Manifattura delle Arti

Manifattura delle Arti (Factory of the Arts) – is located in the heart of Bologna, covering an area of about 100,000 square metres. The area was the city's port between the Renaissance and the 19th century, and together with its protoindustrial hinterland of canals (Canale di Reno, Navile, Moline, Aposa), it was also the mercantile and manufacturing heart of Bologna's economy at least until the end of the 17th century.

Originally designed in 1883 by the architects Priori and Buriani, the area was gutted by the urban plans of 1889 and 1937 and during the bombings of World War II. It was reconstructed between 1996 and 2003 as a joint project of the City of Bologna and the University of Bologna, according to plans by the architect Aldo Rossi.

The area has these sections: Manifattura Tabacchi (The original Tobacco Factory, now home to the Film Library of Bologna), Castellaccio (recovered for housing purposes), the old paper mill “Mulino Tamburi” (now the University’s Department of Philosophy and Communications); and the area of the former Macello (Slaughterhouse). The complex is located on Via Azzo Gardino, near Porta Lame. The complex also includes the previously restored exhibition structure “Salara”, the ramparts of Porta Lame, an integrated unit for a playschool and nursery school, and the Modern Art Gallery “Mambo” in the former Forno del Pane (Bread Oven), the Music and Performance Laboratories of the University (Arts Laboratories), and Cavaticcio Park.

The park is a very charming narrow strip of vegetation that runs along a few hundred metres of the complex. At one time the old Bologna port was located here. The name derives from that of the Cavaticcio canal, diverted from the Reno canal, that had a drop of 15-metres and was exploited as a source of energy by the many factories and mills operating in the area from the 12th century for some time.