Diocesan Museum and secret garden

The building opposite the Cathedral of San Cassiano once housed the offices and quarters of the high prelates of the town Curia; it was they who, from 1766 until the mid-19th century, embellished the rosso and verde apartments, the hall of honour and the portrait gallery. The Pinacoteca and casa museo host two hundred works dating to between the 9th and 21st centuries. Even the stable courtyard is a treasure trove, with its lapidarium and a carriage museum displaying the sumptuous coaches of Pope Pius VII, used when he was bishop of Imola. 

The secret garden in the bishop’s palace is an oasis at the heart of the town centre. The door opens onto a typical ‘Italian’ garden with evergreen trees, sculpted hedges, gorgeous roses and then basins, plinths and a large central obelisk. The garden has a long history. It is marked on the city map of 1463, attributed to Leonardo: the regular subdivisions typical of urban gardens are clearly visible. Following a recent restoration, it houses some 1200 plants, ranging from trees to flowers.