Torrechiara, view from the XV century castle • Zoom •

Torrechiara, a fortified settlement placed to protect the Parma Valley, situated on the first undulating hills, stands out owing to the charming castle mole, at the foot of which are a small urban settlement and a Benedictine monastery. This large construction was erected by Pier Maria Rossi between 1448 and 1460 within the vast fortifications of its own feudal state. The fortress is of a traditional layout, with a central court, angular towers and keep, and represents the peak of success of the Parma building tradition in the fifteenth century. It became the model for many other castle settlements where the military requirements were combined with the stately court residence.

At the start of the XVI century, the fortress ceased to have any military purpose and was used as a residence only. During the XVII century, the property passed over to the Roman Sforza Cesarini family, who designated it as the seat of the administration of property and habitations. In 1909 the castle, having been completely stripped of its furnishings, became the property of the Italian State.

Considered one of the most important Italian examples of military architecture of the fifteenth century, the fortress, surrounded by three ringed walls which were originally crenellated, is quadrangular in shape, with a central courtyard and four corner towers. The two parts which face the valley are completed by elegant open galleries constructed in the sixteenth century. The appartment on the noble floor is decorated with a cycle of frescoes of considerable importance, to a large extent characterised by representations of scenery and "grotesque" images, being executed by the Bolognese painter Cesare Baglione approximately half way through the XVI century. The famous Camera d'Oro (Golden Chamber) is to be found in the South East tower, which was thus named due to the brilliance which radiates from the wall decorations. Carried out by Benedetto Bembo between 1460 and 1463, it symbolically celebrates the love between Pier Maria Rossi and Bianca Pellegrini da Arluno.