The name Castrum Dutie, as Dozza was once known, comes from the Latin for “shower”, or rather a conduit feeding water into a tub or tank for the populace to use. The first inhabitants were the Gauls, followed by the Byzantines and finally the Carolingians; the town became a free municipality only in 1150. Part of the domain of the “Lady of the Romans”, Caterina Sforza, the Castle was the home of the Malvezzi and Campeggi families for over four centuries (1528–1960). More recently, in the dying months of World War II, it was the scene of clashes between Allied forces and withdrawing German troops as the Gothic Line collapsed.

Ph. Paolo Barone