14th century Rocca Isolani fort Retrace historical events in one-off appointments.

The history of Rocca Isolani

Built in the 14th century Rocca Isolani bears the traces of its history. Rebuilt in the 15th century following a fire, in 1525 it was sacked by the imperial Landsknech on their way to sack Rome and was thus rebuilt immediately and enlarged with the adjacent villa on designs by Vignola to host Emperor Charles V on his crowning ceremony in Bologna in 1530. The jewel in the Rocca’s crown is its Colombaia dove cote also designed by Vignola and built on an exceptional inclined plane in spiral form.

Inside the Rocca an unexpected treasure awaits visitors: frescoes by Amico Aspertini, dating to 1538-1542 decorating Sala di Marte, Sala dell’Astronomia and Sala di Ercole. The three halls of the Rocca di Minerbo were the highpoint of the important exhibition dedicated to the work of Amico Aspertini in Bologna in 2008, the year the frescoes were opened to the public.

The Rocca’s guest spaces are many and varied, to suit all needs:

Its six inner rooms can seat up to two hundred people; the splendid, more than 400 square metre Renaissance courtyard can host tables for three hundred seated guests inside the Rocca; the enormous park also offers a 1500 square metre pavilion and can seat more than two thousand people in the so-called Prato delle Fiere.