Fontanellato: Parmigianino's Frescoes and the World's Largest Labyrinth

A moated fortress in the heart of the plain

At first glance, Fontanellato looks like any other town in the Bassa parmense: flat land stretching to the horizon, rows of poplars, autumn fogs. Then you reach the main square and find yourself before a medieval fortress still surrounded by its water-filled moat, its towers reflected on the rippled surface. It is an unexpected image — powerful and magnetic — and worth the journey on its own.

But Fontanellato is not only its fortress. This borgo in the province of Parma, just a few kilometres from the A1 motorway, conceals a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, a deeply venerated sanctuary and, in the surrounding countryside, the world's largest bamboo labyrinth. All of this in a town of just over six thousand people.

What to see in Fontanellato

The Rocca Sanvitale

The Rocca Sanvitale is the borgo's centrepiece. Built in the fourteenth century and extended in subsequent centuries by the Sanvitale family, it is one of the few Po Valley fortresses to have preserved its water-filled moat intact. The visit winds through richly furnished rooms with period furniture, tapestries and ceramics that narrate the daily life of the Emilian nobility.

The room of Diana and Actaeon

The jewel of the fortress is the small room frescoed by Parmigianino in 1524, a masterpiece of Italian Mannerism. The pictorial cycle depicts the myth of Diana and Actaeon after Ovid's Metamorphoses: the goddess surprised at her bath, the hunter transformed into a stag, the hounds tearing him apart. The colours are still vivid, the composition hypnotically graceful. The room is tiny — only a handful of people enter at a time — and this makes the experience all the more intimate and precious.

Parmigianino painted it at the age of only twenty-one, before moving to Rome. It is one of his great early works, and the fact that it is here, in a borgo of the Bassa rather than a great museum, adds a priceless sense of discovery.

The sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del Rosario

A few steps from the fortress, this sanctuary has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. The Baroque interior is rich in votive offerings and decoration, and houses a deeply venerated image of the Madonna. The adjacent cloister, with its portico, is an unexpected corner of peace.

The Labyrinth of La Masone

Just three kilometres from Fontanellato, the Labyrinth of La Masone is a one-of-a-kind work. Designed by publisher and collector Franco Maria Ricci and inaugurated in 2015, it is the largest existing labyrinth: over seven hectares of bamboo forming a three-kilometre path. At its centre, a complex of buildings houses Ricci's art collection — with works from the sixteenth to the twentieth century — a library dedicated to typography and printing, a restaurant and spaces for temporary exhibitions.

Getting lost in the labyrinth is a sensory experience: the rustle of bamboo, the filtered light, the playful sense of disorientation. The route takes about half an hour, but it is easy to linger much longer.

The flavours of Fontanellato

We are in the heart of the Emilian Food Valley, and Fontanellato does not disappoint:

- Anolini in brodo — the defining dish of the Parma area: small rounds of pasta filled with braised meat, served in a capon broth

- Parmigiano Reggiano — several dairy farms nearby offer visits and tastings; mountain-aged Parmigiano has a uniquely complex flavour

- Spalla cotta — a speciality of the Bassa: slow-cooked pork shoulder, served hot with quince mustard

- Torta fritta — the ubiquitous starter with cured meats and Parmigiano

All accompanied by a sparkling Lambrusco or a Malvasia dei Colli di Parma — wines drunk here as naturally as water, and that perfectly match the richness of the local cuisine.

How to get there

Fontanellato is easily reached: just 20 minutes from Parma, with a dedicated exit on the A1 (Fidenza-Salsomaggiore). From Milan the journey is about an hour and a half; from Bologna, just over an hour. The nearest railway station is Fidenza, from which Fontanellato is reached by a short bus or taxi ride.

The borgo is visited entirely on foot. For the Labyrinth of La Masone a short drive or cycle ride is needed.

When to go

Spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October) are the ideal periods. In spring the labyrinth bamboo is at its lushest green; in autumn the Bassa fogs wrap the fortress in an almost fairy-tale atmosphere. Summer is hot and humid like the whole Po Valley, but the fortress and the labyrinth offer coolness. Winter, with its thick fogs, has a charm all its own: few visitors and a near-unreal silence.

Fontanellato shows that you do not need to travel far to find hidden treasures. Sometimes it is enough to exit the motorway one junction earlier than usual.