Busseto - Busseto

Busseto
Rocca Pallavicino now the Town Hall
StateItaly
RegionEmilia Romagna
TerritoryParma
Altitude40 m a.s.l.
Surface76.44 km²
Inhabitants7.054 (2015)
Name inhabitantsBussetani
Prefix tel 39 0524
POSTAL CODE43011
Time zone UTC 1
PatronBartholomew the Apostle (24 August)
Position
Map of Italy
Reddot.svg
Busseto
Institutional website

Busseto is a city ofEmilia Romagna.

To know

It has a past of about five hundred years as the capital of Pallavicino state, but his notoriety is linked to Giuseppe Verdi, the Swan of Busseto who was born here in a house that can now be visited in Roncole Verdi, a fraction of its territory. It was awarded the orange flag by the Italian Touring Club.

Geographical notes

It is located in the lower Parma area of ​​the Po valley in the Fidentine area. It is 16 km away. from Fidenza, 24 km. from Cremona, 40 from Parma, 42 from Casalmaggiore, 44 from Piacenza.

Background

The powerful Pallavicino family has characterized a long period of Busseto's history. In fact, the Pallavicinos were lords of it from the tenth to the sixteenth century, that is, until the Farnese appropriated it, at the time of the creation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza.

The period of greatest splendor for Busseto was the fifteenth century, when the capital of Pallavicino state it had its own statutes; in the following century, in the year 1533, Charles V raised Busseto to the rank of City. The possessions of the Pallavicino family involved a vast area located between the areas of influence of Parma, Piacenza and Cremona, between the Po and the Apennines, where it advanced as far as Varsi.

Its recent history is largely influenced by the cult of Giuseppe Verdi. The city has been able to preserve the so-called Verdian places, the house where he was born in Roncole Verdi, the house where he lived, etc., entering the circuit of Verdi's celebrations, thus creating the basis for a good tourist activity.

Another subject of considerable tourist attraction is the famous Busseto Carnival, characterized by large masked floats that attract thousands of people on the days of the parades.


How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

The territory of Busseto also includes the inhabited centers of Frescarolo, Madonna dei Prati, Roncole Verdi, Samboseto, San Rocco, Sant'Andrea, Semoriva, Spigarolo.

How to get

By plane

Italian traffic signs - verso bianco.svg

By car

On the train

By bus

  • Italian traffic sign - bus stop svg Scheduled coach from Parma - TEP Lines (timetables)


How to get around


What see

  • 1 Rocca Pallavicino, via Roma.
    BUSSETO- Rocca Pallavicino now Town Hall 01.JPG
BUSSETO- Rocca Pallavicino now Town Hall 02.JPG

It was the home of the Pallavicino marquises when Busseto was the capital of their state which embraced a vast area from the bank of the Po to the first centers on the Apennine hills. The thirteenth century was the century of its construction, but it was subsequently rebuilt and remodeled several times, especially in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Purchased by the Municipality, in the nineteenth century it was almost entirely rebuilt by the architect Pier Luigi Montecchini, who rebuilt it in a neo-medieval style. However, parts of the ancient structure remain: the main keep with Ghibelline battlements dovetail; pointed mullioned windows with trefoil arches; single-lancet windows with terracotta tiles from the Cremonese school, more precisely from the workshop of Rinaldo De Stavolis who worked in Cremona in the second half of the fifteenth century. There are late Gothic elements that are already intertwined with aspects of the subsequent Renaissance taste.

The imperial stone eagle of the Pallavicino family that can be seen walled up in the inner courtyard was once on the southern gate of the city walls.

The municipal offices of the city are now housed in the Rocca. A wing of the building houses the Verdi Theater. The imposing building occupies an entire side of the large square in front and closes it scenically. The famous statue of Giuseppe Verdi has been placed in the garden in front of the castle. 

