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The area:
A unique territory.
Parma and its surrounding area are known worldwide for their fertile and indissoluble union between history, culture and gastronomy, earning it the nickname of Italian Food Valley.
Routes steeped in history unravel from the Apennines to the river Po, accompanying travellers through a network of ancient courts, artistic and architectural monuments, places of melodrama and fascinating natural landscapes.
The Castle of Felino is therefore an integral part of this rich and complex territory, already famous in Roman times and fundamental in medieval times, as evidenced by the many fortresses that intersperse it and that can now be visited in the path of the Castles of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza .
In addition, this area was crossed by the Via Francigena, facilitating the construction of many Romanesque structures, including the Duomo and the Baptistery of Parma among its most important examples.
In the 15th century the domain of Pier Maria Rossi introduces a new form of castle settlement: castles impregnable from the outside but richly decorated by important artists in the inside. In this period the history of the Castle of Felino is linked to that of its neighbour, the Castle of Torrechiara, residence of Pier Maria Rossi and chest of his love for Bianca Pellegrini, for whom he set up the Golden Room.
These two castles, very close in bird’s flight, were considered by Pier Maria Rossi almost like a single architectural complex, to the point that apparently there was a tunnel connecting them.
The Renaissance splendour of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza under the rule of the Farnese left visible signs on the area, all worthy of a visit: from the Teatro Farnese in the Palazzo della Pilotta (now home to the National Gallery) and in the same period, the Castle of Felino hosted personalities such as Pietro Aretino and Giovanni de 'Medici.
During the 18th century, on the other hand, the domain of the Bourbons gave Parma a strong neo-classical mark, as testified by the works of Petitot. In the mid-1700s the Castle of Felino goes through a period of decline but the peasant and economic traditions keep the territory alive and rich: not to be missed are the terre verdiane, from the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi in Roncole, to the centre of Busseto up to the Teatro Regio of Parma, temple of the Opera.
In the close surroundings of Felino there are also a few visits not to be missed:
Rocca Sanvitale in Sala Baganza. Rebuilt in 1477 by the will of Gilberto II Sanvitale and remodelled several times over the centuries by the Sanvitale themselves, by the Farnese dukes and Marie Louise, it was finally semi-demolished by the French Lieutenant Michel Varron in the Napoleonic era, as he considered it too big and pompous and demolished three sides of it. Currently, the Rock looks like a long three-storey parallelepiped, bordered at the far ends by the remains of two towers.
The wall that originally enclosed the garden still remains almost entirely, with the garden itself recently restored to its original splendour.
Inside there is a significant legacy of frescoes.
Pieve di Talignano. At the edge of the Woods of Carrega is the Romanesque church dedicated to San Biagio, dating back from the twelfth century.
The single-room structure covered by a barrel vault, contains interesting frescoes from the XVI and XIX centuries, and worthy of note is the outer lunette above the front door, representing is the psychostasis.
Fondazione Magnani Rocca. Founded in 1977 by the will of Luigi Magnani, the Magnani Rocca Foundation has been a museum since 1990, with a collection of works of art that covers a period from the twelfth century to this day.
Among the many outstanding works are paintings of Durer, Gentile da Fabriano, Goya, Morandi, De Chirico, Cezanne, Monet and Burri.
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Italiano
