The Castle of Contignaco is a fortified structure dating back to the eleventh century built by the will of Adalberto Pallavicino, but it seems that the main tower of the structure, still present and well preserved, dates back to 1030. After violent clashes with the fief of the Pallavicino, was the family of the Aldighieri of Parma to conquer the castle in 1315, thus obtaining the control of some salt pans scattered throughout the territory (the castle is in fact located on what was formerly called "via del sale", at that time an essential product for the food storage).

The manor remained the property of the Aldighieri until 1537, when the feud passed from the Milanese Chamber of Milan to the Sforza-Pallavicino; then it was the turn of the Terzi and finally the Farnese. In 1762 Don Filippo di Borbone sold the property to the Marquises Ponticelli and during the nineteenth century the castle changed owners several times.

Today the castle is the private residence of the Romanini family and is home to a winery: in the shadow of the ancient medieval tower continues the great tradition that has characterized this territory for centuries, with the company engaged in research and rediscovery of methods of ancient production and vinification. This traditional approach, outside the standardized logics of wine production, is aimed at the consumer looking for wines of great quality, able to appreciate the naturalness of the products, obtained without the aid of chemical or technical fertilizers to force the natural process of production.

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Castello di Contignaco

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"Terme Berzieri" is one of the most complex and interesting buildings of Salsomaggiore Terme. The spa building is dedicated to Lorenzo Berzieri, the first doctor who systematically studied the therapeutic properties of the town's natural mineral waters. 

The "Terme Berzieri" were designed at the beginning of 1900. 
In 1912, the project was given to the architect Ugo Giusti, in an earlier phase he worked on the project with the engineer Giulio Bernardini. 

In 1919, after the interruption of the First World War, the project included Galileo Chini and his collaborators of San Lorenzo Ceramics Works, which prepared the building's decorative materials. 
The building's work ended four years later, and the pubblic opening was held on 27 May 1923. 

the facade
On the facade, you can recognize some of Chini's particular artistic experiments. Of note are the paired lion heads that decorate the roof over the entrance. The model of the lion head is the work of the sculptor Francesco Aloisi, who together with Guido Calori was one of Chini's closest collaborators. 
In the blue girls in lion cloths, placed to the lower side of the mezzanine windows, as in the lions that flank the word "Thermae", it is possible to see an echo of Chini's experience in Siam, nowadays Thailand. 

the interior
The interior of the atrium, decorated by Giuseppe Moroni, contains marbles, murals and stuccoes. The monumental double staircase at the end of the vestibule leads to the first floor. By climbing it one can see the stucco rosettes on the ceiling, that frame the artificial lights like flowers, while the skylight, open above the funnel of the stairs, confers a suffused luminosity to the entire space. At the end of the staircase are the frescoes of Galileo Chini. The female figures hover on the gilded background among dense scrolls in a fantastic landescape of water and luxuriant vegetation, evidently an allegory using the environmental motifs that characterize the watering place. On the front wall is a fresco of Giuseppe Moroni, of 1923. It is a typical example of Art Déco.

http://www.visitsalsomaggiore.it

Terme Berzieri

The Castle of Scipione, one of the oldest in the region, was built in the eleventh century by the Marquis Pallavicino, one of the few European families to have more than a thousand years of documented history.

Even today inhabited by the direct descendants of the same family, the castle was born as a military structure within a broader defensive system, in defense of the Pallavicino State, fief of the Holy Roman Empire and had considerable strategic importance throughout the Middle Ages for the its crucial position for the defense of wells for the extraction of salt, an element at the time necessary for the preservation of food, of which the Marquis Pallavicino were the major producers. Legend has it that the castle owes its name to the pre-existing Roman villa built by the family of Publius Cornelius Scipio the Emilian, the Roman general who annihilated Carthage.

At the time of the bitter fights between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, in 1267 the castle suffered various attacks from the Piacenza area and later in the early 1400s by the Guelph families Rossi and Da Correggio. Rebuilt and enlarged in 1447 by the Pallavicino family, which adapted it to new defensive needs, it saw the addition of the cylindrical tower and the "reinforced", reinforced and lowered walls. Even the small prisons date back to the same years, which have remained unchanged until today and can be visited under the castle.

