Villa Orsi is located along the stretch of Bolognese plain between Via di Galliera and the Navile canal, more specifically in the area of Funo, where the Orsi family's large estate had been established since the 16th century. Drawings of the time show that the present-day noble building has retained a large façade with a long portico, once enclosing the large "meadow-land" in front of the palace to the north-west (surrounded on the other sides by thick trees and a moat).
The Orsi property, which extended as far as Via di Galliera, included buildings for a tavern, butcher's shop, bakery, factory and carpenter's shop, as well as dwellings for farm labourers, and numerous rural buildings scattered throughout the various farmsteads. In the 1730s, the villa gave hospitality on several occasions to Cardinal Lambertini, then Archbishop of Bologna, who was later to become Pope Benedict XIV.
Today the restaurant is open for open-air lunches and dinners under the splendid portico of the villa.
Map
Villa Orsi
Via dei Drappieri
40050 Bentivoglio
Distance from Bologna < 20 km
Interests
- Art & Culture