The Rocca Meli Lupi, also called Rocca di Soragna, is a castle-palace located in the town of Soragna, Province of Parma, region of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It has a rough, unfinished exteriors and highly decorated interior rooms.

History
A first fortress was built here by marquis Adalbert I of Milan in 985, who had received Soragna and Busseto by emperor Otto I. The area was acquired in the 12th century by the Pallacivino. In 1186 the castle was stormed by combined Guelph troops of Piacenza and Cremona. The lordship however was confirmed to the Pallavicino by emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1189. A few years later, however, the Lupi acquired the castle through marriage and started a reconstruction program.

Built in 1361, the castle once belonged to the princes of the Meli Lupi family of Soragna. The castle had corner towers. In 1446, ornamental grapevine frescoes were painted in the ceilings of the courtyard portico. In 1513 the Meli inherited all the Lupi fiefs, including the castle. Further reconstructions and expansions occurred through the centuries. The castle is still inhabited by descendants of the Meli Lupi family.

Donna Cenerina is the nickname attached to Cassandra Marinoni of Milan, wife of marquis Diofebo II Meli Lupi, who was assassinated in this castle by her brother-in-law Giulio Anguissola in 1573. Legend claims her ghost still haunts the castle.

Description
The castle has a symmetrical, roughly squared plan. At the four corners are quadrangular towers. Another, narrower tower (added in the 17th century) is located at the entrance. A moat, now waterless, protects the three frontal sides. A structure in the rear area connects a tower to the S. Croce Chapel, in turn connected at a smaller fortress, the Fortino Neogotico. The latter is accompanied by a small lake surrounded by grottoes and Baroque statues.

The main façade, in brickwork, is accessed through a small bridge build in the 17th century replace the former drawbridge. Two lions are placed at the side of the bridge's side walls. The central tower has a large window and balcony, above which is a small arch featuring the Meli Lupi coat of arms.

Rocca Meli Lupi

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Il Museo ebraico Fausto Levi, con annessa sinagoga, ha sede in via Cavour 43 a Soragna, in provincia di Parma.

Il museo fa parte dell'Associazione dei Castelli del Ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Pontremoli.
Storia
Verso il 1980 la Comunità ebraica di Parma decise di raccogliere in un museo i preziosi arredi e oggetti sacri appartenuti alle otto comunità del Parmense, in buona parte scomparse;[2] la scelta della sede espositiva ricadde sul palazzo adibito fin dagli inizi del XVII secolo a sinagoga e sede della Comunità israelitica soragnese, per la posizione geografica baricentrica del paese rispetto alle antiche comunità di Borgo San Donnino, Busseto, Colorno, Cortemaggiore, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, Monticelli d'Ongina e Soragna stessa.[3]

L'edificio fu completamente ristrutturato e, al termine dei lavori nel 1981, il museo fu inaugurato dal presidente della Comunità ebraica di Parma Fausto Levi, al quale fu successivamente intitolato.[2]

Percorso espositivo
Il percorso espositivo si sviluppa nei primi due livelli del palazzo; al piano terreno si trovano le prime tre sale, mentre al primo sono collocate la sala delle Sinagoghe scomparse e la sinagoga.[3]

Sala della storia
Nel primo ambiente è descritta, attraverso originali e copie di antichi manoscritti, la storia del popolo ebraico fin dalle sue origini, soffermandosi in particolare, grazie a documenti settecenteschi, sulle comunità del Parmense.[4]

La sala, grazie alle sue vaste dimensioni, è utilizzata anche quale sede per conferenze.
La sala è dedicata alla vita di una famiglia ebraica, rispetto alla pratica religiosa quotidiana; vi sono esposti vari oggetti e arredi di uso domestico, tra cui una tavola apparecchiata in occasione di una festività sacra, un'ottocentesca sedia di Elia utilizzata per le circoncisioni, libri di preghiera, due ritratti risalenti alla fine del XIX secolo e alcune antiche mezuzot.[5]

