Grizzana Morandi
Comune in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grizzana Morandi (Medial Mountain Bolognese: Grizèna) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It is located in the Bolognese Apennines, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Bologna, between the valleys of the Reno and Setta rivers.
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Grizzana Morandi | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Grizzana Morandi | |
Grizzana Morandi photographed by Paolo Monti in 1981 | |
  Grizzana Morandi Location of Grizzana Morandi in Italy  Grizzana Morandi Grizzana Morandi (Emilia-Romagna) | |
| Coordinates: 44°15′N 11°9′E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Emilia-Romagna |
| Metropolitan city | Bologna (BO) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Franco Rubini[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 77.4 km2 (29.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 547 m (1,795 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2025)[3] | |
• Total | 3,913 |
| • Density | 50.6/km2 (131/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Grizzanesi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 40030 |
| Dialing code | 051 |
| ISTAT code | 037031 |
| Patron saint | Saint Michael |
| Saint day | 29 September |
| Website | Official website |
The municipality was known as Tavernola Reno until 1883, then as Grizzana until 1985, when Morandi was added in honour of the painter Giorgio Morandi, who had a long connection with the village and its landscape. Its territory includes several cultural sites of the Bolognese Apennines, including Rocchetta Mattei, the village of La Scola, Montovolo, the Casa Museo Morandi and the church of Santa Maria Assunta at Riola, designed by Alvar Aalto.
Grizzana Morandi borders the municipalities of Camugnano, Castel di Casio, Castiglione dei Pepoli, Gaggio Montano, Marzabotto, Monzuno, San Benedetto Val di Sambro and Vergato.
History
Until the late 19th century the municipality was known as Tavernola Reno. In 1882 the municipal administration asked to replace that name with Grizzana, the name of its main settlement. The change was authorised by royal decree on 10 December 1882 and took effect on 1 January 1883.[4]
In 1985 the name Morandi was added in honour of the painter Giorgio Morandi, who stayed in Grizzana for many years.[4]
Geography
The municipal territory lies in the Bolognese Apennines and extends across slopes and valleys between the Reno and Setta river areas. Its localities include Campolo, Collina, Grizzana, Piandisetta, Pioppe di Salvaro, Ponte, Rocchetta Mattei, Stanco di Sopra, Stanco di Sotto, Vimignano-Chiesa and Vimignano-La Scola.[3]
Riola is an inhabited area along the Reno river whose territory is divided between the municipalities of Vergato and Grizzana Morandi.[5]
Giorgio Morandi
Giorgio Morandi first came into contact with the landscape of Grizzana in 1913, when his family spent the summer there after a doctor recommended a stay in a place with healthier air for his sister Anna. The family was hosted by the Veggetti family, neighbours of the Morandis in Bologna, and later returned regularly to Grizzana for summer stays. During the Second World War, Morandi and his sisters also stayed there to escape the disruption of city life in Bologna.[6]
In the late 1950s the Morandi family bought land opposite Casa Veggetti and built a summer house in Grizzana. The building later became the Casa Museo Morandi, preserving rooms and objects connected with the artist, including his studio, bedroom, library and dining room.[7] The house was donated to the municipality by Maria Teresa Morandi, the artist's youngest sister, on condition that it be preserved and made accessible to visitors.[7]
The Fienili del Campiaro, visible from the area of the house, are associated with Morandi's landscape painting and with the cultural institutions dedicated to his legacy in Grizzana.[8]
Main sights
Rocchetta Mattei
Rocchetta Mattei is one of the best-known monuments in the municipality. Located near Riola, the castle was commissioned by Count Cesare Mattei, and its construction began in 1850. The building is noted for its eclectic architecture, combining medieval revival, Moorish and Art Nouveau elements.[9]
After a long period of abandonment, Rocchetta Mattei was acquired by Fondazione Carisbo in 2005 and reopened to the public in 2015. The castle is managed by the municipality of Grizzana Morandi, with the involvement of the Unione dei Comuni dell'Appennino Bolognese and the Metropolitan City of Bologna.[10]
Church of Santa Maria Assunta at Riola
The church of Santa Maria Assunta is located at Riola, an inhabited area along the Reno river divided between the municipalities of Vergato and Grizzana Morandi. The church stands at Piazza Alvar Aalto 1, in the part of Riola belonging to the municipality of Grizzana Morandi.[5][11]
The building was designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in the context of the renewal of Catholic church architecture that followed the Second Vatican Council. The project was promoted by Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro and was developed as part of Aalto's research on sacred architecture.[12]
The Italian Ministry of Culture describes the church as a point of convergence in Aalto's personal research on sacred architecture.[12] It is widely described as Aalto's only built work in Italy and as one of the most significant examples of contemporary sacred architecture in the country.[11] The church was inaugurated in 1978 and completed in 1994 with the construction of the bell tower.[11]
La Scola
La Scola is a medieval village in the territory of Grizzana Morandi. It preserves a largely homogeneous historic fabric, with houses, tower-houses and oratories dating mainly from the 14th to the 16th century.[13]
The village is associated with traditional Apennine stone architecture and with the work of the Comacine masters, who contributed to the transformation of older defensive structures into dwellings and other buildings.[13]
Montovolo
Montovolo is a mountain area and religious site in the municipality. The summit reaches 912 metres (2,992 ft) and includes the sanctuary of Santa Maria della Consolazione, a crypt, the oratory of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria and a panoramic cliff overlooking the Reno valley.[14]
The sanctuary of Santa Maria della Consolazione is located in the Provincial Park of Montovolo and is described by local institutional sources as an important complex of Comacine workmanship. The present sanctuary was built in the 13th century on the remains of an earlier church donated in 1054 to the canons of San Pietro in Bologna.[15]
The nearby oratory of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria, also located in the Montovolo area, preserves 15th-century frescoes.[16]
Campolo regeneration project
Campolo, a village in the municipality, is connected with the local tradition of sandstone quarrying and stone carving.[17] The wider area between Campolo, La Scola, Casa Morandi and Rocchetta Mattei became the focus of the cultural regeneration project Da Campolo l'arte fa Scola.
The project was selected by the Region of Emilia-Romagna as its pilot project for Line A of the National Villages Plan under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan. It aims at cultural, social and economic regeneration of villages at risk of abandonment, with interventions centred on Campolo and connected sites such as La Scola and Rocchetta Mattei.[18]
Second World War
During the Second World War the territory of Grizzana was affected by Nazi massacres and by fighting along the Gothic Line. On 30 September 1944, in the locality of Famaticcia di Savignano, German SS troops shot eight labourers who had been working near the Bologna–Porretta railway line for the Organisation Todt.[19]
The hamlet of Creda, in the municipality of Grizzana Morandi, was among the places affected by the Monte Sole massacres: on 29 September 1944, 69 people were killed there.[20]
In October 1944 Allied troops advanced through the area. South African and British forces captured Monte Stanco on 12 October and entered Grizzana two days later. The subsequent capture of Monte Salvaro marked the end of the Allied advance in the Reno valley before the winter pause.[21]