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Things to see in Castell'Arquato

Every monument worth your time in Castell'Arquato, photographed, described, and matched to its tours.

All the monuments in Castell'Arquato

The landmarks and masterpieces worth planning a day around.

Castell'Arquato's towers above the Arda valley vinesDistrictCastell'ArquatoRocca Viscontea fortress, Collegiata church piazza, Gutturnio wine country, fossil badlandsA noble named Magnus founded Castell'Arquato around 756-758 on a hill above the Arda river, and by 1220 the Bishop of Piacenza had granted it self-government, launching centuries under the Visconti, Sforza and eventually Farnese and Bourbon rule. The hilltop piazza still gathers its three great medieval buildings around one open space: the four-towered Rocca Viscontea, a keep-and-curtain fortress now holding a small museum; the Collegiata church, rebuilt after a 1117 earthquake and fronted by a Romanesque "Paradise Portico"; and the Palazzo del Podestà, the old seat of civic government. Beyond the walls, the Arda valley grows the grapes behind Gutturnio, the local red poured generously in the town's wine bars, and fossil-rich cliffs nearby have made the surrounding badlands a small geological park in their own right.Plan the visit
The Castell'Arquato guide

More within reach

Monuments a day trip away, elsewhere in Emilia-Romagna.

  1. Upper round arcades and curved gallery parapet between two marble-faced piers inside San Vitale.RavennaUNESCOBasilica of San VitaleJustinian and Theodora mosaics, octagonal Byzantine plan, sixth-century splendor
  2. Modena Cathedral's Romanesque facade with the Ghirlandina behindModenaUNESCOModena CathedralRomanesque masterwork of Lanfranco and Wiligelmo, Genesis facade reliefs, the leaning Ghirlandina tower, Piazza Grande ensemble
  3. A haloed seated figure among six sheep, with an upright gold cross-staff and a blue-and-gold patterned barrel vault.RavennaUNESCOMausoleum of Galla PlacidiaGold-star vault, Good Shepherd mosaic, alabaster windows, Cole Porter legend
  4. Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and its round campanile, RavennaRavennaUNESCOBasilica of Sant'Apollinare NuovoProcessions of martyrs and virgins, Theodoric's palace church, twenty-six Christ scenes, nave-length mosaics
  5. The Ghirlandina rising over Piazza Grande from the Duomo's portico, ModenaModenaUNESCOGhirlandina TowerModena's emblem, stolen bucket legend, Sala dei Torresani, Gothic spire
  6. Parma's cathedral and pink baptistery sharing their Romanesque piazzaParmaParma Cathedral and BaptisteryCorreggio's dome ascension, Antelami's pink baptistery, Romanesque ensemble, Benedetto's Deposition
  7. Alberti's marble temple front for the Malatesta, RiminiRiminiTempio MalatestianoAlberti's Renaissance facade, Sigismondo's pagan church, Piero della Francesca fresco, Giotto crucifix
  8. Estense Castle, ItalyFerraraUNESCOEstense CastleMoated castle in the city center, Este dynasty seat, dungeon of Ugo and Parisina, hanging orange garden
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