Wonderful
center in the parmense land, Fontanellato takes its name from
the ancient place-name “Fontana Lata” which is a reference to
the abundant water resources and characteristic “risorgive”
(natural springs) of area lying between the uplands and lowlands
of the Po Valley.
The Story of Fontanellato
Fontanellato was inhabited from the Bronze age onwards (1800 BC), as
documented by Luigi Pigorini, citizen of Fontanellato, who in 1888
discovered a lake-dwelling settlement.
After 1000 AD, Fontanellato gradually began to develop, and from the
primitive castle to its modern-day configuration it expanded without
suffering any major upheavals. In fact during the twentieth century
the town developed away from the original city, with the old center
protected by the outer city walls with a wide moat running around
the perimeter. Today, the main through roads of the town pass by
this moat and the town's current configuration is based on its
late-Medieval plan.
The castle was founded in 1124 when the Pallavicino family built the first
defence tower (the present-day square tower). In 1386, after various
changes in ownership, the castle was handed over to the Sanvitale
family from the Dukes of Milan, the Visconti, who invested the
Sanvitale family as Counts of Fontanellato.
In the early 15th century, Count Gilberto II Sanvitale carried out
work, which was completed in the 16th century, with the first floor
being transformed into the piano nobile, and other parts being
changed.
At the end of the 16th century, the Rocca was permanently changed
from a military fortress into a residential seat and became one of
the most enlightened minor courts in the Po Valley area during the
Renaissance. The castle then became a civilian residence in the 18th
century where the family continued to live.
The history of the town and the Rocca is linked to the Sanvitale
family, who were the feudatories and remained in Fontanellato up
until 1948 when the last Count, Giovanni, sold the Castle to the
town and under him the Fontanellato branch of the family was
extinguished.
The Castle, which the Sanvitale family wanted to be known as the
“Fortress” (Rocca), is surrounded by a wide moat. The Castle has a
square plan with four corner towers (three round towers and one
square tower). Up until the late 18th century, a drawbridge led into
the castle and this was replaced in the early 19th century by the
brick bridge which stands today.
The 15th century stables opposite the castle and
now privately owned, were once a part of the castle, along with the
large park which extends to the banks that run around the town.
Let's go into the Castle. On the piano nobile, the charm of the
rooms has remained intact for more than five centuries. Our visit
shall begin with the “Hall Arms” (Sala delle Armi), moving on to the
“Dining Room” (Sala da Pranzo), with two, still life paintings by
Felice Boselli (1686) and a collection of ceramics dating from the
16th, 17th and 18th centuries adorning it, the “Billiard Room” (Sala
da Biliardo), with its 15th century terracotta floor and early 16th
century beamed ceiling, to the “Reception Room” (Sala da Ricevimento”
with a Baroque harpsichord (late 17th century), Louis XV and Louis
XVI period gilt furniture and the “Bridal Room” (Camera Nuziale”
with its impressive carved walnut panelled ceiling dating from 1620.
Lastly, there is the “Ancestors' Gallery” (Galleria degli Antenati),
with portraits of the Sanvitale Family arranged on the walls in
chronological order.
The tour continues in the roof garden on the
ramparts of the southern side of the castle, where inside the corner
tower is the “Optical Chambe” (Camera Ottica). Here an ingenious
system of lenses reflections on two concave surfaces of views of the
town's piazza and the parvis of the Church of Santa Croce,
with their daily to-ings and fro-ings.
On the ground floor is the
Renaissance quarter, with the “Small Hall” (Camerino) (as it was
called in first documents) of Diana and Actaeon, frescoed by
Parmigianino and the “Art Gallery” (Pinacoteca) housing works dating
from the 18 and 19 centuries relating to the history of the family,
along with maps of the area which bear witness to the once thriving
estate.
The "Camerino di Diana e Atteone", Parmigianino's masterpiece
The painter Francesco Mazzola, called il Parmigianino and genius of
Mannerism, was born in Parma in 1503 and died at Casalmaggiore at
the early age of 37. Fontanellato consecrated the genius of this
young artist, with Count Galeazzo summoning Parmigianino in 1523,
who was just 20 at the time, to fresco a room which dark and hidden
away, yet of great importance for the culture and history of the
family, and which has since become a mesterpiece in the history of
Italian art.
The fresco takes its theme from the myth of Diana who transforms
Actaeon into a stag after he has spied on her bathing naked. The
tale develops as a sort of natural theatre, the ceiling frescoed
with a green arbour and masks, revealing glimpses of sky, and an
open sky with round mirror in the middle with the words “Respice
finem” (Look to the end). On three of the four walls, above the
verses from Ovid's Metamorphosis which narrate the tale, the scenes
are depicted. From the hunt in the woods, to the meeting with the
Goddess who is bathing in the holy lake and who splashes Actaeon, up
to the terrible scene of Actaeon as a stag who is savaged by his own
dogs.
On the fourth wall a charming, female figure depicts Paola Gonzaga,
wife of Count Galeazzo, who holds the symbols of life and sacrifice
in her hands: ears of corn and a vessel for wine. Was the scene
actually depicting the Countess bathing, dedicated to her with
nuptial passion? Was is a study of the Count? Or a tribute to
alchemy – a passion of Parmigianino – as perhaps the purifying
elements of water and other natural elements suggest? Or perhaps the
inscription to the goddess for the cruelty of her punishment is an
invocation to the grave losses suffered by the family in those
times? Experts have dedicated many pages to these uncertainties,
which contribute to the delight and wonder of everyone who sees this
magical room for themselves.
The young Parmigianino took the great work of
Antonio Allegri, il Correggio, as his model, reinterpreting and
personalisng the style.
His quest for grace and feminine beauty led him to create flawlessly
elegant and formally perfect works, as can be seen in the human and
animal forms, such as the greyhounds silhoutted against the natural
backgrounds tinged with the hues of a sunset in the Po valley.
Commenting on Parmigianino, Vasari notes (from as early a date as
1568) that “among many gifted with the delightful skill of
drawing and...of a particular manner of painting...none come before,
in fact all others come after Francesco Mazzuoli, from Parma...”
Getting to Fontanellato: A1 Motorway (Autostrada del Sole): from
Bologna, exit at "Parma Ovest", from Milan exit at "Fidenza"; A15
Motorway (Autostrada della Cisa) exit at "Parma Ovest".
