Off the Beaten Path: A Blend of Styles in Emilia-Romagna

It's our second installment of our Off the Beaten Path series and in this episode we're talking about Architectural Madness. In particular, the Rocchetta Mattei. A fever dream mash-up of Moorish, Italian Art Nouveau, and Medieval styles in a 19th century mountaintop castle between Bologna and Florence. What started out as a dream and a sanatorium became a life-long project, and then a second life-long project. As mentioned in the episode, Rocchetta Mattei is reachable from Florence and Bologna, perfect for a day-trip if you've already knocked a lot off the rest of your list. If you’re looking to book a hotel in Florence, we recommend the three below:FH55 Hotel Calzaiuoli: -well-situated, traditional and luxuriously cozy- Expedia | BookingAlbergo Firenze: -incredible location, 24hr front desk- Expedia | BookingHotel La Scaletta Al Ponte Vecchio: -other side of the river, bright, open, with a terrace overlooking the city of Florence-  Expedia | BookingIf you're looking to book a hotel in Bologna, we recommend the hotels below:Hotel Metropolitan -upscale, in the city center - Expedia | BookingHotel Panorama - budget option in the city center - Expedia | BookingStarhotels Excelsior - near the train station - Expedia | BookingThese hotel links are affiliate links, and while we don’t represent any of the companies listed, we do receive a small commission if you book a hotel through any of the links.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review and follow Only a Bag wherever you listen to podcasts! If you'd like to get in touch, you can send us a message on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Want to help the podcast? You can check out all of our affiliate links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! If you book through any of them, we receive a small commission, and it helps to keep us going! You can also donate to Only a Bag on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to keep the podcast going! As always, thank you all so much for listening.x Darcy and Nathaniel Only A Bag