PALACES AND HISTORIC BUILDINGS
PALAZZO DEI CAPITANI DELLA MONTAGNA
Palazzo dei Capitani della Montagna (\"The Mountain Captains' Palace\"), built between the 14th and 15th centuries, served as the headquarters for these public officials, nominated by the Bolognese authorities to govern the area from 1414 to 1796. Today it is used as a Municipal Hall. The front of the building displays a number of 4th - 6th century family crests, including one depicting a wild boar in a swamp encircled by two oak branches tied with a ribbon, which has remained the town's symbol. The current palace was rebuilt after the Second World War, respecting, however, the late 19th century forms that characterized the pre-existing structure, designed in 1885 by Tito Azzolini and Alfonso Rubbiani. The building was further adorned in 1998 with four stained-glass windows created by artist Luigi Ontani. The evocative microcosm of lights and colors, rich in symbolism, that filters through them now illuminates the meeting hall of the Town Council. A work of contemporary art in its own right, the windows exalt and complement the architectural and cultural heritage inherent to this antique palace, which still remains a favored site for tourists.
HAMLET OF CALVENZANO
The place-name probably derives from Roman times, there are documents that confirm that between the eleventh and twelfth centuries it was allodial land that belonged to Matilda of Tuscany up until her death when it passed to the church. The very old ecclesiastical structure, renovated and partially rebuilt, still has some very significant Romanesque features: the current facade, the former apse of the original church, has two single-lancet windows, the one on the right is the original, above the door there is a fifteenth century crest in sandstone and although it is quite damaged you can just make out a turreted castle. Like many Parish churches this one was also provided with a strong defence tower which can still be seen to the left of the facade: built in “opus quadratum”, it could date back to 1100 or to the early 1200s.
PRUNAROLO TOWER
The imposing thirteenth-fourteenth tower house that dominates the structure gave its name to the old hamlet of Prunarolo which also encompasses other buildings, such as a tower from the 1500s (its structure is typical of that era) and a seventeenth century manor house. The tower house is, without a doubt, a building of great historical importance. It is likely that it was part of the fortifications of the castle of Prunarolo and the structure has been partially raised. Its date of construction can be confirmed by the brickwork and the shapes of the openings. It still has two original portals (and windows) with pointed arches; the one at the ground floor level has a carving of a keystone, while the other opens onto the first floor. Inside, the supporting structures are still standing: the wooden floors have collapsed but overlaid oak pillars still support beams with decorative carvings.
COSTONZO TOWER HOUSE
In the late fourteenth century, in the Apennine area, most of the castles had been destroyed and by-laws prevented private individuals from building or owning others. But other events, like the fighting between factions and old noble families, gave rise to a new type of structure that combined residential and defence needs: the tower house. Close to the settlement of Montecavalloro, indicated on old maps as “Monte cava l’oro” or Mount Goldmine, although it is not certain whether this is just a play on words or a reference to a real ancient presence of this precious metal, there are two old hamlets that have kept their mediaeval charm intact: Casa Monzone and Casa Costonzo. The first is practically still intact and has seen very few changes over time. The second, mentioned in the Register of national monuments in the province of Bologna, is not only considered valuable for its fortifications but is also famous for its former owners: Patarono da Costonzo and his cousin Corsacio were considered “doctors”, a title that was quite amiss in the modern sense as their knowledge included a good dose of witchcraft. On the other hand, the ill had no choice but to trust in them. It is also said that it was actually Casa Costonzo that founded the first mediaeval medical school in Bologna's Apennine region. Between 1370 and 1371 there were only six doctors working in the area, and three of these were in Costonzo, while only thirty years later there was evidence of other doctors in nearby towns and villages, and it is thought that they probably all came from the school in Costonzo, which originated from the more famous Medical School in Salerno. Close to Riola in the direction of Grizzana Morandi, stands the Castle of Cesare Mattei (The Rocchetta – built in 1850) and the Church designed in 1966 by the great Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
HAMLET OF SUZZANO
The hamlet of Suzzano now stands next to Cereglio, although at one time its formidable tower dominated the valley in solitude. The characteristic Comacino-style windows that look out from high up on every side of the building would suggest fifteenth century origins although it cannot be excluded that the tower may have Romanesque origins. Next to the tower there is an old house the still has a fresco on the facade; which is apparently from the 1400s one portrays Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The fresco was restored by the Cassa di Risparmio Foundation in Bologna. For centuries the area was of great agricultural importance, as can be seen from the large stones that were once used to crush wheat and now lean against the wall of the tower; at one time they were drawn by a pair of oxen onto the threshing floor where the corn was laid out so that the grain would separate from the ear under their great weight. In the courtyard to the front of the building a large fair is held every summer and lasts two days, but during the rest of the year the charm of this remote hamlet remains more or less intact.