Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
Its origins are uncertain and the exact date of its foundation is unknown, although it is likely that it was built on pre-existing ruins, as parts of the cellar date back to Roman times. The Zena complex extends over a total area of 4,000 m², nestled within a green space of approximately 20,000 m², and is composed of six buildings of different origins and with specific functions. The central body, the actual castle, surrounded by a rampart corresponding to the ancient moat, has a massive structure. Originally square in plan, it now has a horseshoe shape, as an 18th-century building was demolished and replaced by a wall topped with columns. Partial restoration work was carried out in the early 1970s, later resumed in the current general renovation project, which has allowed the entire castle to be used, housing, among other things, furnishings, ornaments, and works of art from various periods. The program, sponsored by the Superintendency for Architectural Heritage and Landscape of Parma and Piacenza, aims to establish a model for diagnosing and remediating the built historical heritage. The exact date of its foundation is not known, although parts of the cellar are likely to date back to the Roman era. The first news relating to the historical events date back to 1216, in this year it appears that, during a march of approach to Pontenure, infantrymen and knights they destroyed the castle or part of it, this fact could be traced back to some environments of burnt frescoes dating back to that period. There is also news of a war conducted by the Church against the Visconti in 1373, the year in which the castle was conquered by Francesco Confalonieri, who hurled the previous owner Leonardo Dolzani linked to the Duke of Milan. Other certain references are 1494, when, after other changes of ownership, the castle was purchased by Francesco Sforza of Santa Fiora. In 1531 he became a residence of Costanza del Carretto (called Madama the Great), widow of Galeazzo Sanseverino. From her the manor passed to his nephew Gilberto Sanvitale. In 1702 the Duke Francesco Farnese donated the fiefdom of Zena to the brothers Pier Francesco and Giuseppe Anviti for having exercised with competence and loyalty the task of secretary at various principles of the Farnese house and having masterfully ordered and directed the public and secret archive of the Ducal Chamber. The last male of the Aviti family was Count Luigi, colonel of the Army of Charles III of Bourbon, who after the annexation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza to the Piemontese state was arrested, imprisoned and then lynched by the angry crowd (a terrible episode that aroused the anger of Massimo D'Azeglio, who had harsh words against the responsible of this crime of state). In the mid 19th century, the castle passed to the Perotti family, the current owner.
Its origins are uncertain and the exact date of its foundation is unknown, although it is likely that it was built on pre-existing ruins, as parts of the cellar date back to Roman times. The Zena complex extends over a total area of 4,000 m², nestled within a green space of approximately 20,000 m², and is composed of six buildings of different origins and with specific functions. The central body, the actual castle, surrounded by a rampart corresponding to the ancient moat, has a massive structure. Originally square in plan, it now has a horseshoe shape, as an 18th-century building was demolished and replaced by a wall topped with columns. Partial restoration work was carried out in the early 1970s, later resumed in the current general renovation project, which has allowed the entire castle to be used, housing, among other things, furnishings, ornaments, and works of art from various periods. The program, sponsored by the Superintendency for Architectural Heritage and Landscape of Parma and Piacenza, aims to establish a model for diagnosing and remediating the built historical heritage. The exact date of its foundation is not known, although parts of the cellar are likely to date back to the Roman era. The first news relating to the historical events date back to 1216, in this year it appears that, during a march of approach to Pontenure, infantrymen and knights they destroyed the castle or part of it, this fact could be traced back to some environments of burnt frescoes dating back to that period. There is also news of a war conducted by the Church against the Visconti in 1373, the year in which the castle was conquered by Francesco Confalonieri, who hurled the previous owner Leonardo Dolzani linked to the Duke of Milan. Other certain references are 1494, when, after other changes of ownership, the castle was purchased by Francesco Sforza of Santa Fiora. In 1531 he became a residence of Costanza del Carretto (called Madama the Great), widow of Galeazzo Sanseverino. From her the manor passed to his nephew Gilberto Sanvitale. In 1702 the Duke Francesco Farnese donated the fiefdom of Zena to the brothers Pier Francesco and Giuseppe Anviti for having exercised with competence and loyalty the task of secretary at various principles of the Farnese house and having masterfully ordered and directed the public and secret archive of the Ducal Chamber. The last male of the Aviti family was Count Luigi, colonel of the Army of Charles III of Bourbon, who after the annexation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza to the Piemontese state was arrested, imprisoned and then lynched by the angry crowd (a terrible episode that aroused the anger of Massimo D'Azeglio, who had harsh words against the responsible of this crime of state). In the mid 19th century, the castle passed to the Perotti family, the current owner.
