Castle of Castelguelfo, Medieval castle in Castelguelfo, Noceto, Italy

The Castle of Castelguelfo is a medieval lowland manor on the Via Emilia at Castelguelfo, a hamlet of Noceto. It began as a single defensive tower guarding the ford of the Via Emilia over the Taro, which in the Middle Ages ran close to the building. Sinibaldo Fieschi, later Pope Innocent IV, had walls and defensive towers added around 1226; in 1557 Duke Ottavio Farnese turned the fortress into a noble residence.

The first fortification, probably a single defensive tower, was built before the 12th century to guard the ford of the Via Emilia over the Taro. In 1189 Frederick Barbarossa enfeoffed Oberto I Pallavicino with the castle, then called Burgo Taronis. Sinibaldo Fieschi, the future Innocent IV, renamed it Torre di Sinibaldo and had walls and towers added around 1226. Razed in 1314, it was rebuilt by Rolando il Magnifico and renamed Castrum Guelphum by Ottobuono de' Terzi after his 1407 siege.

The name Castelguelfo comes from Castrum Guelphum, given by the Guelph captain Ottobuono de' Terzi after he took the castle in 1407; he also had the Ghibelline eagles painted on the merlons replaced with Guelph lilies. The castle gave its name to the hamlet around it.

The castle is located at Via Emilia 54 in the Castelguelfo district of Noceto in the Province of Parma. It is easily reached on foot or by car and sits close to other historical sites in the area.

The name Castelguelfo dates from 1407, when the Guelph captain Ottobuono de' Terzi took the castle and replaced the Ghibelline eagles painted on its merlons with Guelph lilies. The building was later remodelled: in 1557 Duke Ottavio Farnese, who first wanted to demolish it, turned it into a noble residence.