Palazzo Rosso

The "Palazzo Rosso" (Red Palace), named after the color of its bricks, is one of the most famous (and one of the few) examples of Æmilia Ars (the Bolognese Liberty style) in the Bolognese countryside.

Commissioned at the end of 19th century by marquise Carlo Alberto Pizzardi, Palazzo Rosso was built on the riverside of the Navile Canal, close to the former floodgate of Bentivoglio. Once passed the entrance, the visitor is welcomed by some splendid wall paintings depicting ducks flying over fields of yellow iris. An elegant staircase leads to the piano nobile, where a long corridor accompanies the visitor to the "Zodiac Room", the core of the palace: the decorated walls of this room are indeed considered as one of the best expression of the Ars Æmilia style. The ceiling is covered with a representation of the sun, the earth and the phases of the moon, while the walls are decorated with zodiac signs and a local wetland environment, including birds, fishes and plants.