Castle of Tabiano

Tabiano Castle (Italian: Castello di Tabiano) is a medieval manor house in the small district of Tabiano Castello, belonging to the municipality of Salsomaggiore Terme, in the province of Parma.

The original castle was probably built by the Pallavicino family between the 10th and 11th centuries, on the remains of a Roman-era settlement; however, there is no certain information on the birth of the fortress, which some historians say dates instead to the early 12th century.

In 1143, Marquis Oberto I Pallavicino divided his numerous properties among his sons, triggering a long dispute that also involved the manor of Tabiano, which fell to his son Delfino. In 1149, the fortification was attacked by his brother Guglielmo and the people of Piacenza, who were initially defeated thanks to the help of the people of Parma and Cremona. However, in the following year, the Piacenza people managed to conquer, sack and destroy the castle. In 1153, it was rebuilt and Delfino was officially endowed with the title of marquis; peace between the two brothers was sanctioned in 1158 by Frederick Barbarossa at the Diet of Roncaglia.

In 1180, Delfino Pallavicino died without heirs, leaving the fortress to the canons of the Parma Cathedral Chapter, which a few years later ceded three-quarters of it to Bernardo da Cornazzano. In 1249 the castle reentered the Pallavicino possessions when the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Swabia officially awarded it to Marquis Oberto II Pallavicino, who in 1267 was again forced to surrender it due to an assault by the Guelphs of Parma.

In the early 14th century, Manfredino Pallavicino, son of Oberto II, managed to regain possession of the manor with the help of the Visconti family of Milan, but he left it to his cousins from the Scipione branch, who in turn passed it on to the Busseto lineage. In 1374, however, Bernabò Visconti, taking advantage of the conspiracy that Niccolò Pallavicino hatched behind the back of his uncle Giacomo, marquis of Bargone, attacked the fortress and took possession of it, giving it in 1380 to his consort Regina della Scala. In 1390, Gian Galeazzo Visconti handed the castle back to Niccolò, who, however, died by poisoning in 1401, leaving all his wealth to his son Rolando the Magnificent.

Text adapted from “Tabiano Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castle of Tabiano ranks #5,457 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #371 of the 416 mapped in Italy. Founded 1350, it is older than 56% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 557 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

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