The Center for Clinical, Surgical, Experimental, and Molecular Anatomy is located in the historic building at via Irnerio 48, Bologna. On the ground floor, there is a collection of over 2000 skulls from Luigi Calori, and the modern sector room inaugurated in 2014, along with the new high-tech anatomical room completed in 2023. The first floor houses the "Luigi Cattaneo" Anatomical Wax Collection of the University Museum System Network. The building, designed by engineer Flavio Bastiani, was completed in 1904 and became fully operational in 1907. It is part of the so-called First Convention, a legislative framework that structured the functional and urban development of the University in large blocks. The First Convention was devised by Rector Vittorio Puntoni and ratified by law in 1899. Among its most prominent interventions was the construction of the new Institutes of Human Anatomy, Physics, and Mineralogy on via Irnerio. The Institute of Anatomy, although built under the direction of the Civil Engineering Department, is inspired by the work of the Committee for Bologna's Historical-Artistic Heritage and Alfonso Rubbiani, and features 15th-century Bolognese brick architecture. The ancient anatomical room, initially located to the north and on the ground floor (former topographical anatomy), was a marvel for its time in terms of modern hygienic and spatial design concepts: it was very large, carefully planned for optimal lighting and ventilation, with floors curved to the walls to facilitate easy cleaning, and equipped with numerous functional furnishings such as sinks and marble sector tables. In the 1960s, the anatomical room was moved to the basement, which is currently used as a teaching room for practical exercises on anatomical models and dry natural bones. On the back wall, the inscription "Hic Mors Gaudet Succurrere Vitae", a common phrase in anatomical rooms, is displayed, and it has also been transcribed in the new anatomical room to represent the historical continuum.
