The beautiful Italian Baroque Palace and Gardens of Colorno have passed through many hands.  Originally a medieval castle,  first of the Correggio and later the Terzi families, came to the hands of the Sanseverino Counts in the late 1400’s with the addition of an extensive garden.

Intrigue came to Colorno when Pope Paul III, a member of the Farnese family made Parma the capital of a duchy which included Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla. The surrounding feudal barons were none too happy, and fostered a revolt, but the plot was thwarted and six of the surrounding Italian nobles were beheaded in the main square of Parma in 1612 by the first Duke Ranuccio Farnese of Parma. Among them was the Countess Barbara Sanseverino who had expanded the palace and the grounds. With the end of the countess, the Palace of Colorno fell to the Farnese’s control. Duke Ranuccio II and his wife Margherita, named for the patron saint of Parma, instituted a complete reconstruction into a grand Baroque palace under architect Ferdinando Bibbiena. The Bourbons succeeded the Farnese in the 1700’s and the palace again received a renovation inspired by the Versailles Palace in France.

After the French Revolution and Napoleon’s march across Europe. The Duchy of Parma was annexed into the French Empire of Bonaparte (see Madame de Stael Chateau Coppet) in the Treaty of Vienna. The Palace of Colorno was given to Napoleon’s second wife Empress Marie Louise, who thought of it as her favorite home away from home and lived there until her death as the Grand Duchess of Austria after Napoleon met his Waterloo. Marie Louise reshaped the garden in the English style park it is today.

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Fontanellato takes its name from the ancient place-name “Fontana Lata” which is a reference to the abundant water resources and characteristic “risorgive” (natural springs)  lying between the uplands and lowlands of the Po Valley.
Fontanellato was inhabited from the Bronze age onwards (1800 BC), as documented by Luigi Pigorini, citizen of Fontanellato, who in 1888 discovered a lake-dwelling settlement.
The castle was founded in 1124 when the Pallavicino family built the first defence tower (the present-day square tower). In 1386, after various changes in ownership, the castle was handed over to the Sanvitale family.

At the end of the 16th century, the Rocca was permanently changed from a military fortress into a residential seat and became one of the most enlightened minor courts in the Po Valley area during the Renaissance. The castle then became a civilian residence in the 18th century where the family continued to live. The history of the town and the Rocca is linked to the Sanvitale family, who were the feudatories and remained in Fontanellato up until 1948 when the last Count, Giovanni, sold the Castle to the town and under him the Fontanellato branch of the family was extinguished.

The Castle, known as the “Fortress” (Rocca), is surrounded by a wide moat. The Castle has a square plan with four corner towers (three round towers and one square tower). Up until the late 18th century, a drawbridge led into the castle and this was replaced in the early 19th century by the brick bridge which stands today.
The 15th century stables opposite the castle and now privately owned, were once a part of the castle, along with the large park which extends to the banks that run around the town. Today, the main through roads of the town pass by this moat and the town's current configuration is based on its late-Medieval plan.

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Under Pier Maria Rossi, the town’s feudal lord, the castle was built in the 6th decade of the XV century: according to legend, the lord dedicated it to his lover Bianca Pellegrini, from which the town gets its name.
 In 1831 it was taken from the Ducal Chamber by Maria Louisa of Austria. The keep and two pointed towers stand above the mighty quadrilateral structure. Basically, it is a castle set on a square plan with long sides running perpendicular to the town roads which lead to the market square (Minozzi Square) right in the heart of the residential area. Its nature is distinctly defensive and couldn’t be otherwise considering the bloody battles between the Rossi family and the Pallavicino family.  

Recent restoration works (Sala dei Feudi, dei Paesaggi, dei Quattro Elementi, Sala Rangoni) have brought to light stuccoes and valuable fresco decor and heraldic coats of arms in the portico in front of the celebrated Sala di Griselda. It includes frescoes with Stories of Griselda (from Boccaccio's Decameron), by Niccolò da Varallo, and astrological scenes.

