If you ever find yourself in my hometown, Bologna (Italy), and you have a car you should definitely go visit Rocchetta Mattei. It’s a one hour trip, but it’s definitely worth it because, once you are there, you get to admire a castle so hypnotic and fantastic it seems to have just come out of who-knows-what fairytale.
Many different architectural styles, from different ages and from around the world, clash, combine and blend together like in a great collage.
And the surprises keep on coming as you continue your visit. Nothing in Rocchetta Mattei is what it seems: you think you’re seeing bricks, but you are actually looking at painted wood. You have the impression of seeing an inlaid wooden ceiling but it is actually papier-mâché. And so on.
I can’t do anything but highly recommend a visit, if you get the chance. For more pictures, you can click here.
The Growing up Chronicle 