Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
The Rocca dei Sanvitale, also known as the Noceto fortress or the Castle of Music, is a small castle that stands in Piazza Garibaldi in Noceto, in the province of Parma; it houses the museum of violin making, the museum of the record and various musical associations. The fortress develops around the ancient keep, on the back of which there is an internal courtyard now used as a park; originally surrounded by a moat, the external wall perimeter, slightly trapezoidal in shape, is equipped with four circular towers at the corners. The walls and facades, entirely made of brick, show signs of the destruction suffered over the centuries, which only kept the tower and the adjacent building intact; the two buildings, dating back to the second half of the 15th century, retain the typical features of the castles of the time, including the ancient corbels with machicolations and the Ghibelline battlements still partially visible at the top. On the right of the mighty two-level keep, which juts out from the centre of the main façade, a staircase leads to the ancient entrance to the fortified complex, originally connected to the square by a drawbridge, traces of which remain only in the two slits that housed the bolts; crossing the ancient access arch, you reach the internal courtyard, used as a garden, dominated by the mass of a centuries-old horse chestnut tree. A walkway connects the park with the internal spaces, originally occupied by the courtroom, the related prisons, the mayor's residence and the rooms intended for the garrison troops. On the ground floor, the main room of the keep is now used for temporary exhibitions; on the same level are also the rooms of the former library, now used as the headquarters of a musical association; on the first floor are located the rooms intended for the museums, whose route ends on the last level of the keep, from which the entire surrounding plain can still be dominated.
The Rocca dei Sanvitale, also known as the Noceto fortress or the Castle of Music, is a small castle that stands in Piazza Garibaldi in Noceto, in the province of Parma; it houses the museum of violin making, the museum of the record and various musical associations. The fortress develops around the ancient keep, on the back of which there is an internal courtyard now used as a park; originally surrounded by a moat, the external wall perimeter, slightly trapezoidal in shape, is equipped with four circular towers at the corners. The walls and facades, entirely made of brick, show signs of the destruction suffered over the centuries, which only kept the tower and the adjacent building intact; the two buildings, dating back to the second half of the 15th century, retain the typical features of the castles of the time, including the ancient corbels with machicolations and the Ghibelline battlements still partially visible at the top. On the right of the mighty two-level keep, which juts out from the centre of the main façade, a staircase leads to the ancient entrance to the fortified complex, originally connected to the square by a drawbridge, traces of which remain only in the two slits that housed the bolts; crossing the ancient access arch, you reach the internal courtyard, used as a garden, dominated by the mass of a centuries-old horse chestnut tree. A walkway connects the park with the internal spaces, originally occupied by the courtroom, the related prisons, the mayor's residence and the rooms intended for the garrison troops. On the ground floor, the main room of the keep is now used for temporary exhibitions; on the same level are also the rooms of the former library, now used as the headquarters of a musical association; on the first floor are located the rooms intended for the museums, whose route ends on the last level of the keep, from which the entire surrounding plain can still be dominated.
