Ducal Palace of Colorno
Encyclopedia
The Ducal Palace, also known as Reggia di Colorno, is an edifice in the territory of Colorno
(province of Parma
), Emilia Romagna, Italy
. It was built by Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma
in the early 18th century on the remains of a former castle.
. It belonged to the Correggio and Terzi families, and in the 16th-17th centuries it was restored by countess Barbara Sanseverino, who desired a true palace for her court, and to house her prestigious collection of works by painters such as Raphael
, Titian
, Mantegna
and Correggio
.
After the beheading of Barbara Sanseverino by the Duke Ranuccio Farnese
, the palace was acquired by the Farnese of Parma. Ranuccio II
and his wife Margherita Violante began a complete reconstruction that was completed under their son Francesco, directed by architect Ferdinando Bibbiena
.
The palace was the home of the defunct Enrichetta d'Este
, widow of Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma
.
In the 18th century, Duke Philip
commissioned its restoration by the French architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, and tried to emulate in the interior the decor of the Palace of Versailles
. Philip was married to Princess Louise Élisabeth of France
, who was the eldest daughter of Louis XV of France
.
On November 28, 1807, after the annexation of the Duchy of Parma to the French Empire
, the palace was declared "imperial property" and new restoration works were started. After the Congress of Vienna
, the duchy went to Marie Louise
, Napoleon's wife, who made the Reggia her favourite residence and created a wide English-style garden
.
After the unification of Italy, it became a state possession, and in 1870 it was acquired by the province of Parma, and is now home to ALMA, a world renowned Italian culinary school.
. Under Francesco Farnese it was renovated with a mix of French- and Italian-style landscape garden, which was further modified by Duchess Marie Louise.
Damaged during World War II
, it has been recently returned to its antique splendour by a restoration.
Colorno
Colorno is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 90 km northwest of Bologna and about 15 km north of Parma...
(province of Parma
Province of Parma
The Province of Parma is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Parma.It has an area of 3,449 km², and a total population of 413,198...
), Emilia Romagna, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was built by Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma
Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma
Francesco Farnese reigned as the seventh and penultimate Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1694 until his death...
in the early 18th century on the remains of a former castle.
History
A Rocca (castle) was built on the site by Azzo da Correggio as a defence of the Po RiverPo River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
. It belonged to the Correggio and Terzi families, and in the 16th-17th centuries it was restored by countess Barbara Sanseverino, who desired a true palace for her court, and to house her prestigious collection of works by painters such as Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
, Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...
and Correggio
Antonio da Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio , usually known as Correggio, was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the 16th century...
.
After the beheading of Barbara Sanseverino by the Duke Ranuccio Farnese
Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ranuccio I Farnese reigned as Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1592. A firm believer in absolute monarchy, Ranuccio, in 1594, centralised the administration of Parma and Piacenza, thus rescinding the nobles' hitherto vast prerogative...
, the palace was acquired by the Farnese of Parma. Ranuccio II
Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma
Ranuccio II Farnese was the sixth Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1646 until his death nearly 50 years later.-Birth and Succession:...
and his wife Margherita Violante began a complete reconstruction that was completed under their son Francesco, directed by architect Ferdinando Bibbiena
Galli da Bibiena family
The Galli-Bibiena family, or Galli da Bibiena , was a family of Italian artists of the 17th and 18th centuries, including:* father, Giovanni Maria Galli da Bibiena ;...
.
The palace was the home of the defunct Enrichetta d'Este
Enrichetta d'Este
Enrichetta d'Este was an Italian noblewoman. She was the Duchess of Parma by marriage to Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma, who was her first cousin as well as an uncle of Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain....
, widow of Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma
Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma
Antonio Farnese was the eighth and ultimate Farnese Duke of Parma and Piacenza. He married, in 1727, Enrichetta d'Este of Modena with the intention of begetting an heir; the marriage, however, was childless, leading to the succession of Charles of Spain–whose mother, Elisabeth Farnese, was...
.
In the 18th century, Duke Philip
Philip, Duke of Parma
Philip of Spain was Duke of Parma from 1748 to 1765. He founded the House of Bourbon-Parma , a cadet line of the Spanish branch of the dynasty...
commissioned its restoration by the French architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, and tried to emulate in the interior the decor of the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. Philip was married to Princess Louise Élisabeth of France
Princess Louise Élisabeth of France
Louise Élisabeth de France was the eldest daughter of King Louis XV of France and his Queen consort, Maria Leszczyńska, and the elder twin sister of Anne Henriette de France. As the daughter of the king, she was a Daughter of France...
, who was the eldest daughter of Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
.
On November 28, 1807, after the annexation of the Duchy of Parma to the French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, the palace was declared "imperial property" and new restoration works were started. After the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, the duchy went to Marie Louise
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma...
, Napoleon's wife, who made the Reggia her favourite residence and created a wide English-style garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
.
After the unification of Italy, it became a state possession, and in 1870 it was acquired by the province of Parma, and is now home to ALMA, a world renowned Italian culinary school.
The park
The first park dates from that of 1480, commissioned by count Roberto SanseverinoRoberto Sanseverino
Roberto Sanseverino was an Italian nobleman and admiral of the Kingdom of Naples. He was the first prince of Salerno from 1463, as well as the count of Marsica and Sanseverino, baron of Cilento and lord of Agropoli and Castellabate....
. Under Francesco Farnese it was renovated with a mix of French- and Italian-style landscape garden, which was further modified by Duchess Marie Louise.
Damaged during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it has been recently returned to its antique splendour by a restoration.