Located along the historic Via Emilia, between Faenza and Imola, Castel Bolognese is an important agricultural and industrial hub at the gateway to Romagna. The town serves as an entry point to the Senio Valley and features a key railway junction, allowing for easy travel to Ravenna and Bologna in approximately 40 minutes.
This village was founded between 1388 and 1389 by the Municipality of Bologna, on the border with the Faenza of the Manfredi family. Traces of the ancient castle still remain, outlining its medieval structure: sections of the walls, towers, ruins of the fortress, and a canal that preserves an ancient mill—a symbol of a distant era.
Walking through the center, you will encounter the Angelo Biancini Open-Air Museum, a vast outdoor exhibition of works by the sculptor and ceramicist, a master of the Italian twentieth century. The route features about twenty works in bronze, concrete, and glazed ceramic that recount Biancini’s artistic journey between the 1930s and the late 1980s—a cultural itinerary fused into the village's urban landscape.
Between the town center and the countryside, a street art trail unfolds, featuring murals by local and international artists such as Chekos, Kotè, and Drigo. The artworks depict illustrious figures, local traditions, and concepts, transforming the buildings along the path and creating a marriage between artistic expression and urban regeneration.
Just outside the center lies the Scodellino Mill (Mulino Scodellino), a 15th-century facility still in operation, where visitors can enjoy authentic experiences and taste flavors of the past. Here, time seems to have stood still among the stone mills that still produce cold-milled flours and work environments that guard ancient secrets of the miller's craft. This is the starting point of the Canale dei Mulini: a 40 km route through the Ravenna plains, perfect for hiking and cycling excursions.
Heading up into the hills, we reach the locality of Serra, a subzone of the Romagna Sangiovese DOC, where you can enjoy high-quality wines with an unmistakable flavor, set amidst clay gullies (calanchi) and blooming broom flowers.
Brazadèll ‘d la cròs is a traditional crisp and fragrant baked specialty, characterized by its rounded shape and two central arms forming a cross.
To accompany the brazadelli, we recommend a fine glass of Romagna Sangiovese DOC from the Serra subzone.
During the summer, the Castel Bolognese outdoor swimming center offers two open-air pools—one for adults and one for children—along with a fitness area and a hydromassage zone.
Just a few kilometers from Castel Bolognese lies the city of art, Faenza, a world-class ceramic center and a UNESCO Creative City for Crafts and Folk Art.
Following the Senio River up through its valley, you will first encounter the thermal town of Riolo Terme, followed by Casola Valsenio, known as the village of herbs and forgotten fruits.