During the Second World War the fortress was turned into a concentration camp for foreign enemies, in particular Slovenes and Dalmatians, as well as for political prisoners, reaching up to 173 people in July 1943; following the armistice of 8 September 1943, the castle was used by the German armies as a sorting camp before the definitive deportation to the Nazi concentration camps in Germany.

After a few years of neglect, in 1969 the manor was bought by Count Christian Frederik Per von Holstein, who gave it to his wife Maria Luisa Pallavicino, descendant of the ancient lineage; in the following years the first restoration works were started, which involved the main rooms of the large structure, which in 2008 was partially open to the public.

Among the first in the region to be declared a National Monument (in 1922) for its historical and artistic value, the Castle of Scipione today, after a careful restoration, offers inside its elegant suites of charm for a stay full of history immersed in a romantic atmosphere of an evocative medieval village.

Equipped with a kitchenette and comfortable lounges, the spacious and bright suites offer enchanting views of the surrounding hills, the village and the plain. The interiors are furnished with care, with antique furniture and precious fabrics and along the rooms of the castle you can admire the many testimonies of the seventeenth century, from the frescoes to the wooden ceilings to the coffered.

On the southern edge of the castle there is a noteworthy seventeenth-century loggia, characterized by the portico plastered with round arches that develops at an angle on two sides, culminating in the cylindrical corner tower on the southern edge; the large terrace, supported by the high walls of the shoe, allows you to admire a fine view of the valley below, while on the eastern side gives access to the scale of the horses, which leads to the secret garden, full of tall trees in addition to roses and irises .

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Castello di Scipione

An hotel of absolute charm in a village with a castle nestled in the first hills of Parma, the Antico Borgo di Tabiano Castello dates back to the eleventh century, but was built on a previous settlement of the Roman era.

The defensive fortress of the Marquis Pallavicino, one of the most powerful and influential families in the Ghibelline area of ​​the period, has been the center of many historical events and a strategic area for the domination of the nearby salt marshes and control of the Via Franchigena. Tabiano passes several times by hand, is the subject of contests involving the great feudal families - the Pallavicino, but also the Terzi, the Cornazzano, the Visconti and the emperor Federico Barbarossa himself; from the end of the fifteenth century a slow decline began, linked in part also by the change in military strategy that makes defense fortresses less and less important.

The imposing castle is located on a spur of rock overlooking the village and its elaborate defensive system: the watchtower dating back to the thirteenth century, which with its drawbridge represented the main access to the castle, the circular ramparts and the city walls in defense of the village.

From a fortress of defense, Tabiano has now become a very charming hotel and the Borgo is the center of various food and wine and tourism activities.

All the suites and apartments, divided between the manor houses and the watchtower, have been created combining the ancient charm of vintage furniture with modern comforts.

The structure as well as two pools, then offers a spa for lovers of relaxation, housed in a natural cave: sauna, massage, turkish bath, whirlpool and beauty treatments are just some proposals for the well-being of guests.

A stay in Tabiano is a dive into history, immersed in a charm of the past, combined with the psycho-physical well-being and also the pleasures of enogastronomy. The "Locanda di Posta" inside the village is in fact the ideal place to delight with traditional local dishes, taste a good wine, discover the culinary traditions and buy the typical products.

Castello di Tabiano

 History
There is no cement in the medieval village of Vigoleno. Noble and distant, closed as it is in that narrow wall enclosed by swallow-tailed merlons, it is only accessible by a tower on the north-west, flanked by a keep with leaded loopholes and machicolations, unmistakable signs of the original function military that began in the eleventh century.

The elegance and grace that still characterize this village entirely in stone and bricks are the result of a subsequent transformation into a private residence, occurred in the seventeenth century by the Scotti accounts and then again in the twentieth century thanks to the Duchess Maria di Gramont, who these walls welcomed, just to name a few, the Savoy and Gabriele D'Annunzio.

The Castle of Vigoleno opens its beauties to an elite tourism in search of something unusual and unique. Thanks to the project by Barbara Facchetti, the central building and two watchtowers respectively house double rooms and exclusive suites, furnished with furniture, paintings and antiques. The atmosphere is that of domestic intimacy: guests can freely use the common areas and breakfast service is available until noon, with bread and homemade desserts.

