San Martino dei Manzoli Castle

In the locality of Soverzano, near Minerbio, the castle of San Martino, also known as the Manzoli family, stands surrounded by a sparse grove. The structure saw its origins in the year 1411 when the Bolognese Knight Bartolomeo Manzoli wanted it to be built as an aristocratic residence around the ancient Ariosti tower, (which in turn had stood on the edge of the swamp since the thirteenth century).
Although the manor was born as an aristocratic residence, it was equipped with military-type defenses, such as walls, battlements and moats. In fact, the castle has a rectangular plan with a spacious internal courtyard; at the four corners there are defensive towers and the defense aspect accentuated by the large moat that surrounds it, as well as by the drawbridges and the grandeur of the main tower. It served as a noble residence for a short time in 1500 (from 1514 to 1532) when Leo X granted Marchione Manzoli the jurisdiction of San Martino with the title of Count.
The Castle was restored and decorated in the 1500s and 1600s, but the restoration work took place in 1883-85, when it was owned by the Cavazza Counts, by Alfonso Rubbiani and Tito Azzolini. The curtains and crenellated towers that characterize it give a decidedly fairytale aspect to the castle which is located in a centuries-old park.