, now declared a national monument, is located where the eminent naturalist Lazzaro Spallanzani was born January 12, 1729, lived many years, made numerous discoveries and arranged his rich natural history museum in six rooms on the second floor. During restoration works carried out in 1994, three medieval capitals were discovered embedded in the walls on the second floor. They are decorated with a very peculiar coat of arms consisting of the paw of a wild animal holding three carnations. The building now houses some council offices, the Centro Studi “Spallanzani” (Centre for Spallanzani Studies), and an exhibit of scientific tools entitled “Lazzaro Spallanzani and air quality in the late XVIII century).