Bardi is a town in the province of Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northeast Italy. It is famous for its castle, a formidable fortress that dominates the valley and the town, and is one of the most important stops in a hypothetical route among the castles of the Parma hills that includes Pellegrino Parmense, Compiano, Scipione, Varano de 'Melegari, Torrechiara, and Corniglio.

Understand

History

The castle

The name of the town is traced back to the Lombard bard (fortified place). Bardi was fortified for the first time by the Lombards fighting with the Byzantines. Having entered the orbit of the Curia of Piacenza, it then came into the possession of the Counts of Bardi, a kind of oligarchy of the first important Lombard families. In the 13th century, the Landi family appeared in Bardi's life and established their dominion over the town with Ubertino, Count of Venafro.

A period of struggle followed. The castle was destroyed by the Pallavicinos in 1255; it was rebuilt and fortified. The Municipality of Piacenza ceded the dominion of the Val Ceno and Val Taro to the Landi, who saw the fortress conquered in 1270 and 1307. Until Gian Galeazzo Visconti in 1381 recognized the Landi lordship who had full autonomy from 1415. Conquered in 1429 by Filippo Maria Visconti, the castle from 1438 to 1448 was entrusted to the mercenary leader Niccolò Piccinino.

Returning to the Landi family, the family obtained the title of Marquis and the right to mint coins from Emperor Charles V in 1551. In 1682 Dario Landi ceded it to Ranuccio I Farnese, and from that moment it followed the events of the Duchy of Parma.

Get in

It is 53 km away from Fidenza, 61 km from Parma, 70 km from Piacenza, and 79 km from Chiavari.

By plane

• Parma Airport (G. Verdi), Via Emilia - Golese, ☏ +39 0521 951511. 
• Bologna airport (G.Marconi), Via Triumvirato 84, ☏ +39 051 6479615. 

By car

• Highway A15: Fornovo di Taro motorway exit on the Cisa Parma - La Spezia motorway
• Provincial Road 28 then Provincial road 28 Bardi - Fornovo

By train

Station in Fornovo or Borgotaro on the Parma - La Spezia line, served with stops for trains departing from Milan, Bologna, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno and Florence.

By bus

Bus line from Parma - TEP lines (timetables)

Get around

The historic centre of the town can be easily visited on foot. The car is for the surroundings.

See

• River Ceno
• Memorial Chapel of the Arondora Star
• Rocca dei Landi (Castello dei Landi), ☏ +39 0521 821139 , +39 334 5746926. April / May M-F 14:00-17: 00; Sa, holidays and bridges 10:00-19:00. June M-F 14:00-19:00; Sa, holidays and bridges 10:00-19:00. July: Daily 10:00-19:00. August: M-F 10:00-19:00; holidays 10:00-20: 00. September: M-F 14:00-19:00; Sa, holidays and bridges 10:00-19:00. October: Th F 14:00-17:00; Sa, holidays and bridges 10:00-18:00. November: Sa, holidays and bridges 10:00-18:00. Last admission 45 minutes before closing. Other periods by reservation. The formidable fortress was built on a spur of red jasper, in a dominant position on the confluence of the Noveglia stream with the Ceno. Its origin is to be placed between the ninth and tenth centuries, when the bishop Everardo of Piacenza bought half of the rocky outcrop on which a first fortification stands. The place was to serve as a shelter against the raids of the Hungarians. The Lombards had already built military garrisons there during the struggles against the Byzantines for the control of the Apennine passes. The primitive construction expanded with the passage of time, until in the 16th century the Landi, a family of Piacenza origins, deprived of their residence in Piacenza, transformed it into a noble residence of the Landi State, all of their possessions, which resisted the supremacy of the Duke of Parma. With the extinction of the Landi dynasty, the fortress and the territory were purchased by the Farnese dukes of Parma. The castle thus becomes peripheral within the Duchy and its importance as a control point for crossings and trade is also lost. With the Unification it was used as a military prison, and was sold to the Municipality of Bardi in 1868. Adults €5.50; groups (minimum 20 people) €5; reduced €4.50; children 6/14 years €3. (updated Dec 2013)

