The Castle of Gropparello, which in ancient documents appears as Rocca di Cagnano, is an extraordinary example of medieval fortification work placed to defend the access road to a valley, perched like an eagle's nest on a steep cliff, therefore unassailable. ​Even today, looking at its majestic walls from the bottom of the walkways, one wonders with wonder which and how many men could have built such an ingenious work, which is unique in this area. ​
Most likely the Church of Piacenza, which was in possession of it in the centuries around the year 1000, hired foreign workers, as often happened, who were more practical in building on rock (perhaps Normans?).
The oldest known document on Gropparello dates back to 808, the year in which – according to the sixteenth-century canon Pier Maria Campi – the bishop of Piacenza Giuliano II went on the back of a mule to Aachen to ask the emperor ​Charlemagne, with whom he was friends, to grant a fief that went from Sariano to the royal court of Gusano, thus including ​the Cagnano Castle, which turns out to be one of the oldest in the area, and perhaps in Italy. ​
Recent studies are showing that the first stone nucleus was already well extended around 1200. ​Its putlog holes, perfectly preserved especially on the sides suspended over the void of the overhang, can still show us today the height of the masons who built these walls.
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It is believed that the Carolingian era fortification was built on a pre-existing Roman construction, perhaps a simple watchtower or a ​"castrum" from the imperial age placed to defend the road to Veleja. ​Some interesting finds discovered in the twentieth century during renovation works, as well as the name Cagnano itself, deriving from the Latin name of a Roman family, support this hypothesis.
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At the time of the struggles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the castle, obviously Guelph because it belonged to the bishop, was attacked on several occasions by the Ghibelline forces. ​Still in the 1400s the Guelph family that owned it retreated to Gropparello to escape the attacks of the Visconti forces, because since the castle had been the bishop's residence for many centuries, the soldiers reluctantly attacked it, almost feeling they were committing a sacrilege.
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It was precisely at the end of the 1200s that Gropparello became a private residence of the powerful Guelph family of the Fulgosio, by bequest of the then bishop of Piacenza ​Filippo Fulgosio. ​
Filippo had been a very long-lived and influential bishop, who had also twice held the office of ​Podestà of the city of Piacenza. ​
He certainly endowed his family with various assets before he died in the city of Milan where he was traveling, and was finally buried in Sant'Eustorgio, where he still rests.
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At the time of the Duchy of the Sforza, the Fulgosio family was expropriated from the castle - or forced to sell it - in favor of Galluccio Campofregoso, an ally of Duke Francesco Sforza. ​But this overbearing lordship did not last at all, and there were several changes of ownership for more than a century. ​
In 1544, Paul III invested his nephew Sforza Sforza, son of Bosio II of Santa Fiora and Costanza Sforza (the Pope's daughter), already marquess of Castell'Arquato, with the fief of Cagnano (along with other fiefdoms).
The chronicles do not report any other changes until 1599. ​
In 1599 Ranuccio I Farnese, lord of Parma and Piacenza, came into possession of the fief of Gropparello, and invested it with the hereditary title of ​"Count of Gropparello" Marcantonio Anguissola, his lieutenant and confidant, former governor of the Val di Taro ​and who had held various positions as ambassador on behalf of the Farnese, together with his father-in-law Alessandro Anguissola, one of the Magnificents of the city of Piacenza. ​We don't know much about Marcantonio, but he must have been a man of exceptional qualities. ​He distinguished himself through prestigious assignments and marked loyalty, which earned him the honor not only of the castle and the title of count, but also of the Farnese lily that only the Anguissola of Gropparello have had. ​
In 1848, with the death of Gaetano Anguissola, this branch of the family died out. ​The castle was put up for sale along with other properties, and went through a period of decline in which it was also used, as unfortunately often happened, as a rural building.
Fortunately, it was purchased in ​1869 by Count Ludovico Marazzani Visconti ​Terzi, (belonging to a branch of the family that owned Grazzano Visconti), who commissioned a famous Piacenza architect of the time, ​Camillo Guidotti, to completely restore the ancient building. ​Count Ludovico was a lover of national history, that is, probably a romantic intellectual fascinated by the ideals of beauty and passion for history and untamed nature that was spreading in that last quarter of a century. ​Gropparello embraced the most fantastic romantic dreams, with its ancient and mysterious walls, its secret gardens, its miraculously preserved drawbridges, the wild and vast cliff that opens a glimpse of the boundless horizon... And even ancient vestiges of Celtic populations, still visible. ​
At this time, the patrol walkways were recovered. No longer protected by the old wooden palisades, they now offered a view of the dizzying cliff and stormy nature. ​Even today, after two hours of walking along the paths and walkways, you will come across stone benches placed in carefully chosen corners. These benches have the power to reconnect the mind and body with the ancestral energies of nature, if only you pause to contemplate the spectacle. ​It is truly not surprising that this small and ancient castle has seen some of the most noble families pass through. ​Perhaps its rooms were not the size of palaces, but certainly the intimate atmosphere of its places and the overwhelming spectacle that can be enjoyed from every perspective make it the secret and private dream that many nobles, including the most powerful queens in history, tried to create for themselves. ​The Hermitage of Catherine, Canossa for Matilde, Le Petit Trianon for Marie Antoinette... All these powerful and cultured ladies wanted a private space in which to be alone, to dream... Collecting flowers, works of art, unique creations that ordinary mortals could not even imagine. ​Gropparello is much more generous, however, and the spectacle of its cliffs covered with rare plants remained hidden to those who came from afar, but was clearly visible to the local population, who knew and loved the castle deeply and handed down its mysteries and legends, such as the story of Rosania Fulgosio. ​
With the 1900s, the castle passed into the hands of various owners, and, after a brief period of abandonment that lasted about 15 years, it was purchased in 1994 by the Gibelli family of Milan, who immediately made it their home, also promoting numerous initiatives so that all those who love history and art can enjoy the fact that a building of this importance and beauty comes back to life.
Gropparello is still a living, pulsating place, dripping with secrets. ​Studies on its history and its walls are still ongoing. ​We share them every day through passionate guided tours and beautiful initiatives for adults and children of all ages. ​
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