BUSSETO- Collegiate Church of San Bartolomeo Apostolo.JPG
Frescoes by Michelangelo Anselmi
  • 2 Collegiate Church of San Bartolomeo Apostolo, via Roma (in front of the Rocca Pallavicino). Orlando Pallavicino known as the Magnificent had it rebuilt in 1437 on the ruins of the fourteenth-century church of San Nicolò. It overlooks Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, bordered on the two long sides by two rows of arcades and on the opposite side by the Rocca. In the Gothic façade, the Renaissance portal stands out with Lombard-style terracotta decorations, a style that is often encountered in the buildings of Busseto. The decorations were probably the work of the workshop of Jacopo de 'Stavolis of Polesine.
Above the portal a large rose window; the salient façade ends with a gabled roof, on the front of which rise three high pinnacles. A plaque commemorates the meeting between Pope Paul III and Emperor Charles V which took place in Busseto in 1543.
The interior is covered with rococo-style stuccoes and preserves two works by G.B.Draghi: the canvas of theAssunta from 1704 in the first chapel on the right and the fresco on the dome, again with the Assumption theme, in the fourth chapel, where there are also fifteen tondi depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary by Vincenzo Campi of the second half of the sixteenth century. By Michelangelo Anselmi are the imposing figures of the Doctors of the Church, frescoed in the years 1538-39 in the fourth chapel on the left. 
  • 3 Oratory of the Holy Trinity, via Roma. It is adjacent to the Collegiate Church of San Bartolomeo Apostolo. Of eighteenth-century style and layout, it has a carved door from 1794 attributed to the carver Francesco Galli. The interior has eighteenth-century stuccoes and a high quality high altar in plicromi marbles, which has a bas-relief on the back with the coat of arms and figure of the blessed Rolando de 'Medici (1464).
    In the apse there is the masterpiece by Vincenzo Campi, which the artist produced in 1579: The Holy Trinity with Saints Apollonia and Lucia.     
St. Ignatius
  • 4 Church of Sant'Ignazio, via Roma 10. The Jesuit College was founded by Pietro Pettorelli from Busseto in 1617; the same decided the construction of the church incorporated in the same body of the building whose works ended in 1682. The facade is entirely covered by arcades that form part of the building of the College. The central part of the portico corresponding to the entrance of the church has a broken round tympanum at the top which constitutes the facade; the upper part of the church rises behind the portico and ends with a triangular tympanum.
    The interior is in Baroque style, with a single nave with three side chapels on each side; Domenico Dossa and Bernardo Barca are the authors of the stuccos and decorations that completely cover the hall. The frescoes by Giovanni Evangelista Draghi depict Sant'Ignazio, San Luigi Gonzaga, San Francesco Saverio and San Francesco Borgia. Also by Draghi are the six canvases with stucco frames that narrate episodes from the life of Saint Ignatius, founder of the Jesuit Order: conversion, penance, ascetic life, the journey to the Holy Land, the apostolate, miracles. The main altarpiece is the work of Pier Ilario Spolverini and depicts the glory of Saint Ignatius.
    When Ferdinando Borbone expelled the Jesuits from the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza in 1768, the College was converted into a hospital, partly hosting public schools.     
  • 5 Church of Santa Maria Annunciata, piazza Santa Maria. The church is a neoclassical oratory where a dead Christ in leather is kept, which according to tradition arrived in Busseto dragged by the waters following a flood of the Po. Annunciation by Vincenzo Campi from 1581. For lovers of Giuseppe Verdi's life, the oratory is remembered as the church where his parents married at the beginning of the 19th century. 
  • 6 Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, via Roma. It was built by Antonio Rusca from 1679 to 1682 following a project by the architect of Ranuccio II Farnese, Domenico Valphotos. It represents a significant example of Farnese architecture during the Baroque period. It is made up of large porticoes on the ground floor in which were the frescoes by Angelo Massarotti of 1682, subsequently torn and preserved inside the building: Jesus taken down from the cross and the Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew. The Monte di Pietà as an institution was born in Busseto in 1537 by the Franciscans and the Pallavicinos, and operated with charitable and charitable purposes, setting up scholarships, managing a well-stocked library, maintaining a Music School which was also frequented by Giuseppe Verdi, who also benefited from a scholarship that allowed him to study in Milan from 1832 to 1836. Since 2000 the Palace and the Library have been owned by the Cassa di Risparmio di Parma Foundation and Monte di Credito on pledge of Busseto which continues to operate following the original purposes. 
  • 7 Villa Pallavicino (Giuseppe Verdi National Museum), Via Provesi, 35, ☎ 39 0524 931002, fax: 39 0524 930556, @. Ecb copyright.svgAdmission (2013) Full: € 9.00 Reduced: € 7.00 (University students and over 65) Reduced: € 7.00 (Conservatory students) Groups: € 7.00 (min. 10 max. 30 people) School groups : € 4.00 (min. 10 max. 30 people) Children up to 10 years: free Guided tours: By reservation only Groups (min. 10 max. 30 people: € 60.00 reduced ticket € 7.00 School groups (min. . 10 max. 30 students): € 40.00 reduced ticket € 4.00. Simple icon time.svgWinter opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday: 10.00 - 17.30 Summer: Tuesday - Sunday: 10.00 - 18.30.
    Villa Pallavicino - now Verdi Museum
    Villa Pallavicino - now Verdi Museum
