SHARRYLAND
The castle of Torrechiara, among the most beautiful in Italy
Set on a hill, by vineyards and rich in frescoes, the castle of Torrechiara dominates the Parma valley
Where is
What is it and where is the castle of Torrechiara
The castle, which originated as both a fortification and a stately home, is bordered by two moats and surrounded by a double curtain wall, within which is included the small and delightful village, two streets of small stone houses and the small Romanesque church of San Lorenzo. The castle is reached through a tower gate and a ravelin, has four square corner towers with the keep much higher, and is built around a square cour tyard , the courtyard of honor, which has a porticoed side on the first floor and a loggia above.
Why it is special: the medieval and Renaissance frescoes
The interior is wonderfully frescoed by Benedetto Bembo, a painter with a still Gothic flavor, and by Cesare Baglione and Antonio Paganino, late Renaissance painters . On the ground floor we find three rooms used for the activities of the women of the house, splendid that of the Pergola, with creepers clinging to intertwined reeds populated by dozens of birds. On the second floor we find the beautiful Hall of Jugglers, all decorated with grotesques with acrobats on lions forming a pyramid. Then follow the four rooms dedicated to the passage of the day where one is completely immersed in an imaginary landscape of ruins and scenes of hunting and fishing. They are distinguished by the color of the sky at the four moments, aurora, noon, vesper and night.
The Golden Chamber
The real treasure of this castle, however, is the Camera d'Oro (Golden Chamber), frescoed by Bembo, which owes its name to the terracotta tiles once laminated with gold, some of which depict two hearts placed side by side. The room is a true celebration of courtly love; in the vaults is depicted a maiden wandering from castle to castle in search of her beloved until she is reunited with him.
Trivia: the maiden in the frescoes and the maiden in the movies.
According to tradition, the castle was built on the ruins of an ancient fortress by Pier Maria Rossi, count of San Secondo, between 1448 and 1460 to house his lover, Bianca Pellegrini, lady-in-waiting to Bianca Maria Visconti, and it is she who is depicted here wandering among castles that were really the count's property at the time. From the late 16th century, however, are the other rooms, those frescoed by Baglione and Paganino. In 1984 some scenes from the film Ladyhawke were filmed there.
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