We open this special with four options and we propose to you some splendid images of the castle mailed by Mr. Giuseppe Vicari.

From the hills the castle towers above the dale of the torrent Parma.
The imposing castle can’t pass unnoticed if you drive along the provincial road from Parma to Langhirano and back.
Considered as one of the Italian best preserved castles, it mixes medieval and Renaissance art features.

A word of advice:
if you go to Torrechiara make a stop at the “Cantina del Borgo” to taste the excellent wines

and a curiosity:
Torrechiara, together with other medieval villages of the Ducky, served as location for the film “Ladyhawke”.

A short history:
Built between 1448 and 1460by Pier Maria II de’ Rossi, allied to the Visconti.
After the death of Pier Maria II, the property was transferred many times until 1911. It became a national monument and passed under the trusteeship of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali.
Damaged during the earthquake of 2008, it was completely restored and reopened to visitors.

And a bit of gossip:
Pier Maria II de’ Rossi (at San Secondo Parmense there is the family Rossi castle), for alliance reasons, when he was 15th married Antonia Torelli, the daughter of the Montechiarugiolo lord.
However, when he was in Milan for his education, he fell in love with Bianca Pellegrini, lady-in-waiting of the Visconti duchess.
They became lovers, and to bring Bianca nearer, he ordered the Roccabianca castle to be built and afterward also the Torrechiara castle.

For more info:
Torrechiara - 2/2
wikipedia: Castello_di_Torrechiara

Thank to Mr. Giuseppe Vicari for the beautiful photographs