    The Villa is located outside the historic center, beyond the layout of the ancient city walls. It is surrounded by a large garden surrounded by a moat. The architectural layout is from the sixteenth century and the construction is attributed to Vignola, according to others to Bramante. Five buildings make up the building, and are communicating with each other by means of passing loggias. The villa is accessed through a Rococo pavilion, at the end of a tree-lined avenue that frames it in perspective. The frescoes in the central body belong to the last years of the sixteenth century, while in the front right body they are by Ilario Spolverini, with stuccoes from the early eighteenth century, while in the one on the left he frescoed G.B.Draghi. The building also has a small chapel with Baroque stucco decorations. Upstairs, with eighteenth-century stuccoes and frescoes by Draghi, leads a staircase that preserves a fine wrought iron railing. The first client of the Villa was, at the beginning of the 16th century, Matteo Marri. Emperor Charles V went there during his passage in Busseto and was admired, so much so that he wanted a drawing. It is in this Villa that in 1543 the Emperor Charles V of Habsburg and Pope Paul III met to discuss the formation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. Alessandro II Pallavicino ordered its renovation and elevation at the end of the seventeenth century. The classical style façade has Rococo stuccoes by Bossi in the following century. The villa houses the Giuseppe Verdi National Museum from 10 October 2009. Arch of the Guard Corps After having crossed an avenue of poplars, a triumphal arch with a fornix gives access to the Villa; the 17th century work can be ascribed to the ducal architect Domenico Valmangini. The arch is decorated with mannerist festoons with a central drapery open like a tetar curtain on a false balustrade. The stuccos and terracottas are the work of Domenico Dossa and Bernardo Barca. On the sides there are two niches with stone statues, representing a Flora with a putto, an allegory of spring, the other Bacchus with a faun, an allegory of autumn, by Giuseppe Torretti.     
  • 8 Barezzi House, via Roma 119, ☎ 39 0524 931117, @. Ecb copyright.svgFull 4.00 euros; schools 2.00 euros per person. Simple icon time.svgJanuary / February: 10.00 / 12.00 last visit departure) - 14.00 / 7.30 (last visit departure); March / October 10 / 12.30 - January / February: Sundays and holidays 10/12 - 14.30 / 17.30. It was the home of Antonio Barezzi, who was the discoverer, patron and then father-in-law of Giuseppe Verdi. It collects relics, letters, documents, Verdi's scores. The hall retains the original furnishings; there is the Viennese piano Tomascheck which Barezzi bought in 1835 and which was used by Verdi as a young man. 
Busseto - Santa Maria degli Angeli 01.JPG
Busseto - Santa Maria degli Angeli 04.JPG
The late
Portal
Busseto - Convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli - The cloister
  • 9 Church and convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, via F. Provesi 39 (Leaving Villa Pallavicino (Verdi museum) on the right), ☎ 39 0524 930154, fax: 39 0524 930154, @. Begun in 1470, its construction was completed in 1472; it was commissioned by Orlando Pallavicino who arranged the construction among his testamentary wills. The Observant Friars Minor took possession of it in 1473. It is in late Gothic form with pointed and round arched windows and a portal surmounted by a rose window and framed with terracotta decorations. Along the upper part of the façade with a gable roof and the walls there is a frame of hanging arches. The interior has three naves with polygonal apses. At the entrance, the two marble stoups are from the 17th century; a polychrome relief Madonna and Child of the fifteenth century. The first chapel on the left was originally the Pallavicino family burial ground; preserves the fresco of the Madonna del Canale, work of the fifteenth century attributed to one of the disciples of Francesco Squarcione. The sculptural group is located in the chapel of the final wall flanking the left aisle Lamentation over the dead Christ by Guido Mazzoni, which is a masterpiece of fifteenth-century Emilian sculpture. Seven figures surround Christ lying on the shroud: Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, the Magdalene, the Madonna, Maria Cleofe, Maria Salomè, San Giovanni. The sculptural group was donated by the Marziani family, nobles of Busseto; their coat of arms appears on the cave that houses the Compianto. Popular tradition indicates in the two male figures of the Lamentation the reproduction of the likeness of the two sons of Orlando Pallavicino, client of the church, who had the temple built in compliance with the will of their father: Giovanni Leopoldo Pallavicino and Pallavicino Pallavicino. In the chapel to the left of the presbytery there is the eighteenth-century cenotaph in white Carrara marble of Father Ireneo Affò who was one of the most illustrious scholars of his century and a historian of Parma, born in Busseto. On the wall of the right aisle a fragment of a fresco attributed to Nicolò dell'Abate, which was detached and placed here, represents Christ fallen with the Cross and Veronica; it is attributed to the years 1543-44. In the right aisle is the internal chapel of Santa Caterina which displays frescoes by Piero Rubini. The adjoining sacristy preserves a Holy Family with San Giovannino, Sant'Antonio da Padova and another Franciscan saint by Antonio Campi dating back to around 1580. The cloister of the adjoining convent it has been the subject of many interventions over the centuries, up to the nineteenth century. It has a beautiful loggia and important frescoes. In the refectory there is a large canvas attributed to Michelangelo Anselmi depicting theLast Supper and is dated 1538-1540. 