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From medieval fortress to magnificent Renaissance residence, it was home to one of the most illustrious families of the Parma region. In 1466, almost a century after the acquisition of the San Secondo domain by part of his family, Pier Maria Rossi erected a castle that served as an elegant residence and a fortified structure in the center of his town. A fresco in the Torrechiara Castle (Pier Maria Rossi’s other manor) shows this in its original state as a castle sumptuously turreted with drawbridges, lunette windows, and an immense two-storied watchtower at the center. Modified and elevated in the XVII century.
it is located west of the populated area. The castle opens onto a vast square.

Ninety years after the castle’s foundation, it was greatly changed by Duke Ottavio Farnese, who demolished the defensive structures and closed the moats.  
 The magnificence of the fortress is equal to that of the Medici and Gonzaga courts (families who were closely linked to the lineage of San Secondo), thanks to artistic works by students of Giulio Romano, and by Baglione, Samacchini, Bertoja, Procaccini and Paganino. The magnificent Sala delle Gesta Rossiane celebrates the feats of the Rossi family; the tale of the Golden Ass, in 17 panels, is magical and unique; The spectacular array of frescoes are still perfectly preserved.

 With Pier Maria III Rossi, in the middle decades of the fifteenth century, the family rule reached the height of its splendour: the re-foundation of the urban centre of San Secondo took place, along with the reconstruction of the fortress. Following the extinction of the family (1825), between the end of the XIX and start of the XX centuries, the sixteenth century building was reorganized. It managed, however, to preserve almost intact the nucleus around the courtyard of honour and the delegational apartments, characterised by the presence of frecoes.

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 The perfectly preserved fortress of Soragna is one of the most magnificent in the valley. The Soragna Rocca (fortress), just off the main street in the centre of town, is a square structure with four towers at its corners, one in the centre of the façade and is flanked by a wide moat on its south and east sides.

The fortress was built around 1385 by the feudal lords of Soragna, the marquises Bonifacio and Antonio Lupi. In the 17th century it was transformed into the splendid and luxurious residence of the Meli Lupi Princes, who are still the proprietors and live there to this day.

It still shows the features of a fine mansion of 16th, 17th and 18th century.
Its rooms are adorned with furniture and furnishings from the early Baroque period.There are also interesting fresco decorations and striking cycles of paintings by Nicolò dell'Abate, Cesare Baglione, Ferdinando and Francesco Galli Bibiena.

Access is across a masonry bridge through a neoclassical entrance leading into a square courtyard, embellished by four 18th century statues and linked to an English-style garden . Encircled by a wall, it features a wealth of age-old plants, a small lake/pond, a hothouse, a café haus and a grotto inside a mound

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 Built in the 13th century, this is a good example of both fortified architecture and and an aristocratic residence. Rising on a rock above the Enza river, it still retains its high walls with jutting escarpment. It was first conquered by the Sanvitale family, then by the Visconti, the Terzi, the Torelli and lastly by the Farnese. It was Pomponio Torelli, an important humanist, that in 1406 undertook the reconstruction of the fort, enriching it and giving hospitality to the destination of a select group of artists and illustrious guests, including Pope Paul III,  King Francis I of France and painters, musicians and men of letters.

From the courtyard, reached via a bridge over the moat, a doorway leads to a huge vaulted hall, decorated with frescoes, heraldic emblems and grotesques attributed to Cesare Baglione. Also in the Sala degli Elementi vaults are spangled with putti scattering flowers, attributed to a local 17th century painter. The bedroom is decorated with allegories of human endeavour and representations of the stages of day in the lunettes, dating back to the end 16th century. The fort also contains a collection of archaeological finds unearthed in the Parma district. From a beautiful loggia visitors can enjoy a magnificent view of the Enza valley and the castles of the Canossa family.

