Fontevivo - Fontevivo

Fontevivo is a center ofEmilia Romagna.

To know

Geographical notes

It is located in the Parma Po Valley

How to orient yourself

How to get

By plane

• 44.821810.296031 Parma airport (G. Verdi), Via Emilia - Golese locality, ☎ 39 0521 951511. 
• 44.5352811.291162 Bologna airport (G.Marconi), Via Triumvirato 84, ☎ 39 051 6479615. 

By car

• Parma Ovest motorway exit on the Cisa motorway Parma - Spice
• - It is located on the provincial road 11 Bussetana

By bus

TEP lines (timetables)

How to get around

What see

• 44.857910.17611 Monastery and church of San Bernardo. The Cistercian monastery di Fontevivo was founded in 1142; as per tradition, its birth is linked to mother monastery, in this case Chiaravalle della Colomba, who sent twelve monks at the request of the Marquises Pallavicino of Busseto.

The area, at the time rich in springs and fountains, saw the incessant reclamation work of the monks who brought the recovery of this fertile plain to cultivation and agricultural production. The history of the monastery has almost nil documentary sources, since in the sixteenth century its archive was largely lost. It is known that the convent was the object of benefits from the bishop of Parma and the Marquis Delfino Pallavicino. The Pallavicino family will ensure donations and protection to the monastery that lasted for a few centuries. The troops of Emperor Frederick II attacking Parma invade the monastic complex in 1245.

A period of decline begins. Again the convent was invaded in 1483, this time by the troops of Lodovico il Moro fighting against Pier Maria Rossi. Various changes of ownership begin, up to 1605 when the monastery was bought by Ranuccio I Farnese. Ranuccio was responsible for the construction of a new church for the Capuchin friars not far from the convent, to which it was connected by a road.In 1733 the convent complex was transformed by Carlo di Borbone who built a building on the site of the ancient monastery for the summer vacation of the Collegio dei Nobili, which was closed in 1806 and restored shortly after by the Duchess of Parma Maria Luigia. Cesare Beccaria also stayed in the structure.

- the church of San Bernardo datable to the second half of the thirteenth century, it remains as evidence of the important original complex. It follows the Cistercian stylistic modules with a clear Romanesque imprint. The facade is a fifteenth-century rehash. In the lunette above the portal, a worn fresco dating back to between the 17th and 18th centuries depicts San Bernardo di Chiaravalle. The interior recalls that of Chiaravalle della Colomba. A small one is kept there Madonna and Child, stone sculpture that after the restoration the experts attributed to Benedetto Antelami and recalls the antelamic one of the Cathedral of Fidenza. In the left transept the sepulchral slab of Guido Pallavicino in Templar weapons, dated 1301, is admirable. The work was once placed on the floor; now it is embedded in a wall. His presence is certainly exceptional, considering how much the Templars were persecuted by the Church. The sacred building was however linked to the Templars since its construction. The Templars were linked to mystical mathematical and astronomical theories; a curiosity of this church is in fact the peculiarity that every 15th August the light that enters from the rose window hits a lunette dedicated to the Virgin, to whom they were particularly devoted. The church was in fact dedicated to the Madonna; only in the 15th century was it dedicated to San Bernardo. In front of the tomb slab of Guido Pallavicino there is the funeral monument of Don Ferdinando di Borbone, a work of 1803 in Empire style with neo-Renaissance elements by Francesco Martin Lopez.

Ferdinando Duca di Parma has his remains here, while the heart is kept in Parma in the church of the Steccata. He was a sovereign loved by the people; his death, however, aroused suspicion, so much so that there was talk of poisoning. 

In Castelguelfo

Castelguelfo is a small hamlet of Fontevivo on the Via Emilia not far from the capital. The name derives from the imposing castle.

• 44.828510.19392 Castelguelfo Castle. It was called Torre d'Orlando or Torre dei Marchesi. Its origin is dated to the thirteenth century; the current structure. with large corner towers surrounding its square-plan structure, it dates back to a reconstruction made by the Pallavicinos in the second half of the fifteenth century. Its large structure is particularly scenographic and stands out imposingly on the side of the Via Emilia. Central towers and an English park are also developed in the large internal courtyard with arcades.

Its importance arose from its position in control of the important artery of the Via Emilia and from its proximity to the ancient seat of the medieval parish church. The majestic complex, privately owned, cannot be visited. 

Events and parties

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

High prices

• The 12 monks, via Roma 1, ☎ 39 0521 610010, fax: 39 0521 610736, @[email protected]. Open every evening Mon / Sat. For lunch only on Sundays. 

Where stay

Safety

Pharmacies

• 44.85707810.175663 Municipal, Via Roma, 36, ☎ 39 0521 610106. 
• 44.82570410.2101364 Riccardi, Via Emilia, 21 (in Ponte Taro), ☎ 39 0521 619229. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• Italian post, via Provinciale for Busseto 111 / A, ☎ 39 0521610688, fax: 39 0521610688. 

Around

• Fontanellato - The Rocca Sanvitale, mighty but elegant in the center of the town, and the Sanctuary (of great attraction for pilgrims from this Po Valley area of ​​the Lower Emilia) are the main reasons of interest of this beautiful Po Valley center.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Noceto - Its castle, whose present appearance dates back to the fifteenth century, is not one of the most celebrated of the numerous Parma castles; however, it is a good example of Rocca born as a defensive structure and then used for administrative purposes. It has a luxuriant garden inside.
• Chiaravalle della Colomba Abbey - In Alseno, not far from the Via Emilia, there is this monastic complex of great importance in the panorama of Cistercian sacred buildings.

Itineraries

• 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

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Fontevivo
• Commons contains images or other files on Fontevivo

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