Inextricably linked to each other, the borgo of Montechiarugolo sits at the foot of its grand castle, near the Enza stream. Almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, this borgo is made of colourful houses standing close to each other and forming a compact nucleus. It’s overlooked by the huge castle, whose current layout was arranged in 1428 by the first count of Montechiarugolo, Guido Torelli.

The Torelli family ruled the area for more than two hundred years, from 1406 to 1612. Pomponio Torelli, a great humanist and diplomat, had transformed the castle into a real court by 1545. The last lord Pio, son of Pomponio, was accused of conspiracy against the Duke of Parma and executed. The sad story of Pio Torelli is intertwined with the legend of Fata Bema, a gentle ghost that is said to haunt the castle. After the castle was confiscated by the Duchy of Parma, it passed to the Italian state. Antonio Marchi, director and documentary filmmaker active in the post-war period, set his 1945 film, The Liberation of Montechiarugolo, here. Montechiarugolo is the area where Parmigiano Reggiano originated, here ten dairies are active producing this world-famous cheese, with an unmistakable flavour and a thousand-year history profoundly linked to the territory. A visit to one of the dairies that produce Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese is a unique multisensory experience.