Sala della Shoah
Nella sala sono descritte, attraverso pannelli e numerosi oggetti provenienti da lager, le persecuzioni causate dalle leggi razziali fasciste e le deportazioni nei campi di sterminio nazisti che subirono le famiglie ebraiche del Parmense; le vetrine espongono anche alcuni indumenti appartenuti a Samuel Spritzman, sopravvissuto ai lager.
La sala ospita alcuni arredi provenienti dalle comunità ebraiche scomparse, tra cui:

un pregevole camino seicentesco, con cappa riccamente decorata con altorilievi in stucco raffiguranti la Legatura di Isacco, proveniente dall'abitazione del rabbino di Cortemaggiore;
un antico lavacro per la Netilat Yadaim;
la cornice scolpita e dipinta del portale dell'aron di Cortemaggiore;
varie foto d'epoca delle sinagoghe scomparse di Busseto, Fiorenzuola e Cortemaggiore;
alcuni indumenti sacri per le preghiere.

Museo ebraico di Soragna

It is only natural for the itinerary to start from here. As can be read on his birth certificate (written in French, since at that time the Municipality of Busseto was under the Department of Taro, directly annexed to France), Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, son of Carlo and Luigia Uttini, was born at eight o’clock in the evening on 10th October 1813. In this modest building, located at a crossroads in the centre of the village, his father ran an inn with an attached grocery store. His mother was a spinner.

As legend has it, because the yearly festivities for the feast of San Donino, the patron saint of the diocese, were underway at his birth, the music played by a group of strolling musicians was a good omen for the future of the newborn baby. According to recent studies, the Verdis were a family of small landowners who were not illiterate; often, in fact, the innkeeper read letters for those who could not. Hence, the legend of the poverty-stricken family, of the uneducated, poor little peasant, of the starving artist, later fuelled by the editor Ricordi, should be re-evaluated.

Yet, to this day, the most evocative place of Verdi, thanks to the important work of recovery and restoration begun in 2013, does not fail to touch the numerous visitors at the thought of the triumphant goals achieved by the composer. Verdi, however, never forgot his own origins and, in 1863, wrote: “I was, am and always will be a peasant from Roncole.” On the front of the house, a commemorative plaque from 1872 reminds us that the marquises Pallavicino, who were the owners, wanted the house to stay as it was. Over time, other commemorative plaques have been put up. One in particular should be recalled; that given by the poor of Roncole who were helped by the Maestro (1901). In 1913, the centennial of his birth, a bronze bust by G. Cantù was placed in the small garden in front of the house.
As you enter the Museum, the guide will hand you an iPad and earphones. That iPad has an app that allows you to visit the house independently. An interactive map helps you find your way around, the audio sections tell anecdotes and facts about the composer’s childhood, while textual and video materials supplement the narration. To see the same scenes that Verdi would have seen as a child, to listen to his voice telling the story of his own family and to catch sight of his shadow on the walls: all this is possible. Because your guide in this Museum will be Giuseppe Verdi.

http://www.bussetolive.com

Casa Natale Verdi 

La rocca Sanvitale, nota anche come castello di Fontanellato, è un maniero d'epoca medievale interamente circondato da fossato colmo d'acqua, che sorge in piazza Matteotti 1 a Fontanellato, in provincia di Parma; al suo interno si trova la Saletta di Diana e Atteone, nota per gli affreschi manieristi del Parmigianino.
L'originaria fortificazione a difesa del borgo di "Fontana Lata" fu eretta a partire dal 1124 per volere del marchese Oberto I Pallavicino, che ottenne il feudo in seguito a uno scambio di terreni con i marchesi Folco e Ugo I d'Este. Nel 1145 Oberto cedette al comune di Piacenza la torre e il suo territorio, in seguito conquistati dai Terzi.

