Talking about Felino, we immediately think about the salami, but Felino, settled on the gentle hills of Langhirano (famous for its raw ham), not only boasts this delicacy of the Italian gastronomy but also a splendid and stern castle.

The castle towers above the town and the dale where the torrent Baganza flows.
It is an imposing building, now completely restored.

The interior, except the inner court, is now the seat of a restaurant and of the Museo del Salame and cannot be visited.
The castle can however be admired walking along its walls.

A short history:
The first mentions date back to 870, and probably it was the seat of a castrum (Curtis felini) according to a Louis II’s document of and to a Lothair’s letter.
The first certain documentation dates back to 1140.
Frederick Barbarossa granted the fief to the Ruggeri family, and then the fief passed to the Rossi family (the maker of the present structure) until 1483, when it was taken over by the Sforza, who hold it up to the French rule.
In 1612 it entered the Ducky of Parma, losing the features of a defensive castle and becoming a simple residence of the gentries involved with the ducal court.
The castle went through a period of decadence lasted until the early 1900: it was then described as a “heap of ruins, shelter of bats, owls and rats”.
Around 1935 the owners began the restoration to covert it in a restaurant.

For more info:
Castello_di_Felino