Palazzine Bottrigari

In the newly built aristocratic Piazza Cavour, the engineer Antonio Zannoni of Bologna led the easternmost construction project completing the Palazzo Guidotti side, consisting of a compact building, the Casa Ratta, and the so-called Palazzine Bottrigari.
Zannoni, a typical all-round 19th century engineer who dealt with every aspect of urban planning from the history of archaeology to structural engineering, demonstrated his original talent here in a building that was unrivalled in the city as regards form and style. Perhaps spurred on by the tone of the square reminiscent of classic British squares, Zannoni organised the façade by giving it a tall loggia enhanced by a majestic giant order joining the main floor to the upper mezzanine floor. The building was then completed by a banister, another unusual element in Bologna.