Nel XIV secolo i Visconti si impossessarono della fortezza, che nel 1378 Gian Galeazzo Visconti concedette in beneficio ai guelfi Sanvitale, come compenso per la loro fedeltà.

Nel 1386 i nuovi feudatari avviarono i lavori di costruzione di un nuovo castello attorno all'antica torre; la cinta muraria fu completata verso il 1400 e nel 1404 il duca di Milano Giovanni Maria Visconti innalzò al rango di contea il territorio di Fontanellato, investendone ufficialmente i fratelli Giberto e Gian Martino Sanvitale.


Stemma dei Sanvitale
Nel 1482, durante la guerra dei Rossi, la rocca subì l'assalto da parte delle truppe rossiane.

Nel 1551, durante la guerra di Parma, il castello fu attaccato dai soldati imperiali, che furono respinti.[2]

Il castello fu in seguito ampliato e trasformato in elegante dimora nobiliare, ricca di importanti opere d'arte e affreschi; la struttura fu pressoché completata nelle forme attuali nel XVI secolo.[5]

Nei primi anni del XVII secolo la rocca subì un attacco da parte dell'esercito spagnolo, che causò il danneggiamento delle fortificazioni;[3] di conseguenza l'ingegnere di corte Smeraldo Smeraldi fu incaricato della sistemazione del fossato,[6] su cui fu edificato un nuovo ponte in muratura in sostituzione dell'antico ponte levatoio.


Nel 1688 il conte Alessandro III Sanvitale trasformò in cappella il livello terreno dell'antico mastio d'accesso, che era stato adibito a legnaia agli inizi del secolo in seguito allo spostamento dell'ingresso nella torre adiacente; fu modificato inoltre il precedente oratorio posto sull'altro lato del cortile centrale, mentre furono ristrutturati alcuni ambienti del primo piano; fu infine realizzato l'attuale grande orologio sulla fronte dell'alta torre, in sostituzione di un altro strumento risalente al XVI secolo.

Altri piccoli interventi furono eseguiti nel XVIII secolo, quando furono aperte le portefinestre con balconcini in ferro battuto in facciata e sulle torriNel 1611 il conte Alfonso Sanvitale fu accusato di aver partecipato alla presunta congiura ai danni del duca Ranuccio I Farnese, che comportò la confisca di tutti i suoi beni e la condanna a morte di tutti i nobili coinvolti. Solo dopo alcuni anni suo cugino Alessandro II Sanvitale, in segno di riconoscenza da parte dei Farnese, ebbe il permesso di acquistare dalla Camera Ducale di Parma la rocca di Fontanellato.


Rocca Sanvitale

We care for our community and our land. Thus, in 2009 we created the Agorà Orsi Coppini Museum - Ark of Culture, a Museum of the Art of Oil Making set up in a 19th century former dairy for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, recovered with a preservation restoration effort.

The Agorà Orsi Coppini Museum is at last bringing the olive tree back to the Parma area, an area that has always been at the heart of the agri-food sector. This all-encompassing ideal links cultivation with knowledge, love of nature with the love for knowledge and humankind. A Museum that shows our passion for the olive tree, a holy tree in every civilization, a symbol of pace and dialogue, source of sustenance and flavours, care for the spirit and body, and source of light.

“To know is to love", this is the idea carried forward by the Coppini Family: spreading knowledge of a product and a world which is art, indeed the Art of Making Olive Oil, whose aura illuminates history from the most ancient mythology to today. Civilisations of the Mediterranean prospered also thanks to olive oil. And our role is to diffuse this culture. Italy is a nation founded on olive oil: the symbol of the Italian Republic is, in fact, an olive branch. Also, different religions have expressed their beliefs using olive oil and the olive tree.

