Castello di Felino, Medieval castle in Felino, Italy

Castello di Felino is a fortified structure perched on a hill between two streams, with thick stone walls and four corner towers flanking its sides. A deep defensive moat surrounds the complex and defines its external appearance to this day.

The first reliable record of a castrum at Felino dates to 1140, when abbess Agnese of Sant'Alessandro obtained papal recognition of the monastery's rights over two chapels, one inside and one outside the fortification. In 1186 Frederick Barbarossa granted the fief to Guido de' Ruggeri; through the marriage of Agnese de' Ruggeri to Giacomo de' Rossi it passed to the Rossi, who held it for over a century and gave the castle its rectangular plan with four corner towers. In 1483 Ludovico Sforza had the fortress partly destroyed to reduce its military value.

The castle houses the Museo del Salame di Felino, dedicated to the local salami produced in the surrounding area. The building is also a member of the Associazione dei Castelli del Ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Pontremoli, a network of historic castles open to visitors.

The castle stands at Strada al Castello 1 on a hill above Felino and houses a restaurant and the Felino salami museum. It belongs to the Associazione dei Castelli del Ducato di Parma, Piacenza e Pontremoli. The single entrance is at the keep, reached over a drawbridge, so access is through that gate rather than the open grounds.

Bishop Francesco Magani, in the early 20th century, described the abandoned castle as a "heap of ruins, a hotel for bats, owls and mice". The Pianzola family and the Del Bono counts bought it in the 1970s and had parts converted to house a restaurant; Sergio Alessandrini, the current owner, bought it in 1974.