Palazzo De' Rossi

Palazzo de' Rossi is an imposing complex that includes both the stately residence and a hamlet devoted to agricultural and craft activities. The palace, in the late gothic bolognese style (recognizable by its crenellated crowning and terracotta decorations), was built in 1482 by Bartolomeo Rossi, a learned humanist and distinguished heir to a famous family of bolognese bankers, and later completed by his sons.

The complex became one of the most sumptuous residences in the Bolognese countryside and hosted such illustrious figures as Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Torquato Tasso and Popes Julius II, Paul III and Leo X, from whom the Rossi family obtained feudal jurisdiction over Pontecchio. Of particular interest is the "Italian-style" garden, a simple rectangle enclosed between an escarpment and the artificial canal carrying the waters of the Reno, within which several varieties of trees and shrubs were planted.

It possesses an underground channelization system for drip irrigation. The large grassy area in front of the western facade was used for festivals and the very important livestock fair, which, documented at least since 1673, takes place at the turn of every September 8 and is known as the Fira of Sdaz.