Dozza: The Open-Air Painted Village
Perched on a limestone ridge 30 kilometres east of Bologna, Dozza is a medieval village of just 700 residents whose every alley, staircase and facade has been turned into a permanent open-air gallery — the result of a biennial street-art festival, the Biennale del Muro Dipinto, held here since 1960.
Walking the Painted Streets
Unlike the curated murals of many Italian street-art towns, Dozza's paintings span six decades of styles — you'll find 1960s figurative realism next to bold contemporary abstraction, all coexisting on the same ochre-plastered walls of a perfectly intact medieval borgo.
The route from the car park at the base of the hill to the 15th-century Rocca Sforzesca at the summit takes about 20 minutes on foot and passes more than 100 individual artworks. Pick up the free printed map from the tourist office in the main square and use it to find the most recently added pieces.
The Enoteca Regionale and the Rocca
Inside the Rocca Sforzesca — a compact, beautifully preserved fortress — the Enoteca Regionale Emilia-Romagna stocks more than 1,000 labels from across the region, from Lambrusco di Sorbara to Albana di Romagna DOCG, and offers tasting flights at very reasonable prices in the fortress's vaulted cellars.
Dozza is quiet on weekday mornings — you may have the painted alleys almost to yourself — but buzzes pleasantly on summer weekends when day-trippers arrive from Bologna. The Biennale itself (held every even-numbered year in September) is worth planning a trip around: artists paint live on the walls over a long weekend.
More of Emilia-Romagna
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Emilia-Romagna →
