Castello di Contignaco

Contignaco Castle was built around the 11th century by Adalberto Pallavicino. In 1315 it was conquered by the Aldighieri of Parma.
The castle is open for visits on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and all public holidays. On other days, visits can be made by appointment.
The winery located in the Castle has been producing wines using ancient methods for three generations. The wines of Contignaco can be purchased inside the fortress.
The Castle regularly hosts various types of events, including aperitifs with wine and food tastings, temporary exhibitions, concerts, medieval falconry demonstrations, weddings, receptions, dinners and conferences.

A bit of History

Contignaco Castle was built around the 11th century by Adalberto Pallavicino. It appears that the main tower, over 30 metres high and still well preserved today, dates back to the year 1030.
In 1315 the castle was conquered, after violent clashes, by the Aldighieri of Parma in order to control some salt pans (the water from the Salsomaggiore spa was used in the past for salt production).
The Aldighieri of Parma (later called 'di Contignaco' or 'di Val di Pado') belonged to the same family from which Dante Alighieri descended.

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Legend has it that Dante himself, during the years of his exile, stayed at the manor. The
castle remained in the hands of the Aldighieri family until 1537, the year in which the feud was assigned by the Ducal Chamber of Milan to the Sforza-Pallavicino family; it later passed to the Terzi di Sissa and then to the Farnese family.
In 1762 Don Filippo di Borbone sold the Castle to the Ponticelli
marquises, who held it until 1834. The fief was then acquired by Captain Alberto Leva, then passed to the Boschi family and in particular to Maria Boschi, who married Cav. Luigi Vicini. The property was then passed on to the latter's heirs.
Around the Castle we can admire splendid specimens of oaks ("Quercus Robur L."), cedars ("Cedrus Libanotica Lk."), cypresses ("Cupressus Sempervirens L."), laurels ("Laurus Nobilis L."); the over-thousand-year-old oak, with a trunk more than two metres in diameter, at the entrance to the manor house is
remarkable.

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Legends & Ghost Stories

Dante Alighieri and Contignaco
The Aldighieri family, related to the Tuscan Alighieri family, were lords of the Castle for more than two centuries (1315-1537), leading to the supposition that the Supreme Poet stayed at the Castle during the last period of his life.
Dante's link with these lands has been reaffirmed following the recent re-examination of an illuminated codex of the 'Commedia', now preserved in the National
Library of Naples, containing one of the best copies of the work among those in existence.

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The manuscript, dating back to 1411, was written by the copyist Giovanni de' Gambis, a cleric originally from Borgo San Donnino, today's Fidenza, near Salsomaggiore.

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