The Rocca (fortress) Isolani di Minerbio

The Rocca Isolani di Minerbio was built at the beginning of the fourteenth century and later rebuilt in the fifteenth following a fire. In 1527, it was pillaged by the imperial Landsknechts on their way to the Sack of Rome and consequently restructured and extended with the adjacent Villa in the following years to a design by Vignola, specifically to host Emperor Charles V for his coronation in Bologna in 1530.

In 1536, Vignola created the elegant dovecote with its exceptional spiral ramp. Other marvels of the Rocca Isolani are Amico Aspertini’s frescoes, created between 1538 and 1542, in three of the Rocca’s rooms: the Sala di Marte, the Sala dell’Astronomia and the Sala di Ercole. These rooms were first opened to the public in 2008, on the occasion of the important exhibition of Amico Aspertini in Bologna, with a visit to the Rocca di Minerbio as one of the highpoints. This monument, so rich in history and charm, is the refined, ideal location for important private and business events: from conventions, congresses, concerts and conferences to weddings and private receptions, also on a grand scale. In fact, as well as the six frescoed rooms which can seat up to two hundred people, La Rocca can also offer its splendid Renaissance Court – over four hundred square metres, ideal for open-air conferences and concerts as well as gala lunches and dinners or weddings and receptions, providing space for tables seating three hundred people. Furthermore, the park, a vast area with century-old trees, offers an ideal setting, in the so-called “Prato delle Fiere” (the Fair Meadow), for a marquee of over one and a half thousand square metres which can seat up to two thousand people.