Located on the ground floor, on the main floor and in the former stables of the castle, there are four frescoed rooms suitable for receptions and events - among these, a theater with pictorial decorations of eighteenth-century taste and with only fifteen seats - and the restaurant (reserved for guests) whose specialties are distinctly regional. In the Mediterranean garden, between two guard towers, there is a therapeutic swimming pool.

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Castello di Vigoleno

Il castello di Vigoleno è un imponente complesso fortificato della provincia di Piacenza sul confine con quella di Parma, nel comune di Vernasca. Posto sul crinale tra la valle dell'Ongina e quella dello Stirone su un rilievo di non elevata altezza domina le colline circostanti. Pervenutoci fortunatamente intatto in tutte le sue parti è un esempio di borgo fortificato medievale di particolare bellezza.
La sua fondazione risale al X secolo ma la prima data documentata è il 1141 quando era avamposto, sulla strada per Parma, del Comune di Piacenza. Il possesso passò per molte mani, principalmente fu della famiglia Scotti, vide i Pallavicino, Piccinino, Farnese, e venne più volte distrutto e ricostruito.

Nel 1922 la principessa Ruspoli Gramont lo fece restaurare e ne fece sede di incontri mondani, passarono tra le sue mura Gabriele D'Annunzio, l'attore Douglas Fairbanks, Max Ernst, Alexandre lacovleff, Jean Cocteau, la diva del cinema Mary Pickford, la scrittrice Elsa Maxwell, il pianista Arthur Rubinstein. Nei primi anni'80 fu teatro di parte delle riprese del film Lady Hawke di Richard Donner con Rutger Hauer e Michelle Pfeiffer.

Il borgo
Completamente circondato dalla cinta muraria merlata che è interamente percorribile sull'antico cammino di ronda. Ha un unico accesso attraverso un rivellino, dalla particolare forma tondeggiante, che proteggeva il vero portale d'ingresso. Il cuore del borgo è la piazza, con fontana centrale, su cui si affacciano: il mastio, la parte residenziale del castello, l'oratorio e la cisterna. Il paese prosegue con un piccolo gruppo di case strette intorno alla pieve di San Giorgio. Sul lato est, tra le abitazioni e le mura si trova un giardino.

Il mastio
Ha un imponente torrione di pianta quadrangolare con feritoie, beccatelli e merli ghibellini. Ospita sale museali con documenti storici e fotografici. Un camminamento di ronda lo collega alla seconda torre e da qui alla parte residenziale.

Mastio e borgo di Vigoleno

Il castello di Pellegrino Parmense è un maniero medievale che sorge sulla vetta di un colle in prossimità del borgo di Pellegrino Parmense, in provincia di Parma.
Storia
La fortezza originaria fu innalzata a difesa del vicino borgo probabilmente nel 981, per volere di Adalberto di Baden, di stirpe obertenga, che fu investito del marchesato di Pellegrino dall'imperatore del Sacro Romano Impero Ottone II di Sassonia. I suoi due figli Umbertino e Bertoldo diedero origine all'importante casata dei Pallavicino.

Nei secoli seguenti il castello fu conteso dai parmigiani e dai piacentini, che cercarono più volte di impossessarsene. Nel 1198 il cardinale Pietro Capuano, diacono di Santa Maria in Via Lata, si recò a Borgo San Donnino per pacificare i due fronti, ma durante il suo viaggio lungo la valle dello Stirone subì l'assalto da parte di Guglielmo Pallavicino, che lo spogliò di tutte le sue sostanze; il ricco bottino consentì al marchese di ricostruire completamente il maniero, che da allora fu a lungo considerato inespugnabile.

Il marchese Oberto II Pallavicino, feroce condottiero ghibellino, sottomise i guelfi parmigiani che, impossibilitati a impadronirsi della fortezza, furono costretti a riconoscergli una pensione di 1000 lire imperiali,[3] ma non gli risparmiarono l'attacco e la distruzione nel 1267 del castello di Ravarano, anch'esso di sua proprietà.

