What is Dozza known for?

Biennale of contemporary mural painting since 1960; over 100 works on the house walls of the village, refreshed every other year. Caterina Sforza's late fifteenth-century fortress, now holding the Regional Enoteca with 800 Emilia-Romagna wine labels in the cellar. Curated cellar of Emilia-Romagna DOC and DOCG wines inside the Rocca, the institutional reference point for the region's production.

Dozza is a comune in the province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 35 kilometers from Bologna.

Emilia-Romagna · Bologna

Dozza

A 190-meter painted borgo above the Sellustra valley, where contemporary artists have repainted the house walls every two years since 1960.

35 km / 22 mi

Nearest hub (Bologna)

6,582

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Dozza sits on a low ridgeabove the Sellustra valley, six kilometers from Imola and twenty-five southeast of Bologna. The medieval village runs along a single curved spine of stone houses, with the Rocca Sforzesca closing the upper end. Caterina Sforza rebuilt the fortress at the end of the fifteenth century on the remains of earlier Bolognese defences; the Malvezzi-Campeggi family turned it into a palazzo in the late sixteenth century, and the cellars now hold the Enoteca Regionale dell'Emilia-Romagna, which curates the wines of the whole region. The Biennale del Muro Dipinto began in 1960, when the opening of the Rocca to the public was paired with a contemporary-painting competition that worked directly on the village walls. Over sixty years later, more than 100 murals cover the borgo, repainted and added to every other year by invited Italian and international artists. The municipality holds Borghi più belli and Bandiera Arancione recognition. Population 6,582.

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Gallery

8 photos · scroll →

Known for

Rocca Sforzesca
Late fifteenth-century fortress rebuilt by Caterina Sforza, transformed into a palazzo by the Malvezzi-Campeggi family at the end of the 1500s.
Muro Dipinto
Over 100 murals on the house walls of the medieval village, repainted and added to every two years since the first Biennale in 1960.
Enoteca Regionale dell'Emilia-Romagna
Regional wine cellar inside the Rocca's underground levels, curating about 800 labels from across the region's DOC and DOCG zones.
Borgo Antico
Single-spine medieval village of stone houses running along the ridge between the lower gate and the Rocca, almost entirely intact.
Galleria d'Arte del Muro Dipinto
Gallery inside the Rocca holding the bozzetti and the original wall sections detached during restoration of older murals.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October are the working months in Dozza. The murals look best in oblique morning or late-afternoon light, and the Sellustra valley below stays green into early summer. The Biennale del Muro Dipinto runs in September of odd-numbered years and is when the borgo is fullest, with painters working on scaffolding through the whole month. July and August are hot, thirty-four degrees in the lower frazione, less on the ridge. November through March is quiet, with the Enoteca Regionale running tastings by reservation and most restaurants on the main street closed Tuesday and Wednesday.