I was searching on the net for some ideas of what to visit in Bologna surrounding and my attention was quickly captured by vivid wall images of the town of Dozza. Quickly scrolling through the lines and images, I took me only a few seconds to decide, and one week later we were in Dozza.
Dozza is a small, hill-top medieval village that is located about a 30-minute drive southeast of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy).
The predominant building is without doubt the imposing fortress, Rocca sforzesca di Dozza. The first houses of the village date back in 9th century.
I read that the village is best known for its annual Wine Festival and its Biennial Exhibition of the Painted Wall. Art & wine, two of my favourite things. But with Dozza I was mostly attracted by the idea of an open air gallery, in the form of big murals. In 1960 they established the Biennial of the Painted Wall. During the Biennale, contemporary artists from Italy and around the world are invited to decorate the village’s wall. They can leave their canvas at home and express their art on the walls of the houses. Impressive images of landscapes, abstract images, or realistic ones, you will find all types in this small village. The artists also interact with the visitors and discuss their work with the audience.
I’m sorry that the festival was not taking place during my visit, but anyway the exposed arts were all amazing. The town is in the shape of a rectangle with two main streets. Along on of the streets you will find the main square and the municipal building, while on the second street there are only residential buildings. You can walk around the town in about 20 minutes, but of course you can easily spend there a half of the day (stopping and admiring the work arts).
Every mural has a note with a date and the author. The most beautiful thing, beside the art work itself, is that the images are located on the walls, between the windows, above the doors, over the arches... The best is to simply walk, with eyes wide open, and be surprised be the images.
There are more than 100 murals in the town, for sure each one will find his preferred. But there are a few of them, that are the most popular.
Beautiful clouds and rainbows are painted right at the entrance to the village, and a clock is also placed above them. What a view!
Only in Dozza you will find a house that is a postcard. The artist painted a stamp on the house. You can take your photo and send it as a postcard to your friends 😊.
One of the most famous images is »The Angel of Dozza« - a big figure that embraces the house door.
Our last stop was the castle, where you can travel back in time and visit the apartments and rooms, the kitchen, but also the prison and the torture room.
The castle host also the Regional wine shop with about 800 labels of typical wines of the area such as Lambrusco, Albana and Sangiovese.
Travel tip - as mentioned it is a very small village and there are very few restaurants and bars, and if you are visiting the town in peak periods it is practically impossible to get a free table or seat if you don’t book it in advance. Therefore, we were not able to get even a single coffee and we had to drive to a nearby town to have lunch in one of the local pizzerias.
I hope that all this art has successfully fed your soul. As Pablo Picasso said, "Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Thanks for reading,
feel free to leave a comment, I will be glad to reply to.
Best regards,
