The Visconti Rocca of Castell'Arquato is a Rocca in the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

town of

Castell'Arquato Castell'Arquato (; Piacentino (dialect), Piacentino: or ) is an Italian town located on the first hills of Val D’Arda in the province of Piacenza, in Emilia-Romagna, approximately from Piacenza and from Parma. Places nearby include Bacedasco ...

Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 million. Emilia-Romagna is one of ...

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 ...

. It was erected on the site of a previous fortification by

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

in the 14th century after

his family ''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918. Plot introduction ''His Family'' tells the story ...

acquired Castell'Arquato.

History

A fortress probably existed in Castell'Arquato already in the 8th century as a belonging of the bishop of

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

. In the following centuries, its owner changed several times. It belonged to the imperial authority, the local Commune, and the Piacenza Commune. At the beginning of the 14th century, it was under the lordship of Alberto Scoto. In 1316,

Galeazzo I Visconti Galeazzo I Visconti (21 January 1277 – 6 August 1328) was lord of Milan from 1322 to 1327. After being chosen Captain of Milan, he defeated two papal armies and was excommunicated by Pope John XXII. Temporarily imprisoned for murder, Galeazzo re ...

took control of Piacenza's territory and, therefore, also of Castell'Arquato. He lost Piacenza in 1322, when, after the uprising promoted by Obizzo Landi and supported by the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, Castell'Arquato was handed over again to the Piacenza Commune. Later, the Visconti returned to Castell'Arquato with

Azzone Azzone (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 458 and an area of .All dem ...

, who built the town walls. One of its doors towards the valley (the 'Porta di Sasso') still exists today. Luchino Visconti probably initiated the Rocca in 1342 and completed it in 1347.

Description

The Rocca has an L-shape, a plan unique in the Piacenza area. It consists of two separate parts. A rectangular is on the lower level of the steeply sloping ground. A smaller and higher enclosure is placed perpendicular to the first. The two enclosures have quadrangular towers at each corner, oriented along the four cardinal points. The

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

, tall, is the only tower completed with four walls and interior rooms on its floors, while the others lack a wall on the side internal to the Rocca. The keep faces the Castell'Arquato civic square, surrounded on two different sides by the

apses In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In Byzanti ...

of the romanesque

collegiate Collegiate may refer to: * College * Webster's Dictionary, a dictionary with editions referred to as a "Collegiate" * ''Collegiate'' (1926 film), 1926 American silent film directed by Del Andrews * ''Collegiate'' (1936 film), 1936 American musi ...

and the Palazzo del Podestà.

References

Sources

* *

External links

portale di Castell'Arquato, città d'arte – La Rocca di Castell'Arquato''

Castelli del Ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Pontremoli – Rocca Viscontea di Castell'Arquato''
{{Visconti of Milan Castles in Emilia-Romagna