In Roncole Verdi

Birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi
  • 10 Birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi, via della Processione 1, ☎ 39 0524 97450, 39 0524 92487. Ecb copyright.svgFull 4 €, Reduced "A" 3 € (for groups over 20 people - children aged 6 to 14 - adults over 65). Reduced "B" € 2 (for schools on a cultural trip - free for accompanying teachers). Combined ticket Casa Natale, Teatro G. Verdi and Casa Barezzi Full price 9 €, Reduced "A" 7.5 € (for groups over 20 people - children aged 6 to 14 - adults over 65) Reduced "B" 5 , € 5 (for schools on a cultural trip - free for accompanying teachers). Simple icon time.svgJanuary, February, November and December: Sat, Sun and holidays 9: 30-17: 30 - weekdays by reservation for groups (min. 15 pax) -; March-October: Tue-Sun and holidays 9: 30-13: 00 and 14: 30-18: 00, in October also on Mondays. The last visit starts half an hour before closing.. The birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi, in the hamlet of Roncole which will later add the specification Verdi in his honor, is a poor building, which speaks to us of the simplicity of family life. On the ground floor was the tavern-grocery of Carlo Verdi, the composer's father. His mother Luisa Urtini was a housewife and spinner. The house has now become a house-museum, open to the public. Upstairs you can visit the room in which Giuseppe Verdi was born on 10 October 1813. The town was then officially called Roncole di Busseto, but it was commonly called Le Roncole, and was under French domination. 
  • 11 Church of San Michele Arcangelo, Guareschi square 65, @. The baptismal church of Giuseppe Verdi is of early medieval origin, but was remodeled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, works that have given it its current appearance. It preserves many devotional images that were frescoed at the beginning of the sixteenth century, as well as two canvases by the painter from Busseto Pietro Balestra, Archangel Michael and theImmaculate and the Saints. There is also a wooden statue of the dead Christ of ancient workmanship. The Bossi organ from Bergamo dates back to 1797, restored in 1900, 1964 and 2001; Giuseppe Verdi was already practicing with this organ during his childhood under the guidance of his first music teacher Pietro Baistrocchi. 


To Madonna dei Prati

  • 12 Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin, Madonna dei Prati locality (at 2 km. north of Roncole Verdi). The Sanctuary, destination of pilgrimages also from the areas of other dioceses, is a majestic construction of the last decade of the seventeenth century. With a central apsidal plan, it was erected to house the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary which had been in a small chapel in the Prati della Colombarola since the fifteenth century. The exterior and the facade remained unfinished.
The anecdote Giuseppe Verdi, while serving as an altar boy in Roncole, was enchanted by following the sound of the organ; recalled by the parish priest with a kick that made him fall to the ground, he reacted fiercely: "God sends you na sajèta! - God send you a bolt of lightning!. On 14 September 1828, during a celebration in the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin in Madonna dei Prati, a bolt of lightning entered the church killing four priests (including the one of the pedata) and two singers, one of whom was Verdi's cousin. The episode caused a great stir, as well as a deep sense of guilt and a real terror of the curses in the young Verdi. 


In Sant'Agata

  • 13 Villa Verdi, Sant'Agata di Villanova sull'Arda, ☎ 39 0523 830000, fax: 39 0524 91707. Ecb copyright.svgAdults € 9; Groups (min. 20) or over 65: 7.5 €; Schools: € 5;. The villa that Maestro Giuseppe Verdi had built not far from Busseto, but already in the province of Piacenza. Keep several memories of the musician. It can be visited only with a guided tour (included in the admission price) 


Events and parties

  • Busseto Carnival. Known nationally, it is one of the most famous historical carnivals. The allegorical floats parade through the streets of the city on the holidays of the carnival period, attracting thousands of visitors and animating the whole city center. On the website of the organizing committee you can find news about the current edition, or the edition in preparation. The event in 2016 reached its hundred and thirty-fifth edition. 


