Antica Corte Pallavicina, Medieval palace and restaurant in Polesine Parmense, Italy

Antica Corte Pallavicina is a brick castle with two projecting corner towers, built around a central courtyard entered over a small bridge and through a brick arch. The oldest wing stands on the west side; inside, ground-floor rooms have umbrella vaults and tempera decorations, and the cellars now hold curing culatelli and Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels.

In 1249 Marquis Oberto Pallavicino, a commander under Emperor Frederick II, was invested with Polesine and built a fortress guarding the Po harbour and the tolls on river traffic. After the fall of the Hohenstaufen, Cremona seized the territory and the fort was abandoned. Rebuilt as a residence around the end of the 15th century, probably by Galeazzo Pallavicino, it was sold in 1780 to the ducal camera of Parma as a barracks for border dragoons against smuggling. The Spigaroli brothers bought it in 1990 and restored it over nearly twenty years.

The museum inside displays traditional meat preparation methods that are still practiced locally, reflecting the deep connection between this place and regional food craftsmanship.

Dining requires advance reservations and the kitchen focuses on regional cooking styles rather than fine dining formality. Overnight stays and cooking workshops are available, and the location is easily reached on foot from the nearby village.

The cellars where culatelli and Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels mature occupy the oldest part of the complex, the west wing with its two projecting corner towers. Massimo and Luciano Spigaroli, descendants of the family that rented the estate in 1905, bought the ruin in 1990 and restored it over nearly twenty years before the cellars returned to curing meat.