Rocchetta Mattei

Above Riola, in the municipality of Grizzana Morandi, on the ruins of an ancient fortress, Count Cesare Mattei began building his residence in 1850. A Bolognese, wealthy and disillusioned with politics, he retreated up here and worked on it for the rest of his life, until his death in 1896, adding rooms, towers and staircases without a single master plan.

The result is a castle unique in Italy: crenellated medieval towers alongside Moorish domes and arches, neo-Gothic halls, staircases and Art Nouveau decorations. The Courtyard of the Lions is a small copy of the one at the Alhambra in Granada, the Chapel alternates white and black arches like the Mezquita in Córdoba.

Mattei was famous throughout Europe for electrohomeopathy, a medicine of his own invention made of globules and electric liquids: patients came to the Rocchetta from every country and books were written about his cures. The castle was at once home, surgery and manifesto of his fame.

After his death it became a hotel and was then abandoned. In 2006 the Fondazione Carisbo bought it, restored it and reopened it to the public on 9 August 2015. You can only visit with a guide, in small groups, and the view over the Reno valley alone is worth the climb.