Spezzano Castle

Spezzano Castle is Medieval, but was transformed by the Pio di Savoia family into a palace in 1529. The central part consists of the Renaissance porticoed courtyard, the reception rooms and the Room of Views, with an imposing array of frescoes showing feudal towns, towers and castles.

This elegant country residence, which offered a warm welcome to its guests, is now home to the Fiorano Museum of Ceramics, housed on the ground floor and in the basement of the castle.

The castle is surrounded by a romantic, nineteenth century park, with an equipped picnic area; a cycle path-footpath leads to the Salse di Nirano Nature Reserve.

The pentagonal tower, which originally housed the dungeons, is now home to the town vinegar cellar.

A room on the ground floor, once the Council Room and court, became the chapel in the early twentieth century, with a precious decorated altar with an altar-cloth in Carpi plaster from 1699 and an eighteenth century kneeling-stool, donated by the relatives of Count Alfonso Pignatti Morano, who was the owner of Spezzano Castle.

The Council Room contains a cord, attached to a bell on the entrance tower, which was used to warn the local populace in the case of fire, natural catastrophes and murders. The seventeenth century bell was replaced by the nineteenth century bell still present.