Top 14 Castles around Calestano

It is a private property visible only from the outside. The place is very suggestive both seen from afar and up close.

A beautiful town in the Parma Apennines. Worth a visit.

A short detour to visit the town center (and perhaps stop at a bar for a snack)

Torre del Boriano Torre [18th century] A complex of rustic buildings called "Torre del Borriano" stands in a dominant position, near the Bastia and Palero mountains, revealing how it was originally an observation outpost on the surrounding territories of the Baganza Valley and, at the same time, a defensive bastion. Being visible from the transit roads along the Baganza river, the village of the "Torre", which since 1802 also includes an Oratory, was a safe point of reference for merchants and travellers along the Via Francigena. The first reliable news regarding the Borriani family, whose name is the probable corruption of the ancient Pariano, dates back to the 17th century when the building complex, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, had assumed its almost definitive appearance, with the exception of the Oratory, consecrated in 1802 on the occasion of the wedding of Pietro Boschi with Teresa Riccardi. The building complex consists of four distinct bodies of the factory, the manor house, the "Tower" proper, the "Hunters' House", the farmhouse and the Oratory, united by the perimeter walls in which there are two entrances to the internal courtyard. The "Tower" has always been the family residence: built in an elevated position with respect to the other buildings, accessible from the central square via a semicircular staircase. The building (mixed technique, stone and brick) is very complex, with two basement levels currently used as cellars and storage rooms, a ground floor including the living area, the second floor with the bedrooms and the attic with service rooms. The main façade has a symmetrical five-axis scansion with a central door and two orders of openings. The vertical connections are ensured by two staircases placed on the north and south sides and not directly communicating with each other. The kitchen and the cellars are united by a well that descends beyond the last basement floor to form the icehouse. On the roof there are five brick chimneys, with decorative motifs in wrought iron, and a bell, placed when the Oratory was built. One of the reception rooms retains traces of the original decoration: inside a shaped and gilded relief frame there is a nineteenth-century tempera, in poor condition, depicting a landscape, inspired by the famous and stereotyped panorama of Naples from Posillipo with maritime pines and Vesuvius. The hunters' house was originally used to shelter the owners' carriages and horses: the room looked directly onto the internal square, while the stable is located at the back of the building, to the north. Above the stable, characterized by barrel vaults lowered on cylindrical brick pillars, there was a small hayloft from which, via a direct passage, it was possible to supply the horses with the necessary food, while the other rooms were used for storage and accommodation for the grooms. Of particular interest is the overhead passageway obtained on the first floor to connect the Hunters' House to the kitchens of the Tower, which allowed the owner to go directly down to the stables without leaving the house. Another curiosity is represented by the "toilet" of very small dimensions obtained on the landing of the staircase, close to the external wall. The farmhouse was originally the building in which the garrison of the fortified outpost was housed. It is currently a two-story house, including service and storage rooms, a stable and the hayloft above. The main entrance of the small Oratory faces south, outside the walls, therefore directly accessible for the faithful of the nearby villages. The plastered façade is divided by the string course, closed by lateral pilasters and surmounted by a triangular tympanum on top of which stands a wrought iron cross with the year of foundation, 1802 Includes: Tower (18th century) Oratory (19th century) Villa (18th century) House (18th century) Rural house (18th century) Park/Garden (18th century Source: https://www.tourer.it/scheda?torre-del-boriano-san-vitale-baganza-sala-baganza

Berceto is a charming village located in the Parma Apennines, at an altitude of 852 meters above sea level. It is located halfway between Parma and La Spezia, in the valley of the Taro river, in the Emilia-Romagna region Berceto is a stop on the Via Francigena, the pilgrimage route of early medieval Christianity to Rome. The ancient village preserves the character and atmosphere typical of the Middle Ages, with stone houses, buildings from the 12th to the 17th centuries and the ruins of a castle. Some of the main attractions are the Cathedral of St. Moderanno, an important example of Romanesque architecture, and the ruins of the Castle of Berceto. Next to the church is the Cathedral Museum, which preserves sacred furniture and vestments, including the 12th century Cape of San Moderanno.

A bit of history https://www.tourer.it/scheda?torre-del-boriano-san-vitale-baganza-sala-baganza

First Castle encountered during the return, the Catello di Panocchia. The castle, whose history is almost unknown, was probably built between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century at the behest of the Cantelli counts, feudal lords of Panocchia and already owners of a building in the village at least since 1422. Following the death in 1736 of the last count Paolo Cantelli, the building was inherited by the marquis Alfonso Bevilacqua, his great-nephew, who added his great-uncle's surname to his own. The structure, modified several times, became the summer residence of the family, who hosted various illustrious people there, including the poet Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni, who remembered the stay in one of his compositions. In 1974 it was bought by the brothers of the Piacenza Nicelli family, who later passed it on to their descendants.[

The name of the castle stems from the term “Torciara”, literally “wine press”, as in the Middle Ages, this area this area was renowned for its vineyards and olive tree groves. Between 1448 and 1460, “condottiero” Pier Maria II de’ Rossi, a powerful lord of these lands, ordered the construction of this complex on a preexisting fortified building. The structure had to fulfill a double role, a dichotomy of sense and function. On the one hand, it was a military and defensive stronghold for the control of the underlying valley. On the other hand, however, it was the cradle of his love for Bianca Pellegrini di Arturo. Inside, the castle the decorations of the lunettes and of the rib vaults pay homage to the story of Pier Mattia and Bianca Pellegrini.