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Castell’arquato view. Author Icco80. WIKIMEDIA

Top 10 Facts about Castell’Arquato

Castell’Arquato is an Italian town Located on the first hills of Val D’Ard in the province of Piecenza.

This is a well-preserved town that can amaze visitors with its art, nature and typical products. The streets of this town are built on terracing filled with fossils.

Castell’Arquato rises in the middle of nature with its towers, its bell towers and its castellated walls.

1. The Origins of this City are Uncertain

The city is believed to have originated as a Roman military Settlement. This was during the Roman Imperial Era. The city developed into a small rural town.

However, the first historical news about Castell’Arquato is known as La Pieve. It appears in the 8th century. Castle seems to have developed from a noble and powerful lord named Magnus.

He built a squared-based castle and a church. At that time Castell’Arquato had an agricultural organisation (Curtis), military (Castrum), the Justice Administration (Curia) and the Religious Administration (Pieve).

 However, before his death, he gave out the town to the bishop of Piacenza. The bishop had the right of direct taxation throughout the territory of the city. This was on all men nobiles, burgenses, lords with houses and lands in the area and on the clerics of Santa Maria.

The city later belonged to the Scotti, Visconti and Sforza landlords. finally, it was handed over to Parma’s Camera Ducale.

2. The Visconti Castle is One of the most Visited Locations in this Town

Visconti Castle. Author Civvì.

Rocca Viscontea or the Visconti castle is one of the most visited locations in town. It was built on the site of a previous fortification by Luchino Visconti in the 14th century. This was after his family acquired Castell’Arquato.

The Rocca has an L-Shape. It consists of two separate parts. On the lower level, a rectangular enclosure is arranged. A smaller section, also rectangular but higher, is placed perpendicular to the first.

These two enclosures have quadrangular towers located at each angle. Rocca Viscontea faces Castell’Arquato civic square. The castle is still in its original Condition.

 3. Feast your Eyes on the Beautiful Design of Palazzo del Podestà

Palazzo del Podestà in Castell’Arquato. Author Giorces. WIKIMEDIA

Palazzo del Podestà in Castell’Arquato is an ancient monument and historic building. It is one of the oldest and most important monuments of Castell’Arquato.

Palazzo del Podestà was first built in 1292. It then underwent continuous changes. Towards the middle of the 15th century, two advanced bodies and a wing facing the square were built. The external staircase already existed at the end of the 13th century but the parapet and the body were added to it.

It has a beautiful design. The three floors were built with vast deep pointed arches. The northern walls house two large clocks. Inside, the great council room with its coffered ceiling and decoration has remained almost intact.

 The Palace had multifunctional functions. It was used for handling administrative and justice activities. Second, it was the seat of municipal buildings.

 4. Visit Farnese Tower which is Square in Shape with Four Bulwarks at the Corners

Torrione Farnese is the Farnese tower in Castell’Arquato. The building has the original character of sixteenth-century military constructions.

 It is almost square with four bulwarks at the corners. They are five floors, the last of which is formed by an elliptical room surrounded by the loggia.

It remains one of the most attractive and mysterious buildings, with its alleged secret passages of Castell’Arquato.

5. The Geological Museum has a Permanent Display of Fossils Found in the Surrounding Area

The museum is located in Santo Spirio Hospital. The Museum exhibited rich collections of fossils, gathered in the 19th and early 2Oth centuries, around the Piacenza province.

The collections of marine fossils, molluscs, sea-urchins, crustaceans and corals became much richer over the years. The museum has three rooms for its display.

 The first room displays an introduction to palaeontology. Showing meaningful fossils of the various geological periods from any part of the world.

The second room displays Fossils of the local Pliocene. In this room, visitors get a chance to see the remains of cetaceans ( Whales)

Remains of Quaternary Fauna and Vertebrates can be viewed in the third room. Moreover, The visit to the Museum can be accompanied by other activities such as excursions on the river banks, to the Badlands.