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Lying on the Apennines hills, this fortress had a role of primary importance in the defensive system of the castles in the Parma area. It was held, from 1258 and for more than 350 years, by the Sanvitale family, then by the Farnese family and the Bourbons. Today, the Fortress has the appearance of a long parallelepiped, marked off at the ends by the ruins of two towers.

The rooms, which recently underwent important restoration work, display precious frescoes and decorations, 16th century works by Orazio Samacchini, Bernardino Campi and Cesare Baglione. The elegant Rococo room with the Apotheosis painted by Sebastiano Galeotti in 1726 is not to be missed.

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Torrechiara castle is almost unchanged since the 15th century, when it was built upon the ruins of a fortress house 80 meters above the valley floor. Built between 1448 and 1460 by Pier Maria Rossi (1413-1482), it is one of the most important and best preserved examples in Italy of castle architecture.
It is protected by three rings of walls and by four corner towers which attest to its defensive duties, while its function as a home is established by the wealth of “grotesque” frescoes by Cesare Baglione. The term "grotesque" derives from "grotto-esque", referring to the works found in ancient grottoes such as those attributed to Titus and Traianus Thormae.

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A coveted bridge head on the crest of a hill that dominates the Taro and the confines between Emilia, Tuscany and Liguria, the castle was built before the year 1000. A stronghold of the Landi family until 1682, and then the Farnese family, it has been extended and renovated several times. It is a massive structure, built on an irregular pentagon-shaped plan, surrounded by three round towers ‘alla piacentina’ and an older square tower. It houses the ‘Gambarotta’ collection, with 17th-18th century objets d’art, furnishings and paintings, and the unusual permanent exhibition ‘Orizzonti massonici’ (‘Masonic Horizons’). A part of the castle is used as a hotel-restaurant.

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The castle stands in a panoramic position overlooking the valleys of the Parma and Baganza streams. Built in 890, extended and fortified in the following centuries, it reached the height of its splendour in the mid-14th century with the powerful Rossi family, who held it until 1483. Captured by Lodovico il Moro (the Moor), it then passed to the Pallavicino, Sforza and Farnese families who completed the residential layout. Dominated by four angular towers, this square and solid building is encircled by a moat and preserves the ‘Courtyard of Honour’ within its walls. It is a prestigious venue for banquets, exhibitions and conventions. The cellars house the Salami Museum.

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Perched on a steep rocky mountain and with a bird‘s eye view over the whole valley, the fortress of Bardi has no rival in the region
It is the ultimate example of military architecture in Emilia. Built in 11th century, the fortress was thoroughly restored in 15th century, with new rooms added by the powerful family Landi who owned the castle for centuries.  The castle/fortress  towers over the roads leading to Genoa and the sea and has stood for more than a thousand years.

The Landi were Renaissance princes who also minted coins by imperial permission. Towards the end of the 16th century, the castle was partially converted into an elitist, aristocratic residence. There are many things to admire, including the patrol passageways, the towers, the parade ground, the porticoed courtyard of honour, the well, the ice house, the granaries, the dungeons and the torture chamber. The old soldiers’ quarters house the Museo della Civiltà Valligiana (Museum of the Valley-Dwelling Civilisation).

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Castell'Arquato is in the Val d'Arda 33 km from Piacenza,  about halfway between Parma and Milan. It is a very picturesque hill town. At the top of the town is the castle, with the village spilling gently down the hill below the castle. A medieval town of traditional structure it has maintained its appearance as it was in the early 10th century.

The origins of Castell'Arquato are uncertain. It is believed that it originated as a Roman military settlement (castrum). During the Roman Imperial Era it developed into a small rural town, thanks to its position commanding the routes from Piacenza and Parma toward the Ligurian Sea (Liguria is at the end of the Piacenza valley).
The first historical news concerning Castell’Arquato appear in the 8th century. Castell'Arquato seems to have been constructed by a "noble and powerful lord named Magnus". Magnus built the squared based castle and a church "In honor Mater Dei" (756-758). 