Nel 1304 il castello, all'epoca appartenente a Manfredino Pallavicino, fu attaccato da Francesco Scotti, signore di Piacenza, che, aiutato da Ghiberto da Correggio e dalle truppe del Comune di Parma guidate da Nicolò Fogliani, cinse per 15 giorni d'assedio il maniero, che resistette, per poi ripiegare sulla rocca di Belvedere, che fu distrutta.

Nel 1307 in seguito alla ribellione di Pellegrino e Bardi all'autorità di Alberto Scotti, il signore di Piacenza attaccò i ribelli riuscendo ad avere la meglio su Bardi, Borgotaro e Castell'Arquato; soltanto Pellegrino fu in grado di contrastare ogni assalto, causando la ritirata dei piacentini.

Il castello perse la sua fama di inespugnabilità nel 1428, quando fu assaltato dalle truppe del duca di Milano Filippo Maria Visconti, guidate dal capitano di ventura Niccolò Piccinino; il marchese Manfredo Pallavicino fu arrestato e costretto sotto tortura a confessare di aver congiurato contro il duca, che lo condannò a morte. Nel 1438 il feudo di Pellegrino, ridotto a contea, fu assegnato al Piccinino, che fortificò la rocca estendendo la cinta muraria per comprendervi anche le case e la chiesa del borgo; al conte succedettero i figli Francesco e Jacopo.

Nel 1449 il condottiero Alessandro Sforza conquistò il castello, che nel 1472 fu acquistato da Gabriella Gonzaga, moglie di Corrado Fogliani, fratello per parte di madre del duca Francesco Sforza; il duca Galeazzo Maria Sforza elevò nuovamente a marchesato il feudo di Pellegrino, per assegnarlo al cugino Lodovico Fogliani, al quale concesse la facoltà di aggiungere al proprio il cognome Sforza.

L'ultimo marchese Giovanni Fogliani Sforza d'Aragona, dal 1755 viceré di Sicilia, nel 1759 rinunciò ai propri feudi in favore di Federico Meli Lupi di Soragna, figlio di sua sorella; il marchesato passò alla sua morte al figlio Carlo, che nel 1805 fu costretto ad abbandonare Pellegrino a causa dei decreti napoleonici relativi all'abolizione dei diritti feudali.

In seguito il maniero passò alla famiglia Boccoli, che lo rivendette nel 1817 ai Pettenati; i loro discendenti durante la prima guerra mondiale alienarono il castello, che, spogliato di ogni arredo, fu utilizzato come falegnameria.

Durante la seconda guerra mondiale la fortezza fu requisita dai tedeschi, che la utilizzarono come torre d'avvistamento e alloggiamento per le armate.

In seguito il maniero passò di mano più volte; a Carlo Raggio seguirono dapprima i Bottego e successivamente i Tomelleri, che ne avviarono i primi importanti interventi di restauro; dopo il 1990 il castello fu acquistato dall'imprenditore Camillo Catelli, che completò i lavori recuperando anche la cappella e la torre e arredò con mobili antichi le sale.

Castello di Pellegrino Parmense

Il castello di Castelnuovo Fogliani, fino al 1450 circa noto come Castelnuovo dei Terzi, era una imponente rocca medievale. Interamente riedificato nel secolo XVII nelle forme di palazzo signorile secondo un progetto attribuito all’architetto Luigi Vanvitelli, della possente struttura medievale conserva soltanto la svettante torre, alzata nel 1377 dal condottiero visconteo Niccolò Terzi il Vecchio. Così ne scrive lo Zuccagni-Orlandini: “si eleva quasi isolato in riva all'Ongina, portava nel secolo XII il nome di M. Bello o di Belmonte, per l'amenissime prospettive che si godono in quell'alture. I Pelavicino vi costruirono alcuni fabbricati, e li munirono di bastioni e fortilizj. Restarono questi danneggiati dal furore delle fazioni, ma Niccolò Terzi, succeduto nel possesso del feudo, fece ricostruire nel 1377 l'elevata torre, e cosi venne a cambiarsi il nome di Belmonte in Castelnuovo: questo fortilizio resta tuttora in piedi, nel lato di una vasta piazza”.
Storia
L’antico maniero medievale, eretto nel XII secolo, fu dimora e base strategica di potenti casati parmigiani e padani, quali i da Correggio, i Pallavicino e quindi i Terzi di Parma. Nel 1364 Niccolò il Vecchio acquistò dal piacentino Gherardo Visconti le giurisdizioni di Castelnuovo e di Casale Albino che poi gli furono assegnate in feudo nel 1386 dal signore di Milano Gian Galeazzo Visconti.[2] L'anno successivo, nel 1387, l'imperatore Venceslao di Lussemburgo con proprio diploma siglato a Norimberga, confermava l’infeudazione di quelle terre, e di numerose altre minori nel Parmense, a Niccolò Terzi il Vecchio, e ai suoi discendenti: i figli Ottobuono, con il fratello Giacomo, e quindi il nipote Niccolò de' Terzi, il Guerriero che, nel confliggere di alterne vicende, riuscirono a conservarne il possesso sino al 1449. Il castello, divenuto la principale base strategica del casato, ebbe allora il nome di Castelnuovo dei Terzi.[3]

