During the long and hot summer nights you can be spoiled for choice on where to go in Bologna. If you are in the city center it’s so nice to have a seat on one of the bars or restaurants with the external food&drink court, but if you sum to this also a green area the spot can become really perfect!
Since 3 summertimes the Osteria Scaccomatto has been offering some dinner nights in the amazing sceneries of Orti di Orfeo, a magical place that I found out months ago during the Bologna’s Secret Gardens’ tour, as I told you in this post.
The access to the Orti di Orfeo is at via della Braina 7, a little street that crosses via Rialto in the Castiglione area, in the heart of the city center. The entrance may look of of a common house, but behind the second door you’ll get to see a hidden secret garden…
The Orti di Orfeo are dated back in the XVII century and were the green area of an ancient nunnery, closed since years but its building is still there. These vegetable gardens are a real treasure which survived to concrete and lots of attempts made by the various new properties to transform it to something else. They have been public gardens since 10 years ago and now they are opened only for a really few special occasions (and this is such a pity…).
During summertime Trattoria Broccaindosso organizes a cycle of gourmet dinners where you can eat at your open-air table in between trees, fig and grape plants, only with the sound of cicadas and people’s cheerful talking (no background music on purpose).
Especially when the night comes, the atmosphere gets really magical… it looks like you are in a place with no space and time, so deeply fascinating and romantic!
This is the menù I had during a july summer night when I lived this experience with my beloved girl friends . Dishes are usually with seafood, but they change every night so you better check on their Facebook page for the daily menu.
The price for the complete dinner is 45€, wine included, and I can say it’s worth the global experience, that not only regards food (I would give a B to it). You really have to think at it as entering in a parallel city world in which you’ll make a really unique experience.
And I love summe nights, when everything seems so easy and light…
I think that it’s wonderful to use those public areas, maybe also abandoned, for activities of this kind. The Orti di Orfeo are a magical secret of our city and I hope they will be opened again for other occasions. Bologna can be so lovely and unexpected <3