The Fieniletto Farm, an old Parmigiano Reggiano cheese-making factory, and the Food Valley become the backdrop for a new art form that has now returned from the 12th century distant past. An emotional journey where extra virgin olive oil turns into logos, words, a culture that can be savoured and translates the knowledge handed down over generations into a direct experience.

https://www.coppiniarteolearia.com

The Agora Corsi Coppini Museum

Rocca dei Rossi is a castle located at piazza Mazzini #12 in the town of San Secondo Parmense, province of Parma, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. A different Rocca dei Rossi, also known as Castello di Roccabianca, is located in the town of Roccabianca.
History
The castle was built on an elevated land in 1513 by Pier Maria I de' Rossi, father of Pier Maria II, to defend the fortified borough of San Secondo, which had been a family fief since the 12th century. The rocca sites on the opposite shore of the Taro river than the borough, and also used its water to fill a defensive moat.

The stronghold was later turned into a luxurious manor decorated with 16th-century frescoes by local artists. The last heir of the Rossi family donated the castle back to the Municipality of San Secondo, and henceforth was used as Town hall until 2007. The manor is open to tours of its architecture and artwork all year.

Castle
Only the northwest wing and the northeast façade remain of the 16th century structure. During the last part of the 19th century, a large part of the castle was destroyed. The Renaissance courtyard, the main staircase and the reception hall, and the frescoes on the piano nobile remain. In 1983, an earthquake caused considerable damage to the building, requiring extensive restructuring. Today, guided tours of the castle are held regularly with performers dressed in historic costumes. In the first week of June, the Rocca provides the stage for a traditional Palio of San Secondo, contested among the various contrade of the town, and the theatrical representation of the marriage between Pier Maria III de' Rossi and Camilla Gonzaga, originally celebrated on 13 February 1523.

Art
In the 16th century, the Rossi castle was decorated with frescoes depicting secular themes by prominent disciples of Giulio Romano, including by Baglione, Orazio Samacchini, il Bertoja, Procaccini and Paganino. The estravagant decoration was due to a wish by the Rossi not to appear inferior to the new lords of Parma, the Farnese.

Main artworks include:

The Hall of Bellerophon. Beyond the courtyard and the main staircase, this grand hall houses the most important equipment for the San Secondo Palio. On the ceiling is a fresco of Bellerophon killing the chimaera, a monster with the heads of a lion, of a dragon and of a goat, representing the fight between Good and Evil.
The Hall of Justice, completely frescoed by Baglione.
Aesop’s Gallery and The Hall of Fables show frescoes illustrating popular fables, including "The Fox and the Wild Pig", "The Fox and the Lion", "The Dog and the Rooster" and "The Wolf and the Lamb".
The Hall of the Golden Donkey has 17 paintings from Apuleius' Golden Ass. The story runs counterclockwise around the room starting at the bottom strip and concludes at the center of the vault.


Rocca dei Rossi

The Labirinto della Masone, a cultural park, is home to the world’s largest bamboo labyrinth. It’s the brainchild of Franco Maria Ricci, a publisher, art collector, and bibliophile with an interest in bamboo.

The cultural park is home to about 20 different species of bamboo, ranging from dwarf to giant. The labyrinth is a living demonstration of the plant’s immense potential. Even the parquet floors of the park’s buildings were made of the same material.

The labyrinth takes the shape of an eight-pointed star, a nod to star-shaped fortress cities. Because you can’t quite appreciate the scope of the labyrinth while you’re wandering through it, there’s a model at the site that lets you appreciate the structure in all its scaled-down glory.