Additionally, the museum offers a guided path which is created for partially-sighted people. They can touch copies of fossils from the Museum to study their shape.

6. Go Through the Various Librettos in the Luigi Illica Museum

The museum was opened in July 1998. Dedicated to the poet and playwright, Luigi Illica. He was a citizen of Castell’Arquato.

The museum also contains his famous librettos. He wrote 37 librettos. Such as Tosca, Madame Butterfly and many more.

It is made of three rooms. The first one displays all the information about Illica’s biography,

In the second one, there are two sections: one dedicated to drama, the other one to Illica’s librettist activity.

7. Visit the Beautiful Roman Style collegiate church of Saint Mary

Collegiata di Castell’Arquato. Author Mongolo1984. WIKIMEDIA

The Collegiata di Castell’Arquato is also known as the Collegiata di Santa Maria. It is a Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church located in the Castell’Arquato.

The collegiate church of Saint Mary was first built in the 8th century. However, after a massive earthquake, it had to be completely rebuilt on the 12th. The most noteworthy aspect of the church is its Romanesque paradise portico, dating back to the 14th century.

The church’s four apses and its 13th-century cloister are also quite beautiful. Within the church are several sculptures from the 12th century and beautiful frescoes.

8. Explore the Museum of Sacred Art in the Collegiale church of Castell’Arquato

The museum was established in 1932. The small museum is rich in history and art. Mostly, the works of art presented are from the Collegiate Church.

Visitors get a chance to see the silverware and furnishings, including an Ambrosian cross in silver chiselled by Bartolomeo Zucconi (1540).

They are various fabrics such as the refined 13th century Byzantine frontal and the cope of white silk of the fifteenth century. Moreover, visitors discover furniture, codices, parchment documents from 1120 and antiphonaries of the sixteenth-seventeenth century placed in the rooms adjacent to the cloister.

In the picture gallery, there are detached frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries. A poly pitch with gold background from the early 15th century.

The museum also has various paintings by Spada, Spolverini, Magnasco, Landi, and Stern. The collection also preserves Roman finds from the area and architectural fragments from various eras. The Museum contains the famous cape of Pope Paul III Farnese donated in 1543.

9. The Two Gates which are the original entry Gates into the Town

In 1342 the Duke of Milan Azzo Visconti built a sturdy city wall around Castell’Arquato. The wall was one of the interventions to strengthen the autonomy and defence of the village.

However, today not much remains except the two of the four original gates. The front one facing north remains in the lower part of the town called Monteguzzo. It was heavily remodelled in the seventeenth century.

The gate of Monteguzzo was the access to the district of the same name. Its drawbridge rested on the Rio Oriolo.

Despite the alterations in the seventeenth century, the large round-vaulted structure, incorporated into the Guerra house, is still visible. The gate was built in sandstone blocks.

Furthermore, The Porta di Sasso or Sotana is well reserved. The gate construction is in stone and brick. On the outside, it has around the arch. On the inside, it has a lowered arch.

Moreover, the gate has five dovetail battlements. Symbol of the Ghibellines. Consolidation of the adjacent land is still underway. The Porta Soprana also included the walls. It was equipped with a drawbridge

10. Enjoy the Excellent Wines and Culinary of this City

ortrugo of the Piacenza hills wine. Author Andreag19982002.

Castell’Arquato is also in the area of the Colli Piacentini (Piacenza Hills). This is an important area for wine production. The most important wines produced in the Colli Piacentini are Gutturnio, Bonarda, Ortrugo, Malvasia, and Monterosso Val d’Arda.

Castell’Arquato boasts an ancient culinary tradition. You will find cooking expects for your dish. Cooking is an art that is handed down from generation to generation in various restaurants and trattorias.

 There are several dishes that you can taste. The traditional first courses (pisarei or anolini in broth). Enjoy the succulent second courses and the fantastic desserts. Cuisine originates from ancient medieval cuisine and is enriched through typical peasant cuisine.