It will be the celebration of the village of Monte Donato, one of the most characteristic places on a natural level in our territory. When nature intervenes, as in this case with the selenite quarries in Monte Donato, it makes the place special and extremely interesting. Today from 4pm to 11pm the village festival will take place in the area surrounding the small Beata Vergine del Carmine church, which was born as the seat of a community of Carmelite monks in the hill town of the same name south of the city of Bologna, going up from Via Siepelunga. Externally red in colour, classic Bolognese plaster, this church is still the fulcrum of the village today. All around there are the historic selenite quarries used since Roman times to build the bases of the towers and buildings of Bologna.
Today there are three left, many have been closed. The festival is organized by the Committee of the Villages: Borgo Lazzari, Borgo dei Gessaioli, Borgo Murazzi and obviously Monte Donato. The day’s program includes an iconographic exhibition and quarrymen’s tools in the multipurpose room, and another of six paintings by the Bolognese painter Luigi Bertelli curated by Edoardo Battistini. Bertelli was the most important artist to depict the quarries of Monte Donato, because he was a friend of the owner families and they often commissioned him to represent them.
Furthermore, it will be possible to admire the old photographs of the Bolognese collector Fausto Malpensa, as well as works by a group of Montmartre artists in San Ruffillo. Here you can also purchase the book I memoria di Monte Donato, edited by the publisher Paolo Persiani. But also for those with a sweet tooth, there are stands with products from the hill, an artistic banquet on the landscaped oil of Monte Donato, crescentine and ice cream. It will end with live music with Banda Rei. For Trekking Pedibus routes, book at Flavia 335.7853622.
Nicoletta Barberini Mengoli
