The family of historic Emilian residences in the Castelli del Ducato interregional circuit is expanding: from March 2024 Palazzo Marchi has entered the cultural tourism network, an eighteenth-century artistic site in the heart of Parma on the Strada della Repubblica, along the ancient Via Emilia, where it is possible to relive the atmosphere of the court Philip and Ferdinand of Bourbon. Open March to July and September to December with guided tours and educational activities for schools. Possibility of tours for groups also in other months of the year.
Designed by Giovanni Isidoro Furlani and entirely decorated in stucco by Giocondo Albertolli, Palazzo Marchi houses the magnificent art collection of the Marchi family, among which stands out the San Rocco painted by Parmigianino. Antonio Marchi (1923-2003), film director, cultural and industrial organizer, great lover of art and literature, bought it in 1859 and since then it has been owned by the same family that also owns the Montechiarugolo Castle, another extraordinary gem. between the castles of the duchy. “The palace is accessible with guided tours at scheduled times curated by the ArcheoVea Impresa Culturale: they take place along the entire main floor where our family’s art collection is located – he explains Bianca Marchi – paintings, including a canvas painted by Parmigianino, furniture, sculptures, crockery, engravings and prints that testify to the passionate cultural context fostered by the Academy of Fine Arts in Parma. Each room is delicately decorated with original stucco from the 18th century, where angels triumph, ornate elements and rich foliage, reminiscent of the tradition of French decorativism. In addition, the palace established a dialogue with contemporary art, which in some spaces comes into contact with elements of the permanent collection”.
“Welcome to Palazzo Marchi. All the artistic places of the Castelli del Ducato circuit qualify as important witnesses of art, culture and beauty – emphasizes the president of Castelli del Ducato Orazio Zanardi Landi – every visitor, every tourist who enters one of our estates, museums and historic buildings with the contribution of their ticket, helps us to keep these wonders alive and open.” In addition to the classic guided tours, Palazzo Marchi organizes events, activities and educational workshops for school groups, meetings, conferences and receptions for weddings and ceremonies.
The history of Palazzo Marchi
The palace, built on the territory of the ancient customs house, once belonging to the Counts of Da Vico, was built between 1770 and 1774 by order of the Marquis Scipione Grillo, Duke of Monterotondo and Anguillara and Cavallerizzo Maggiore at the Court of Parma. . The project was entrusted to Petitot’s pupil, Abbot Giovanni Furlani, and the stucco decoration of the main floor and the duke’s private apartment was done by Giocondo Albertolli, one of the most experienced interior decorators of the time. With Grillo’s departure from the ducal court, the palace passed to the counts of Langosco-Alari, then to the Malaspina, Galatino and Mazza-Poldi families; Antonio Marchi bought it in 1859 and since then the property has belonged to his descendants.
Parmesan cheese (Parma 1503 – Casalmaggiore 1540) is a truly important trait d’union, because following the footsteps of a restless genius, a tormented man in the Castelli del Ducato circuit between Emilia and Lombardy, takes visitors on an artistic journey that takes place precisely in the places that preserve his memory: in Bardi in the church of Santa Maria Addolorata, where Parmigianino’s early work, The Marriage of Santa Caterina (1521), is kept, a sacred conversation. In Parma, in the historic center, you can visit the Palazzo Marchi with San Rocco attributed to Parmigianino and the Magisterial Basilica of Santa Maria della Steccata, with the Museum of the Constantinian Order, a church built between 1521 and 1539, where the painter worked in very precise.
The Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato in the province shelters the extraordinary “Room of Diana and Actaeon” fresco by Parmigianino in 1523. The last stage of the discovery of Parmigianino’s last refuge, the sanctuary of Beata Vergine della Fontana in Casalmaggiore, where – in the 2nd chapel in the left nave – the funerary stele of the painter is visible , who died in this city in 1540. The sanctuary is located outside the city center, along the road leading to Sabbioneta: the place of faith was built on the site of the church of St. miraculous source.