A masterpiece of industrial archaeology

The first construction of mill of Bentivoglio was built in mid-1300's by Guido Lambertini on the riverside of Navile canal. At the time the milling sector was the cornerstone of the Bolognese plain economy and the possession of a mill meant being wealthy and powerful. 

Year after year, between the two branches of the canal the mill grew in a big industrial plant. When in 1817 the Pizzardi family bought it, it was a huge complex consisting in mills, silos, warehouses, stores and a tavern.

After a period of prosperity, followed by years of stagnation, the last owner of the Bentivoglio mill, the marquise Carlo Alberto, decided to modernize the site, with the introduction of a hemp processing plant, an hospital, a furnace and with the installation of new machinery.

Between 1930 and 1960 the mill was rented out, until it was definitely closed in the early '70s.

The Pizzardi mill remains a symbol of Bentivoglio and a extraordinary example of industrial archaeology of the Bolognese territory.

A restoration work has been launched by Bentivoglio Administration in collaboration with the volunteers of the Association "Amici delle via d'acqua e dei sotterranei di Bologna". The mill is currently closed to the public, except in case of special openings with guided tour by Prospectiva Bologna.