The Rocca Sanvitale, or Sanvitale Castle, is a fortress residence in the centre of the town of Fontanellato, near

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. Construction of the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

ed block, accessible through a drawbridge, was begun in the 13th century, mostly completed by the 15th century, with embellishments continuing through to the 18th century. It is prototypical of the urban castle-houses of the turbulent

medieval commune Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. C ...

s of Northern Italy. Until the 1930s it was the home of the descendants of the Count of Sanvitale. left, Parmigianino Fresco The crenelated walls and asymmetric towers are surrounded by an arcaded town. Adjacent to the castle are gardens and a courtyard. The optical chamber (''camera ottica'') has an optical system that projects to an inside wall a view of the town through mirrors and a prism. Rocca Sanvitale is now partly a museum and partly offices and conference hall for the town administration. Inside are the frescoes of ''Diane and Acteon'' painted in 1523–24 by

Parmigianino Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (11 January 150324 August 1540), also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino (, , ; "the little one from Parma"), was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, ...

for the Count Galeazzo Sanvitale and his wife, Paola Gonzaga.

Sources

* Sanvitale Buildings and structures in the Province of Parma Gothic architecture in Emilia-Romagna Museums in Emilia-Romagna {{italy-museum-stub