Castell'Arquato is in the area of the Colli Piacentini (Piacenza Hills), an important area for wine production. The most important wines produced in the Colli Piacentini are Gutturnio, Bonarda, Ortrugo, Malvasia, and Monterosso Val d'Arda.

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From an architectural point of view, Vigoleno castle constitutes a fortified complex of great interest, which has maintained almost intact its original character. The castle and hamlet are to be considered as a whole a defensive system and from the point of view of architectural defense, represent one of the most  interesting monuments that you can encounter.

The castle was constructed in the tenth century, and many times destroyed (in medieval terms "destroyed" means "made unsuitable for defense"), and was reconstructed in its present form  in 1389. The formidable "rivellino", with it powerful entrance tower on quadrangular plan remains a rare example of a fortified access point.

With mixed fortunes, it was conquered on subsequent periods by the Pallavicino, the Visconti, and the Farnese and (at the time of Duca Ottavio) by the Scotti.
Between the two world wars, Vigoleno welcomed famous people and reached international fame due to the duchess Maria di Grammont, born princess Ruspoli, who restored the castle and welcomed in it actors, poets, writers and the "bel mondo" of those years. Amongst the people which were welcomed here were, the painter and master of surrealism Max Ernst , the multiform genius Jean Cocteau, the 'prima donna' of the cinema Mary Pikford, the writer Elsa Maxwell, D'Annunzio and the pianist Arthur Rubinstein.

The Castle rises gracefully with its mighty defense system still intact, closed inside a narrow wall with Ghibelline merlons. Inside, the rooms follow one after the other and are brimming with history: the red room with precious furniture and the imposing fireplace, the Genesis drawing room, the billiard room, the small 18th century picturesque theatre and charming guard tower .The town is the perfect example of medieval housing.

The hills towards "Val d'Arda" are renowned for their wine production of Monterosso Vald'Arda, a white DOC wine  obtained mainly from Malvasia, Moscato, Trebbiano and  
Ortrugo grapes and also "VinSanto" di Vigoleno DOC.

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In Gazzola, a village in Piacenza, the Castle  overlooks the Trebbia. It still belongs to Count Zanardi Landi, who has owned it for the last seven centuries. The castle is mentioned in documents from as early as 1048

Entirely in brickwork, the building has a quadrangular plan, with a courtyard surrounded by a double order of loggias.
It is a sumptuous aristocratic manour with a splendid park all around. Its  round tower appears from quite far, with its peculiar shape being the characteristic element of the building.
It is possible to visit the great hall, the dining hall, the kitchen, the caves, the prisons, the sleeping rooms, the tower, the weapons hall, the gallery, the billiard room and the museum of military costumes.

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The castle stands practically on the border  of Parma and Cremona. Bartolomeo Barattieri, legal advisor and ambassador at the court of Pope Julius II built it in 1460, and his family retained ownership until 1993. The structure contains thirty richly furnished rooms, two halls of honor, kitchens and dungeons. The garret provides space for the MIM, Museum in Motion, a collection of more than eight hundred works – paintings, sculptures and drawings – by contemporary masters, Italian and foreign, with a section dedicated to the painters of Piacenza.

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The austere profile, the solid walls and a moat that is still overflowing with water transport the visitor back in time to the 9th century; in 1453 San Savino's monks handed it over to the nobleman Melchiorre Marazzani and it took on its current form, that of an elegant small fortress, with a large courtyard for agricultural purposes.
The Church of Santa Maria was also preserved, an ancient place of worship built on a Greek cross plan with pillars of even older origin, a testimony to the original “castrum”.

 The castle complex has a square plan and is divided by a transverse wall into an ancient, residential area on the eastern side and a farming area on the western side. The most characteristic aspects are the inner wards, the entrance tower and the "water tower", due to the presence of a moat on two sides.

Transformed into a stately home, it is now an important  agricultural “orto-giardino”, educational farm and a venue for important events connected to the cultivation of natural produce.

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