Rocca Sanvitale di Fontanellato

The Rocca Sanvitale of Fontanellato stands enchantingly in the center of the village, surrounded by a wide moat filled with water: it contains one of the masterpieces of Italian mannerism, the small room painted by Parmigianino in 1524 with the myth of Diana and Actaeon.

Inside the fortress, the Sanvitale noble apartment is still intact.

In the Rocca Sanvitale of Fontanellato you can visit the only Optical Camera in operation in Italy within which a system of mirrors reflects the image of the square in front on a screen.
Since March 2015, the rediscovered Banner of the Blessed Virgin of Fontanellato has been visible in a special wing of the Castle, the large red damask cloth 5 meters long and 4 meters high dated between 1654 and 1656. Its shape and the years of its execution have also made us think of its use as the flag of a ship - a Galera - captained by a noble Sanvitale, as some documents attest, which sailed the Mediterranean Sea during the war of Candia.

Planning the tour of the Castles of the Duchy of Parme and Piacenza we reached the "Fortress of Fontanellato".
Rocca Sanvitale is an imposing fortress built in the 14th century on a pre-existing 12th century building. Subjected to numerous restorations, over the centuries it was transformed from a defensive fortress into the residence of the noble Sanvitale Counts who then inhabited it for around six centuries.It has a square plan with crenellated walls and four corner towers and is still surrounded by a large moat once fed by water produced by a spring and rearranged at the beginning of the 17th century by the Parma architect Smeraldo Smeraldi; the entrance to the internal courtyard is via a drawbridge.In 1948 the last Count handed over the Fortress with its furnishings to the Municipality, which subsequently transformed it into a museum.