Sconfitto e costretto all’esilio presso la corte dei Gonzaga di Mantova, Niccolò il Guerriero, nel 1449, da Francesco Sforza, nuovo signore di Milano, il castello, passò brevemente in proprietà dei Terzi di Sissa.

In seguito fu assegnato ai Dalla Porta, poi ai Visconti di Piacenza. Nel 1466 il duca Galeazzo Maria Sforza, figlio di Francesco, investì il fratellastro Tristano Sforza del feudo onorifico terra Castrinovi.

Defunto Tristano, nel 1472, il feudo fu assegnato a Lodovico Fogliani da Reggio, che aveva sposato in seconde nozze la madre del duca Francesco Sforza, Lucia Terzani.

Nel 1479 il figlio di Lodovico, Corrado Sforza Fogliani, capostipite dell’illustre casato piacentino dei marchesi Sforza Fogliani d’Aragona, ebbe l’investitura del feudo di Castelnuovo che da allora si mantenne per tre secoli tra i possedimenti della casata, dando il nuovo nome al castello e al borgo di Castelnuovo Fogliani che tuttora lo distingue.

Intorno al XVII secolo il castello ha vissuto il suo periodo di massimo splendore, grazie soprattutto al rifacimento architettonico del Vanvitelli deciso dal duca Giovanni Fogliani. Nel 1769 questi lasciò eredi di tutti i propri beni il nipote Federico Meli Lupi di Soragna con l’obbligo di assumere il Casato dei Fogliani.

L’ultimo discendente della famiglia fu Federico, che nominò erede universale la figlia Clelia Sforza Fogliani d’Aragona, consorte e presto vedova del marchese Pallavicino di Parma. La duchessa, senza discendenza, nel 1925 poco prima della sua morte, donò il palazzo-castello di Castelnuovo alla Chiesa di Roma. Papa Pio XI decise di farne una sede universitaria riservata alle religiose intenzionate a perfezionare gli studi. Padre Agostino Gemelli, responsabile dell’Istituto, fondatore e rettore dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano, si assunse l’incarico di organizzarla e già nel 1926 venne inaugurato il primo anno accademico.

Castello di Castelnuovo Fogliani

In Castell'Arquato, one of the most evocative and hamlets of Italy, the Middle Ages was an era of elegance and class in which buildings and landscape come together in a magnificent setting. It is here that still today stands the Rocca Viscontea which with its towers dominates from its strategic position the village and the Val d'Arda.

The first historical data on the Rocca can be found in the Registrum Magnum of Piacenza, which places its construction in the year 1342, in full Visconti domination. La Rocca rises on the foundations of a Roman castrum of the II century a.C. rebuilt and re-adapted several times since the times of the Gallic invasions. The complex was completed in 1349, but the client Luchino Visconti, never saw the end of the work dying in that year.

The tallest tower had the important function of an observation tower between the Po Valley and the Apennines and in the fourteenth century there was no way to escape the gaze of those who were looking towards the valley below from the top of the Rocca.

The building has two parts connected to each other: a lower wall placed on two rectangular-shaped steps where soldiers usually lived and where in case of danger the citizens could be sheltered and a minor one, placed higher up, once reserved to the command of the garrison.