The whole complex covers about 17 acres. There’s a building that houses Ricci’s art collection, about 500 works ranging from the 16th to the 20th century. There’s also a library dedicated to the most illustrious examples of typography and graphics. In the middle of the maze, there is a square surrounded by arcades and large halls. Overlooking the square, a pyramid-shaped chapel recalls the labyrinth as a symbol of faith.

https://www.atlasobscura.com

The Labirinto della Masone

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

When we think of Italy many images are called back to our minds; generally speaking it’s about idyllic places, deeply viewed in a historical perspective, city palaces or country farmsteads that are vanishing under the spreading standardization of the “pre-packaged” house imposed by the building market. This Italy rich in charm and atmosphere risking to dwell by this time more in our imaginary than in daily reality is worth a deep rethink not only from the point of view of preservation and restoration, but mostly from the point of view of the search for an original and at the same time contemporary Italian style also for those historical architectural examples that would risk to turn themselves into museum houses or wholly distorted. To stage a scenery of contemporary life in an ancient abode is a complex challenge in Italy, where there is a strong resistance to novelty and to themes dear to the contemporary language when architecture buildings with a strong artistic and historical content are involved. The restoration of Casa Orlandi on the contrary starts from the “happy perversion” half ancient and half contemporary alternating in this abode, being as a matter of fact the very essence of the glamour of the tiny guesthouse. Casa Orlandi is a late-18th century abode, strongly desired by a rich middle-class family of the Tuscan textile entrepreneurial activity. The house that was meant to fill the class difference between the wealthy rising middle class and the ancient aristocracy, was richly decorated by one of the main Tuscan fresco painters of the age: Luigi Catani, who worked for the grand duke of Tuscany both at Palazzo Pitti in Florence and in various Medici villas in the environs of Florence. The restoration, long and difficult, for the very bad repair of the palace, 230 square meters unoccupied for twenty years, where also all the frescos had been covered by a thick coat of white paint, right from the beginning has been planned with the purpose of reaching a double aim, all too often forgotten. On the one hand there was the wish for a plain, minimalist restoration, not at all inclined to remaking; wherever the decoration was partially missing it was accepted just as time has handed it down to us; the ancient floors have been saved and preserved, even if some bits are missing or with faults, the ancient casings are all original, kept in their fragile lightness. On the other, there was the strong desire of introducing elements of contemporaneity inside an ancient architecture; a contemporaneity at the same time non stereotyped, entrusted, like it often happens, only to the names of the Italian design, but able to mix very simple elements, almost always objects found around the European markets, with elements on the contrary of famous international designers, right to create that cosy and at the same time non-prearranged mix that is frequently the feature of an experienced “house”. Therefore the choice of keeping a lot of the shared room wide and always various, and just three rooms for the guests, that can enjoy without limit the party hall, the kitchen, the balcony or the library study. The decision not to change in the least the typological aspect neither in the layout nor in the elevations has led as a consequence to the maintenance of a spatiality made by crossed rooms, there is no passage, through always different backdrops, where each room has been “staged” with contemporary criteria so that it is possible to communicate with the ancient places without changing them ever. Everything can be removed, placed again, rethought without distorting the ancient abode, that in this way can be transformed with time remaining witness of a special past and full of evocative power and atmosphere of which the tokens are getting lost: the evidence of a house lived through the ages and always contemporary. So in the small areas, all decorated baths in Corian have been mounted, one rediscovers the pleasure to go through “secret” doors to take shelter in little bathrooms that have been accepted in reduced dimensions to the advantage of a peculiar charm, that of originality. No folk concession to objects in style, some new materials like Corian, the black slate have been introduced, and steel, that constitute the essential elements of our contemporary living. The necessary search for comfort is never betrayed to the advantage of the aesthetic strictness, finding in ancient architecture new cues in order to be expressed. Essentially Casa Orlandi wants to be as follows: a passing-through place for sensitive travellers who love the authenticity of ancient places without renouncing the fascination of contemporaneity but above all it wants to be witness of the fact that the Italian historical architecture, also in its more private and “fragile” version, the abode, nowadays strongly threatened in its integrity by the liberty of conceited builders and not enough defended by the law, has the possibility of being not misrepresented and at the same time to become an extraordinarily contemporary place but also witness of the past and of the passions that have enlivened it over the centuries. Here lies the “contemporary message” for which we present this example of architecture.
https://archello.com

Palazzo Orlandi

Antonio Barezzi, a wealthy merchant and a great music lover, glimpsed Giuseppe Verdi’s aptitude for music early on and asked him to his home as a music teacher for his daughter, Margherita.