Church of San Francesco

• Church of San Francesco. The purchase of the land for the construction of a palatine chapel, right at the foot of the Rocca, in 1571 is due to the wife of Claudio II Landi; the intent was to create a palace oratory, a pantheon for the family and a hospital. The work was completed in 1589, and was consecrated by the Bishop of Piacenza. Princely appointed chaplains ruled the church. Claudius II and his wife Giovanna Hernandez of Cordoba and Aragon were buried there. At the beginning of the 17th century Federico Landi planned an extension of the building with apse and side chapels, as well as the construction of a convent, to house the Franciscan Friars Minor. Recovery and restoration works carried out in the 20th century after some burials were found under the apse area and along the east perimeter wall, in rectangular ossuaries with a barrel vault, and in a wooden box along the east side. From the surveys it seems that the only surviving structure of the previous construction is a part of the wall on the south-east side, where a child burial was found. Since the restoration the church has veen used for artistic events, exhibitions, exhibitions, and concerts. 
• Parish Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. The façade is inspired by the neo-Romanesque style, with a gable roof and side wings highlighted by brick pilasters. The upper part is enlivened by five arches with paired columns that surmount the large portal with a round arch. The building has the classic east-west orientation, with an entrance to the west and an apse to the east. The current construction is probably the result of the enlargement of an existing church dedicated to the Beata Vergine della Consolazione, which was rebuilt to provide the monastery complex of the Servites with a convent church. annexed to the adjacent monastery. The Order of the Servites was then suppressed in 1805 in the Napoleonic era; the church remained open, and the convent was given to the Municipality of Bardi who placed the public schools and the Command of the Dragons there. Finally, in 1844 the convent became a girls' school for the Benedictine nuns. The function of parish church was attributed to it at the end of the 19th century and in the following century it was completely rebuilt; it was consecrated in 1934. The interior responds to the criteria of the basilica style, with three naves with cross vaults and ribs, a semicircular apse, round arches that divide the side aisles. The church houses two precious paintings. The Marriage of Santa Caterina is the work of Francesco Mazzola known as Parmigianino (Parma 1503 - Casalmaggiore 1540), who painted it at the age of 18 while he was staying with relatives in Viadana. It is believed that the work may have arrived here through the Servites also present in Viadana. The fulcrum of the representation is the trunk of the column on which the Madonna is seated with the Child Jesus in her arm; on the right San Giovanni Battista, on the left San Giovanni Evangelista; Saint Catherine of Alexandria holds out her hand to Jesus to receive the wedding ring of the mystical marriage. In the lower part of the picture the palm and the toothed wheel are depicted, symbols of martyrdom. The other important work is the Bust of the Virgin by Francesco Nuvolone known as Panfilo, a 17th-century painter from Cremona. 

Church of San Giovanni

• Church of San Giovanni Battista. The church's foundation time is believed to be the 16th century. It was consecrated in 1589, and was subjected in the following centuries to various restoration and reconstruction interventions. The bell tower was also rebuilt in 1830. The façade is in good perspective on one side of the town's main square. Six trabeated pilasters divide and enliven the lower part of the facade. As many pilasters branch off from the string course to reach the upper part with a salient undulation that ends from the sides in the central hut-like part, supporting a statue, as well as each of the two pairs of lateral pilasters. The building has a north-south orientation. The side elevations are in exposed stones, as well as the bell tower behind the apse. The belfry has round arch openings with trabeated pilasters. The interior has a single nave with three chapels. (updated Jul 2021)
• Oratory of San Siro. An interesting rustic Romanesque building, datable for the wall structure to the 12th - 13th century. From the church you can enjoy a beautiful view of Bardi and its castle. 
• Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie. The Sanctuary was built from 1774 to 1779. It is in Baroque style, with a central rose window and three entrance portals. Inside, with a central plan with a square presbytery, it preserves paintings and frescoes from the eighteenth century. Next to the presbytery there is a wooden statue of the Madonna del Rosario. Its festivities are May 26 and March 25, the day of the Annunciation.