Relais Roncolo 1888

Relais Roncolo 1888 sits on a 130-hectare estate in the Terre di Canossa, the softly rolling hill country of Emilia-Romagna, less than an hour from Bologna and two from Milan. At its heart stands Villa Manodori, a seventeenth-century villa whose original frescos and hand-painted wallpapers have survived intact, surrounded by a cluster of beautifully restored historic outbuildings that together form a private hamlet of seventeen rooms and suites. The rooms within the villa carry the weight of their history gracefully, with painted ceilings and period interiors that feel inhabited rather than preserved; those in Le Dimore, the former farm buildings, offer a different register entirely — beamed ceilings, natural materials, and a palette drawn directly from the landscape outside.

The estate’s culinary life centres on Ristorante Limonaia, which occupies the historic greenhouse and opens onto a terrace overlooking the vineyards. The kitchen works closely with the estate’s organic garden and the surrounding territory, producing handmade pasta and seasonal dishes that reflect what is growing nearby. The wine served here comes from the estate’s own vineyards under the Venturini Baldini label, which has been producing organic wines from native Italian grape varieties since the 1970s. Cellar tastings offer a guided introduction to both the wines and their provenance.

Equally compelling is the Acetaia di Canossa, a seventeenth-century vinegar cellar housing hundreds of wooden barrels producing Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia, aged for up to twenty-five years. The estate has held organic certification since 1994 and became a certified B Corporation in 2025, operating largely on solar energy and entirely without single-use plastics. For guests wishing to explore further, the Relais team arranges cooking classes, guided Apennine hikes, vineyard picnics, and visits to the Motor Valley, home to Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.