Our history
The historic location
Behind this building there was the dock of the port located on "Sostegno of Castagnolo Maggiore", so called according to legend, by a large trunk of chestnut tree that would be transported to the municipal territory by the canal.
This dock was built by Ercole Bentivoglio in 1497 to overcome the steep slopes of the canal. The town of Castagnolo became between 700 and 800 a flourishing manufacturing center developed thanks to the initiative of the Pizzardi family. The Navile Canal that still passes today, from the end of the twelfth century until the beginning of the twentieth century was the main waterway of Bologna.
The Navile, in fact, with its 40 km long, connected Bologna to the "great highway" of the Po valleys, up to the Adriatic Sea and Venice. Throughout its course, the canal served as an extraordinary communication route, particularly for the transport of silk. "Alla Scuderia" were housed the stables of the draft horses that transported the materials along the Navile to Malalbergo and from there to the sea.
The area called Castagnolo Maggiore developed more and more, and «for more decorum», at the request of the Marquis Pizzardi, took the name of Castel Maggiore with pontifical provision of June 1818. Today we are on the route of the «Ciclovia del Navile», a cycle path that connects Casalecchio di Reno to San Pietro in Casale.
Our restaurant
Our presence in this place is therefore strongly influenced by the history that we must and want to respect every time we cross the door and sit under the stone vaults from the typical brick red color of Bologna.
We have been here since 1988 after managing the Antico Brunetti in the centre of Bologna for many years. The love for the restaurant was born from Georgios «very nice» and Loretta, companions for over 50 years who have passed on their passion for good food of the Emilian tradition and for the pleasure of hospitality.
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Loretta and Giorgio
My parents first met at the bus stop, line 45, on September 9, 1967. Father Giorgio had left Thessaloniki to study chemistry in Italy and mother Loretta had just joined her family leaving the city of birth, Reggio Emilia, to move to the capital. They were both young, but immediately their meeting proved to be the premise of a lasting and invincible love.
Strengths that have shown unequivocally to all, when they chose to become restaurateurs: Gino Mazzacurati, owner of' Antico Brunetti between the years 60 and 80, was the one who first believed in Giorgio and Loretta more than anyone else. With many difficulties and unknowns in 1982 become the managers of the already famous inn in the city center, and decide to make a small but historic change to the restaurant: keep open the doors of the inn until late in summer, welcoming the Bolognese people who in the 80s flooded Piazza Maggiore to attend "Vote for the voice". I was small but I remember how the rooms of Antico Brunetti were filled and with their memory: Gabriele Lavia, Monica Guerritore, and many other prestigious guests come to taste the traditional Bolognese dishes. That joyful atmosphere, at the end of the 80s we took with us to Castel Maggiore, entering Alla Scuderia.
