Fontanellato is a village certified by the Italian Touring Club with the Orange Flag. The abundance of spring water in this area is the origin of the name of the medieval village, overlooked by the Sanvitale fortress, built by the family of the same name in the 15th century and made the residence of the same family for a good five centuries. The rocca is one of the best-preserved examples of fortresses in the region, in which fortified architecture is associated with a residential function; surrounded by a moat, it forms the center of gravity of urban life and forms a setting of rare unity with the frame of porticoed houses around it. The interior of the Sanvitale fortress is not to be missed, with a visit to the famous room of Diana and Actaeon, with the fresco of the same name from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” one of Parmigianino’s masterpieces, and to the many rooms furnished with period furniture and large fine canvases. Two religious buildings also overlook the square in front: the Oratory of the Assumption, with an 18th-century appearance and a splendid wooden sacristy, a masterpiece of Parmesan Baroque; and the late-Gothic church of S. Croce, restored in the early 20th century but with surviving parts from the 15th century. Fontanellato is home to the world’s largest labyrinth: the Labyrinth of the Masone. Don’t miss a tasting of Parmigiano Reggiano, culatello or culaccia, accompanied by a glass of good lambrusco.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.bandierearancioni.it/borgo/fontanellato
