At the border between the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia, the castle of Montechiarugolo rises up in all its majesty.
It is placed on a natural terracing on the left of the Enza stream and from this position derives its name (Monticulus Rivoli).
Built on the ruin of a thirteenth-century core, it shows its fifteenth-century defensive structure, with 1.72 ft thick walls.

A short history:
The ancient settlement was destroyed in 1313 and rebuilt at the beginning of 1400 by the condottiere Guido Torelli.
During the 1500 it hosted important figures and the classical scholar Pomponio Torelli revived its splendor.
In 1612 Pio, the Pomponio’s son, was beheaded because he was charged of conspiracy against the Farnese.
After Pio’s death, the castle passed to the Ducal Chamber and the castle began to decay and was despoiled of its fittings, paintings…
The despoliation was total: even Napoleon could not take anything.
Then property of the Italian State, in 1867 it was acquired by a Parma family who brought back the castle to its former splendors and still maintains this heritage.

...and now a bit of fantasy:
As all the castles worthy of that name, also the castle of Montechiarugolo has its ghost.
It is the ghost of the fairy Bema, a beautiful and gentle girl lover of Pio Torelli.
Legend has that every year on the 19 of May, the day when Pio was beheaded, the ghost wanders around the rooms of the castle looking for her beloved.

For more info:
castello di montechiarugolo
wikipedia: Castello di Montechiarugolo
www.parmawelcome.it/en: the ghost of montechiarugolo