San Domenico museum in Forlì. Forlì is not a place of transit, and you have to go there for a reason, and I always go to Forlì to see the exhibitions arranged at the San Domenico museum.
The San Domenico museum are a set of museums in the heart of the city and it is the result of the restoration of the historical complex of San Domenico: the Church of San Giacomo and two cloisters.
The church originally dates back to the 13th century, but over the centuries was enlarged until it reached its current structure in 1704.
During the Napoleonic period the building became a place for military purpose until it came back under the Italian rule in 1866-1867. From that moment decline and neglect prevailed until the 1970s.
The Pinacoteca Civica of Forlì is currently based in the San Domenico museum and hosts masterpieces by Guido Cagnacci, Guercino, Beato Angelico, and many more. however, the centrepiece is the “Hebe”, a sculpture by Antonio Canova, on commission from the countess Veronica Zauli Naldi Guarini for Palazzo Torelli Guarini in Forlì in 1816.
The sculpture was sold to the municipality by the heirs of the countess.
Canova had already sculpted three different versions of his statue of Hebe, but the sculpture in Forlì had a mechanism which allowed the rotation so that the statue could be admired from each side.
READ ALSO: The exhibition entitled Piero della Francesca. A survey on a myth is one of the most longed-for exhibitions in 2016.