It is accessed by crossing a bridge, once a drawbridge, which passes the deep moat at the base of the keep. This houses overlapping rooms, connected by a wooden and stone stairs leading to the tower from where the visitor, today as six hundred years ago, can enjoy the incomparable 360 ​​degree panorama; the same attraction of the visitors must have been the director Richar Donner when, in 1985, he decided to set his famous "Ladyhawke" with Michel Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer, among the stones of Castell'Arquato

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Rocca Viscontea di Castell'Arquato

Fidenza Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Fidenza; Cattedrale di San Donnino) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Domninus of Fidenza (San Donnino) in the town of Fidenza, province of Parma, region of Emilia Romagna, Italy.

It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Fidenza, known until 1927 as the Diocese of Borgo San Donnino.
History
Construction of the cathedral began in the 12th century. It was dedicated to Saint Domninus of Fidenza, who was martyred by order of the Emperor Maximian in 304 AD. The saint's relics were brought here in 1207, and are believed to be contained in an urn in the crypt. The town's previous name, Borgo San Donnino, was given in honor of the saint.

The building survived the sack and destruction of the town of Fidenza in 1268. The apse and façade were completed a few decades later. The cathedral is an example of the Lombard-Romanesque style. The upper part of the façade is incomplete, but the lower, with its three portals and sculptures, is a fine example of Romanesque architecture, including two statues by Benedetto Antelami and bas-reliefs depicting the Histories of St. Domninus. The interior is simple and well-proportioned, and has not been spoilt by restoration. The statue at the front of the cathedral of the apostle Simon Peter is famous for its pointing in the direction of Rome. Side chapels continued to be added into the 16th century.

The altarpiece depicting the Purification of Mary, by Andrea Mainardi (il Chiaveghino) was painted for the church circa 1600.

Sculptural decoration
Fidenza Cathedral, even in its incomplete state, preserves masterly Romanesque elements. The brick façade is flanked by two bell-towers, and has three entrance portals. The central portal has a protruding portico held aloft by thin columns with lion bases. Antelami in this portal sculpted the prophets David and Ezekiel flanking the doorway. In this portal, scenes narrate the life of Saint Domninus and subsequent miracles, who started as chamberlain to the Roman Emperor Maximian. Domninus' conversion led to his martyrdom. Other scenes depict the life of the Virgin, and a statue of Saint Peter. The side portals have carvings depicting Charlemagne and Pope Adrian II. Other carvings depict Hercules and the Nemean lion. Sculpted carvings continue in the inside of the church.

Fidenza Cathedral

History
Located on the bank of the river Ceno, the fortress of Varano has always had the strategic function of monitoring the roads that led to the Via Emilia, in Tuscany and in Liguria. The first historical reference to the Castello Varano de 'Melegari can be found in the Cronulla Pallavicina of 1087 where it is mentioned as a heritage inherited by Uberto Pallavicino, nephew of Adalberto.

Other documents dating back to 1208 speak of its construction on the pre-existing Roman castrum, although its current appearance is due to interventions occurred at the beginning of the fifteenth century, when it was made one of the most advanced examples of military architecture of the time, with adaptations of the old defensive schemes to new technological innovations such as artillery.

The castle remained the property of the Pallavicino family until the beginning of the 15th century, when Rolando Pallavicino was involved in the clash between families with Rossi and Terzi families to control the Via Emilia and strategic passages on the Po. Following these contrasts the castle was taken by Ottobono Terzi and delivered to the Visconti. In 1452 Rolando the Magnificent reconquered the fief and with it the castle that returns in possession of the Pallavicino family.

During the nineteenth century the castle passed into the hands of several owners, until in 2001 the Municipality of Varano Melegari bought the property that from 2013 entrusted the management to Lasse-Cooperativa Sociale.

The complex is different from the other defensive structures of the time: three of the four towers are aligned on the side facing the Ceno, while the keep is positioned on the north side looking towards the street. On the ground floor there was the jail communicating with the courtroom on the first floor, while on the second floor we find the bedroom of the castle and on the upper floor the room of the servants who also had granary functions.

Castello Varano de 'Melegari offers the possibility to rent out its own premises and to organize ceremonies, private parties and meetings in its structures, both inside and gardens.

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