Torrechiara Castle () is a 15th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

near

Langhirano Langhirano (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Parma. Langhirano borders the following municipalities: Calestano, Cornigl ...

, in the

province of Parma The province of Parma () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma. It is made up of 47 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It has an area of and a total population of aro ...

, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It sits atop a terraced hill south of the city of

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

, in a strategic position overlooking the Parma River in the valley below. The castle was commissioned by Pier Maria II de' Rossi, the fourth count of San Secondo, and built between 1448 and 1460. The fortress shows the influence of the castles of the

House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ended with the d ...

, particularly Visconti-Sforza Castle. The castle is managed by the Polo Museale dell'Emilia Romagna since 2015.

History

The castle was built as a defensive fortification and as a noble residence for de Rossi's mistress, Bianca Pellegrini d'Arluno. Bianca died in Torrechiara around the year 1480. Pier Maria retired to Torrechiara in 1482, where he died later that year. They were both buried in the castle, in the Oratory of San Nicomede in the north-east tower. The castle changed hands many times over the centuries until it was declared a national monument in 1911. The following year, it was purchased, unfurnished, by the Italian State, which opened it to the public. A moderate earthquake of about 5.2 magnitude struck the region on December 23, 2008, causing significant damage to the castle, in particular to the external walls of the tower of San Nicomede, and to the

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

. Some of the rooms were closed to the public for structural renovations, completed in 2009. The oratory of San Nicomede was renovated on the ground level, where the collapsed roof slab had been rebuilt in the early 19th-century. On the main floor of the castle, the original Sala della Sera was rebuilt and restored, then placed at the end of the row of the Aurora, Meriggio and Vespro rooms. The castle reopened in July 2014.

Architecture

The castle, of medieval origins but largely rebuilt in 1448–1460, has four rectangular towers, connected by a double line of

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

ed walls. The inner court is called ''Cortile d'onore'' ("Courtyard of Honour"). The towers are the following: *''Torre di San Nicomede'', with the chapel of the same name. It guarded the plain towards Langhirano *''Torre del Giglio'' (''Lily Tower''), so called because it bore Bianca Pellegrini's coat of arms. *''Torre della Camera d'Oro'' (''Tower of the Golden Chamber''), with the bedchamber of Rossi and Pellegrini. *''Torre del Leone'' (''Lion Tower''), facing north, which is the

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

of the castle. It takes its name from Rossi's coat of arms.

Interior

The interior features numerous rooms decorated with fantastic,

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

or naturalistic elements. On the first floor, together with the ''Salone dei Giocolieri'' ("Jugglers Hall"), is the ''Camera d'Oro'' ("Golden Bedchamber"), one of the most famous examples of bedchamber artistic decoration in Italy. The fresco cycle in the

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

s portrays Bianca Pellegrini running through her and Rossi's lands, searching for her lover: the paintings are attributed to Benedetto Bembo. The chamber opens onto a panoramic

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

to.

In media

Scenes of the 1985 film '' Ladyhawke'' were shot at the castle.

Nearby attractions

Other sights include the church of St. Lawrence and the Abbey of Santa Maria della Neve.

Festivals and events

The Courtyard of Honour of the castle is the setting for the Torrechiara Festival, dedicated to the great soprano

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian spinto soprano, lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-World War II, war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, San ...

References

External links

Torrechiara Festival
* Castello di Torrechiara {{authority control Frazioni of the Province of Parma Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Buildings and structures in the Province of Parma Castles in Emilia-Romagna Langhirano