The first public appearance by the brilliant youth, in February of 1830, was in the salon, now called “Salone Barezzi” (Barezzi Salon), previously a seat of the Busseto Philharmonic Society founded by Barezzi and Maestro Ferdinando Provesi in 1816. In the months leading up to his move to Milan (1832), where he was to complete his study of music privately under Maestro Lavigna, and after the disappointment of being rejected for admission to the prestigious Milan Conservatory, Verdi lived in the Barezzi home where little by little his friendship with Margherita ripened into love.

His studies were financially supported not only by his father and a scholarship from the Monte di Pietà of Busseto (Pawnshop), but by Barezzi as well. Giuseppe Verdi was infinitely grateful to Barezzi as is shown in his numerous writings. The Salon where concerts and conferences are held, appears to us today as it did in the late 1800s after restoration work carried out in 1979 and 1998 by the “Amici di Verdi” (Friends of Verdi) Association, which has its headquarters there.

Here everything is redolent of the composer: the piano (which Maestro Riccardo Muti, an honorary citizen of Busseto, did not want to play out of respect for the sanctity of the relic), the portrait of Antonio Barezzi and the charcoal drawing of the young Verdi (most certainly the earliest image we have of him), autographed letters including the dedication of the opera Macbeth to his father in-law (1847) and some patriotic appeals (1859).

A marble and bronze plaque on the front of the house commemorates Antonio Barezzi with the words dictated by Arrigo Boito in 1913.

http://www.bussetolive.com

Casa Barezzi

La Rocca Pallavicino, nota anche come rocca di Busseto, è un castello d'epoca medievale, quasi interamente ricostruito in stile neogotico intorno alla metà del XIX secolo, che sorge in piazza Verdi, al centro del paese di Busseto in provincia di Parma; al suo interno hanno sede il neoclassico teatro Giuseppe Verdi e il Comune di Busseto.
L'originaria fortificazione fu innalzata nel 985 per volere dell'obertengo Adalberto di Baden, capostipite dei Pallavicino.

Nel 1216 le truppe piacentine e milanesi attaccarono e distrussero il maniero.

Nel 1249 l'imperatore del Sacro Romano Impero Federico II di Svevia investì del feudo di Busseto il marchese Oberto II Pallavicino, che l'anno seguente avviò i lavori di ricostruzione di un possente castello, interamente circondato da una cinta muraria e un fossato, varcabile attraverso un ponte levatoio di collegamento con la grande piazza antistante.

Nel 1395 l'imperatore Venceslao di Lussemburgo confermò a Niccolò Pallavicino i diritti su Busseto, Borgo San Donnino, Solignano, Ravarano, Monte Palerio, Tabiano, Bargone, Serravalle, Pietramogolana, Parola, Castelvecchio di Soragna e Soragna.
Nel 1441 Niccolò Piccinino attaccò su più fronti lo Stato Pallavicino, costringendo il marchese Rolando il Magnifico ad asserragliarsi nella rocca di Busseto; il condottiero cinse d'assedio il maniero e dopo alcuni scontri ebbe la meglio sul Pallavicino, che si rifugiò dapprima a Venezia e successivamente a Ferrara; tutti i feudi furono incamerati dal duca di Milano Filippo Maria Visconti. Rolando cercò di rientrare in possesso dei propri beni e nel 1445 diede prova di lealtà al duca, che acconsentì alla restituzione di quasi tutte le terre confiscate, a eccezione di Monticelli d'Ongina e alcuni altri feudi donati al Piccinino.

Alla morte di Rolando nel 1457, i castelli di Busseto e di Bargone spettarono in comunione ai due figli Pallavicino e Gian Lodovico.