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The municipality of Bologna had a fortress built on the top of the rock towering over the village of Gaggio Montano in the 13th century, the vestiges of which are now only slightly perceptible. Following the Second World War, a very unusual monument, the "Lighthouse" was built in its stead to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the two World Wars. The historic village below, perched around the imposing rock, is still very picturesque and full of fascinating corners.

Access to the old town centre takes through the elegant archway of the Capacelli family in the elegant Piazzetta della Rocca, built in 1564 and topped by the family coat of arms depicting a seven-headed dragon and a man's head with a moustache.

On the north-eastern side of the rock we find the Church of Saints Michael and Nazario, built in 1892 on the remains of an older nave and a square apse, the only surviving elements of a pre-existing building.

Alongside the church is the 15th-century Oratory of St John the Evangelist (or "Santa Maria dei Morelli"), remodelled around 1855 and retaining the remains of a large late-Gothic figurative fresco. A scenic Via Crucis connects the church to the cemetery above. Continuing downhill, towards the new part of the village, we find the so-called "Lagazzana" nucleus, with a large vaulted entrance to an internal courtyard overlooked by a 15th-century rusticated portal.