Dozza

Dozza sits on a low ridge above 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.