Posted by TORRECHIARA
We had seen a lot of information on the castles of the Emilia Romagna region and particularly the river regions coming out of the Appenine mountains, which were very strategic locations for both trade and defense. Many were formadable and imposing and others less so but the Castello Torrechiara was both imposing and beautifully designed and executed, almost the poster boy castle if you like. Built in the 1400’s it has remained in excellent condition and has been well cared over the centuries.
Its perched high position on a spur and the layered design of the walls and twisting access road makes it a hard one to breach so it has remained intact very effectively for over 500 years.
The fluted turrets design really stands out and is also great for deflection of objects apparently and the panorama afforded from every direction has visual of the whole region.
We stopped here for a nice lunch in the castle village cafe outside the castle walls under some nice shade as it was warming up .
But it’s inside where the beauty really exists and is probably one of the most highly decorative castles in italy. The range of frescoes from late gothic to what was referred to as the grotesque style in the 1600’s to the Rococo period of the 1700’s adorn most rooms on the second level. There is a great variety of images from traditional rural scenes, nature in flight, fantasy images from the classical period to real life lovers stories in the golden chamber.
The Golden chamber tells the story of two lovers, the count and his true love, his mistress BiancaPellegrini, so it is called “Rossi and Pellegrini’s love nest” so there must be a huge story there to unfold .
There are Ancient Roman and fantasy mix and match with lions roaming ruins in a flight of fantasy all around you as you move from room to room.
But one of my favourites in these castles is when they do a relief map of the region, and this one below is a beauty with every town, castle, river and mountain shown in detail from what they imagine it would look like from above.
The vine/trellis ceiling, the two headed nymph and other fantasy figures adorn in an amazing display of imagination and delight that would have enteratined guests and now visitors for centuries. Truly one of the highlights of the region.
CASTELL ARQUATO
When you read up on all the towns to visit in Emilia Romagna, Castell Arquato is always in the top 10 so it made sense to come and see for ourselves. Well it did not disappoint, and after a leisurely drive through the country back roads we drove up the narrow streets to the centre of the old castle town and after a bit of uncertainty as to where to park we re-entered another way and followed the instructions correctly this time and found our spot just 50m from our apartment. We were virtually at the centre of everything in this very quaint town perched on the hills above the river and very strategical located on another spur for defense purposes.
The castello is mostly in ruins but there are six of the original eight towers still standing in some form but the insides of the keep have disappeared through neglect over the past 300 years.
Much of everything else is still standing around the Piazza with the old Romanesque church that dates from the 11th century and the townhall which was built in the 12th century in pristine condition.
The frescoes of the church are still vibrant and as it is dark inside they have had little light to do much damage.
The yellow stone is dominant in the Basillica wheras the castello is mostly built of brick and maybe that is why it has crumbled away.
The town is on two levels with the renaisance period town below is where the later palazzo were built and on the slopes overlooking the river so a lovely mix of periods all in great condition and such a beautiful town to wander the streets at dusk.
The town is shaped like a tear drop from the spur to the flat area beside the river and out into the fields beyond.
The Terazza beside the Santa Maria Assunta overlooks the castello and features a beautiful fountain that dates back to the 15th century, and is a great place to start a stroll through the streets.
We were there on a sunday and there were few places open to eat but we got some great advice from a waiter at the Restaurant LaRocca and we were presented with the best Anti-pasto plate imaginable to start our meal followed by a very nice Penne pasta whilst enjoying the sunset and evening light in the Piazza del Municipo.
The stunning looking Palazzo Stradivari, below, is perced on both side of the main road through the town and is a classic Venetian Palazzo style from the 16th to 17th century and yes it was the home of the Violin Family.
Looking back at the old town from across the river the castello looks very impressive and dominates the town.
Our apartment was nice and spacious and the cobbled streets were easy to navigate so we clocked up a fair few steps while we were there exploring every nook and cranny.
We photographed the castello in so many ways as it evoked a lot of intersting light play especially in the afternoon light
We also experienced the best cup of coffee we have had on the trip at the Cafe LaRocca the next morning before heading off to our last stop on the trip.
VIGOLENO CASTELLO
On the way to Tabiano Therme we stopped off at Vigoleno for another epic Castello and a bite of lunch. The castle was very interesting as the whole old town is located inside iots walls.
Not a lot to see but still facinating to see the hoistory but the castle church had some amazing wooden statues and some lovely frescos from the 12th century.
