Art & Culture
Labirinto della Masone
The Labirinto della Masone by Franco Maria Ricci – an extraordinary cultural park with the world's largest bamboo labyrinth – is star-shaped, covers 7 hectares of land, and is made entirely with bamboo plants of different species. The project was born from the idea of Franco Maria Ricci with architects Pier Carlo Bontempi and Davide Dutto. It houses cultural spaces of more than 5,000 square meters, dedicated to Franco Maria Ricci's art collection (about 500 works from the sixteenth to the twentieth century) and to the library dedicated to the most illustrious examples of typography and graphic design, including many works by Giambattista Bodoni and the entire production of Alberto Tallone. Completing this historical collection are all the books curated by Franco Maria Ricci in fifty years of activity. At the center of the Labirinto della Masone you will find a two-thousand-square-meter square surrounded by porticoes and large halls, which host concerts, parties, exhibitions, and other cultural events. Facing the square, a pyramid-shaped chapel will recall the labyrinth as a symbol of faith. Inside there is a café, a restaurant, and a bookshop where you can also find many now rare editions by Franco Maria Ricci.
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Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary
The Sanctuary, which rises outside the historic center, is based on a pre-existing oratory dedicated in 1397 to Saint Joseph and donated by Marquis Galeotto Lupi di Soragna to the Dominican friars, who were invited to Fontanellato by Veronica da Correggio – widow of Giacomo Antonio Sanvitale – to assist the village population. The first nucleus of the Sanctuary was built in 1514. After the sack of 1531 and the demolition of 1543, the temple and the monastery were rebuilt, dedicating them to Saint Joseph. Only after the Council of Trent was the cult of the Madonna promoted with the title of “Queen of the Holy Rosary”, which still attracts numerous pilgrims today. The current façade is the result of the project by Lamberto Cusani, from 1912-13, and the work of the sculptor Ettore Ximenes, who also restored the statues from the eighteenth-century façade.
Municipal Theater
In 1681 the theater was personally designed by Alessandro Sanvitale but was completely demolished in 1832. The current structure dates back to the nineteenth century and is based on the project presented in 1858 by architect Pier Luigi Montacchini; it was finally completed in 1866 by architect Pancrazio Soncini, although it later underwent several removals and a conservation intervention in the second half of the twentieth century. The exterior features simple forms with the façade closed by a pediment and a main entrance flanked by two side entrances.
Church of Santa Croce
Gilberto Sanvitale had a chapel dedicated to Santa Croce built in the first half of the fifteenth century, later completed by his son Stefano. It was transformed into a parish church between 1503 and 1509 by Count Giacomo Antonio Sanvitale and at the same time enlarged and equipped with a bell tower. In 1912 it was extensively restored by architect Lamberto Cusani, preserving some original elements.
The Church preserves valuable eighteenth-century paintings and a chapel connected to the body of the church, as well as numerous works bearing the Sanvitale family crest: “The Baptism of Christ”, “The Annunciation with Saint Lucy”, the presbytery altar, and the choir stalls.
Oratory of the Assumption
The first stone of the Oratory, also known as that of San Gaetano, was laid on July 21, 1572, by the will of Geronima Farnese, wife of Alfonso Sanvitale, but it was completely restored in 1720 by the will of Domenico Bragadini. In 1790 the interior was decorated by Antonio Bresciani. A masterpiece of the Barocchetto style is the splendid wooden sacristy from 1720 by Giulio Seletti. The decoration was completed by the painter Sebastiano Galeotti.
The old washhouses in the historic center
The old washhouses in Fontanellato were two: one in via del Fontanino and one in vicolo Zambelloni from 1878. Here, in the twentieth century, housewives would come to wash clothes and carters would water their horses. Restored and redeveloped, with an urban restyling that involved the whole street and the small square in front, dotted with benches and flower boxes, it offers a wonderful perspective view towards the Rocca.
Former Sanvitale Stables, Villa Gandini, and botanical park
These are two buildings closely connected to each other, although built at different times. In 1832 the Gothic-Lombard portico, probably serving the original theater, was demolished to make room for beautiful neoclassical cold greenhouses and a series of botanical gardens. In 1800, the female Conservatory was annexed to the building, which during the Restoration was transformed into a private residence and sold in 1935 to the Gandini family. The botanical park with centuries-old trees over six hundred years old – annexed to the former stables with the portico – can be visited by accessing the villa "In Villa" included in the circuit of the Italian Historic Residences.
Hamlet of Priorato
On the outskirts of the town stands the nucleus of Priorato with the Church dedicated to Saint Benedict. The foundation of the monastery by the Benedictines of the Abbey of Leno in Fontana Lata dates back to 1013. Over time, the convent was expanded and enriched, and in 1332 the monastery was granted the dignity of Priorato, separating from the Abbey of Leno in 1470. The church underwent several renovations, the first in 1745 and subsequently until the early years of the eighteenth century. The interior furnishings are also remarkable, as is an organ from the late eighteenth century originally painted in tempera.