Morandi first encountered the Grizzanese landscape back in 1913, when, due to the poor health of Anna, the eldest of his three sisters, the doctor advised the family to stay somewhere where they could breathe “good air”.

Upon learning of this need, the Veggetti family, neighbors of the Morandis in Bologna, invited the young artist and his sisters to spend the summer at their home in Grizzana. There, among the quiet and unspoiled hills, Anna’s health improved considerably, and Giorgio fell in love with the breathtaking landscapes.

From then on, the Morandi family spent their summers in Grizzana as guests of the Veggetti family, and during World War II, they chose to stay at the Veggetti home to escape the chaos of the city.

As time passed, Giorgio’s bond with the landscapes and light of Grizzana grew stronger and stronger, and at the end of the 1950s, the Morandis decided to purchase the land opposite the Veggetti house to build their summer home.

Although he was already quite famous at the time, as evidenced by his appointment as professor of “Engraving Techniques” at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, Morandi showed no interest in owning a luxurious home worthy of an established artist.

A clear reference to the objects and landscapes he loved to paint to convey that beauty lies in appreciating purity and simplicity: this is why Casa Morandi is characterized by its extreme simplicity. The villa has clean lines that reflect an orderly and functional internal and external layout, but what is most striking is the presence of numerous windows strategically distributed along all four sides of the building. Morandi needed a lot of light to create his works, and this careful arrangement of windows helped to illuminate the interior spaces evenly and emphasize the connection between the interior of the house and the beauty of the surrounding nature.

From this privileged vantage point, overlooking the barns of Campiaro and the Veggio Mountains, Morandi counted no fewer than 70 shades of green!