Colorno

Reggia di Colorno

On the area now occupied by the palace stood a fortified fortress erected by Azzo da Correggio in 1337 that became an important political and cultural center in the middle of the next century with the Sanseverino family; in particular Barbara, beautiful woman with a great culture, founded and animates a literary cenacle, in competition with other great Italian courts. Towards the middle of 1600, the palace became the summer residence of the Farnese Dukes of Parma and Piacenza, and important works were undertaken to restructure the palace and the garden by the architect Ferdinando Galli Bibiena. With the extinction of the Farnese family, the duchy passed to Charles of Bourbon, son of the King of Spain and Elizabeth Farnese, who, after conquered the Kingdom of Naples, left the duchy in favour of his brother Philip. In 1749, Philip of Bourbon and his wife Louise Elizabeth, daughter of the King of France Louis XV, took possession of the duchy starting a golden period for the palace so as to deserve the title of "Versailles of the Dukes of Parma". In 1807, the palace was declared “Imperial” by the Napoleonic government and, following the Congress of Vienna, Marie Louise of Austria, Napoleon’s wife, was awarded the title of Duchess of Parma and for the occasion, she restored the palace and the garden too. At her death, as provided for in the treaty, the palace and the duchy returned to the Bourbons until the annexation of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, it was bought by the Province of Parma, which for almost 100 years assigned it to host families in difficulty and service personnel of the adjacent psychiatric hospital located in the nearby convent.