In the silent Piacenza countryside, between fields and vineyards, a small village dwells. An artifact place that depicts a different era from the one it is the daughter of. But capable of making us feel in a medieval town, contained and isolated in a space-time parenthesis.
The perfect setting in which the plot of a fairy tale could take place made of towers, knights and ladies. It is the charming village of Grazzano Visconti.
Grazzano Visconti: how the village was born
Visiting Grazzano Visconti means immersing yourself in a medieval atmosphere. But don't be fooled! The village is nothing more than a reconstruction, at least in part. A sort of revival of the historical past. It was in fact Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone who commissioned its construction in the early 900s. He wanted to recreate, ad hoc, a corner of the Middle Ages made of lanes, blocks of flats and towers. All around the only original element: the castle. The possibility offered to the visitor is precisely this. Stroll through the streets, admire the battlements, enter the pointed arches. Maybe fantasize, imagining costumed characters animating the village. And it is no coincidence that Grazzano Visconti hosts re-enactments especially during the spring and autumn season.
Like the great procession in historical dress held on the last Sunday of May. Or the mid-September day dedicated to youthful medieval adventures. Events capable of attracting a heterogeneous audience, made up of young and old. But, to enliven everything, they also intervene shops and inns. Set inside simple or frescoed buildings, exhibit the arts of the past. Like the processing of the wrought iron from which masterpieces revisited in different eras were born. The village is therefore an important point of interest which as such must be equipped with all the necessary services for a traveling tourist. They could not therefore miss it refreshment places where you can savor the excellence of the local cuisine. Piacenza cured meats and wines, along with much more, make Grazzano Visconti also part of a local food and wine tour.
The castle of the village
It is the very original core. The castle of the end of the 300th century around which the village of Grazzano Visconti was developed centuries later. It was the year 1395. Gian Galeazzo Visconti authorized the construction of a castle in the property of Grazzano, consenting to the wishes of his sister Beatrice and his brother-in-law Giovanni Anguissola. Four corner towers, an internal courtyard and a moat that once surrounded the prestigious building. The situation remained so until 1800 when the noble Piacenza family Anguissola saw the end of their lineage. The property then passed to the Visconti and from these to Guido Visconti di Modrone. It was then his son Giuseppe who commissioned the restoration. The works were completed in the early 900s, coordinated by the architect Alfredo Campanini.
The project was completed by the creation of a 15-hectare park which together with the castle still remains privately owned and can be visited by appointment. The interior spaces of the historic building are also furnished in a heterogeneous style that spans different eras. All according to the taste and choices of Giuseppe Visconti. But this was not enough to satisfy the owner's eclectic spirit. And so here is the idea of ordering the construction of a village in which to contextualize the manor. But what was here before the medieval village artifact? Only a few houses, humble and modest, those that the peasants used as farmhouses and stables. A particular story that characterizes the beginnings of Grazzano Visconti. When from the inspiration of a noble gentleman a parenthesis of history was born, true and reproduced, which can still be accessed today for a day of leisure and curiosity.
