Castles of the Duchy

The Associazione dei Castelli del Ducato di Parma e Piacenza was established on 27 May 1999. At its inception, the association, which enjoyed the patronage of the provinces of Parma and Piacenza, included 14 founding castles, along with some supporting members.^[2] Some of the castles joining the new association came from the Castelli della Bassa Parmense circuit, established in 1996, and the Associazione dei Castelli Aperti di Piacenza, founded in 1998.^[2]

Since the association’s establishment, the number of associated castles and annual visitors has grown steadily: in 2000, annual admissions were around 300,000, rising to over 500,000 in 2003;^[3] regarding the number of members, in 2004, there were 19 associated castles (11 in the province of Parma and 8 in the province of Piacenza).^[3]

Starting from 1 January 2018, following an agreement formalized in November 2017, the municipality of Pontremoli, home to the Castello del Piagnaro [it], located in the province of Massa-Carrara but bordering the province of Parma, joined the circuit, which consequently changed its name to Associazione dei Castelli del Ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Pontremoli.^[4]

Between 2019 and 2022, several castles and palaces in the province of Reggio Emilia joined the association, including the Rocca dei Boiardo [it] in Scandiano,^[5] the Torre di Rossenella [it] in Canossa,^[6] the Ducal Palace in Guastalla,^[7] and the historic village and rocchetta of Castellarano.^[8]

In November 2019, Villa Medici del Vascello [it], a noble building located in the municipality of San Giovanni in Croce in the province of Cremona, joined the association, becoming the first Cremonese structure to be part of the circuit.^[9] In January 2022, the second Cremonese member joined the association, the municipality of Casalmaggiore, with its Bijou Museum.^[10]

In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, the annual number of visitors to the castles in the circuit was approximately 600,000.^[11]

The association, headquartered at the Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato, in the province of Parma,^[3] is a thematic product club recognized by the Emilia-Romagna region, comprising legal and physical persons who own, or have the right to manage, a castle within the association’s territory that is open to the public, in good condition, and of significant artistic and historical value.^[2] Alongside ordinary members, there are supporting members who, while sharing the association’s goals, do not meet the requirements to be ordinary members; they do not have voting rights or the ability to hold office and may include public entities, restaurants, and accommodation facilities.^[2]

The circuit aims to achieve two objectives: the promotion and enhancement of the territory, its historical events, art, and gastronomy, and the provision of technical, administrative, and bureaucratic assistance to members to improve the quality of services offered to the public.^[2] Additionally, the circuit works to create synergies in promoting the various associated castles and the territory, to increase the average stay of tourist flows by offering proposals involving the entire circuit rather than individual buildings, and to destagger tourist flows by integrating castles with other forms of tourism such as gastronomy, cycling, art cities, and wellness.^[2]

• Province of Parma
• Province of Piacenza