What to do


Shopping

Here in the lower Parma area, Parmesan food excellences dominate, in addition to Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, especially cured meats. Busseto is a short distance from Zibello with its culatello, from San Secondo with its cooked shoulder, from Sissa with raw shoulder from Palasone; easy to find tortellini, fried cake, lambrusco, fortana and malvasia.

How to have fun


Where to eat

Average prices

  • 1 Trattoria Vernizzi, Localita 'Frescarolo, 24, ☎ 39 0524 92423. 
  • 2 Trattoria Cotogni, Municipal Road of Frescarolo, 28, ☎ 39 0524 92596. 
  • 3 Trattoria Campanini (Trattoria dei Prati), Via Roncole Verdi, 136 (in Roncole Verdi - Madonna dei Prati), ☎ 39 0524 92569. 
  • 4 Caffè Pizzosteria Palazzo Orlandi, via Roma 60, ☎ 39 0524 91523. 
  • 5 Restaurant Bar Pizzeria Theater, piazza G.Verdi 39, ☎ 39 0524 92334. 
  • 6 Osteria Sant'Ignazio, Via Roma 10, ☎ 39 0524 91258. 
  • 7 Trattoria La Traviata, via Provesi 13, ☎ 39 0524 930025, 39 389 1173602. Simple icon time.svgclosed Monday and Tuesday. 


Where stay

Moderate prices

Average prices


Safety

Italian traffic signs - pharmacy icon.svgPharmacies


How to keep in touch

Post office

  • 9 Italian post, piazza Santa Maria 29, ☎ 39 0524 92259, fax: 39 0524 930176. 
  • 10 Italian post, via Roncole Verdi 68 (in Roncole Verdi), ☎ 39 0524 97466, fax: 39 0524 97466. 



Around

  • Zibello - This hamlet of only 900 inhabitants is famous for its highly prized culatello. The center of Zibello is formed by the Pallavicino Palace, where there are some shops and restaurants.
  • Soragna - The Rocca Meli Lupi, lords of the town for hundreds of years, stands in the center of Soragna; it never suffered the outrage of the conquest or the consequent looting. In addition to the castle, it also covers the historic center with its typical Po Valley features.
  • San Secondo Parmense - The Rossi castle of San Secondo is the reason of greatest monumental interest (the 2012 earthquake compromised the visits, however); the other powerful call, less cultural but equally appreciated, it is certainly his famous one cooked shoulder, a product of excellence among the cured meats of the Parma area.
  • Colorno - Its Royal Palace belonged to the Sanseverino family, then to the Farnese family, to Maria Luigia of Austria, to the Bourbons; it is by far the most important monument of this little Versailles Parma, which also offers a small but beautiful historic center, close to the Lorno stream that gives it its name and Parma, not far from the Po.
  • Fidenza - The Cathedral of San Donnino, cathedral of the diocese, is rightfully included in the category of the great Romanesque cathedrals of Emilia, for example those of Parma and of Modena; it boasts an unfinished façade with statues and bas-reliefs by Benedetto Antelami and his school.
  • Parma - One of the major cities of art inEmilia, maintains with great evidence the aspect, elegance and ways of life of a capital, as it was for centuries. The Farnese della Pilotta palace, the Romanesque Cathedral, the Steccata church are some of the monumental emergencies that characterize the city; of great fame his theater, his musical tradition (Giuseppe Verdi), his school of painting (Correggio, Parmigianino), his love for good food (Parma ham, salami, Parmigiano Reggiano, Lambrusco).
  • Cremona - It has a monumental historic center - the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Town Hall - one of the most distinguished in Lombardy. It was a Roman city. It was powerful at the time of the Communes and rivaled Milan, which finally subdued it. His violins (Stradivari and Amati), his Torrazzo and even more his torrone, are known everywhere.

Itineraries

  • The route is intertwined with other tourist itineraries in the area: Verdian places, The Small World by Giovannino Guareschi; the Castles of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza.
  • Castles of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza - Scattered over the Parma and Piacenza Apennines, but also present in the plain to guard the natural border of the Po, the numerous castles of the ancient Duchy of Parma and Piacenza characterize the whole area. Originally military bulwarks, many of them have kept the appearance of an inaccessible fortress, many have gradually transformed their war nature into a refined noble residence; all perpetuate over time the atmosphere of adventure, fairytale and legend that has always been linked to castles, many of which tell of the presence of spirits and ghosts.


Other projects

  • Collaborate on WikipediaWikipedia contains an entry concerning Busseto
  • Collaborate on CommonsCommons contains images or other files on Busseto
2-4 star.svgUsable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).