Bardi is an Italian town of 2 093 inhabitants in the province of Parma in Emilia-Romagna. Bardi is located at 625 meters above sea level in the upper Ceno valley, at the confluence of the Ceno stream and the Noveglia stream, about 60 km from the provincial capital Parma and about 40 km from the Fornovo motorway exit. of the Cisa A15.
"Bardi", according to the legend, derives from
"Bardus" or "Barrio", the last of the elephants in the following of
Hannibal's army who died here during the march towards Rome. In his
memory, Hannibal would then have decided to found a colony.
According to history, however, the toponym "Bardi" derives from the
name that distinguished the Lombard nobility - the so-called
Arimanni - a group of which settled here around 600 AD. The first
attestation of a "Silva arimannorum" very close to Bardi, a wood
entrusted to free men linked directly to the king, dates back to 898
and probably refers to the still predominantly wooded area near
Cogno di Gazzo. The territory was inhabited since the Paleolithic
(the archaeological finds on Monte Lama are proof of this) and later
by the Ligurians; in Roman times it was part of the municipium of
Veleia, and was crossed by the road axis that led to Luni and Rome.
The monks of the abbey of San Colombano di Bobbio have worked in
the area since the Longobard era, who owned goods along the Via
degli Abati or Via Francigena in the mountains, a path that since
the Lombard era connected the city of Bobbio ( PC) with Pavia,
capital of the Lombard Kingdom and Pontremoli, passing through Bardi
and Borgo Val di Taro towards Lucca and Rome. It was traveled by the
abbots and monks of the abbey of Bobbio to go on a visit Ad limina
Apostolorum to the Pope, on a visit to the royal court of Pavia, and
for the control and exchanges with the vast possessions of the great
royal and imperial monastic fiefdom that extended from Oltrepò
Pavese to Tuscany; it was also traveled by Lombard kings and
emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, religious and numerous pilgrims,
who left testimony of passage to the Bobbiese monastery and to the
network of other monasteries and xenodochies that hosted them. The
route descending from the Boccolo de 'Tassi pass crossed Bardi, went
up the Noveglia stream valley and descended to Borgo Val di Taro to
reach Pontremoli. The monastery of Bobbio, as shown by the various
imperial diplomas and the Wala Charter, the first document of all
the possessions of the monastery of Bobbio drawn up in 834 by the
abbot of Bobbio Wala, cousin of Charlemagne, owned the court of
Boccolo which branched out into the whole territory of the district
of Bardi with the xenodochio di San Pietro and the agricultural
estates with wheat, vineyard and pasture land divided between six
levelers and an annual income of ninety-three buckets of wheat, four
amphorae of wine, twenty denarii, nineteen chickens and eggs.
The town is dominated by the imposing castle built in an
elevated position on a spur of red jasper. The first written
evidence of the presence of a castle is given by a parchment dated
869. In August 898 a Bardigiano, Andrea, son of Dagiverto, sells
half of the "Rocha" of Bardi to the Bishop of Piacenza Everardo. In
January 1000 the bishop of Piacenza Sigifredo moved to Bardi, since
the fiefdom became hereditary patrimony of the Bishops of Piacenza.
In the first half of the 13th century the bishop ceded the castle
and the surrounding lands to a group of local nobles known as the
"Conti di Bardi". In 1251 following a rebellion, the Pallavicinos -
lords of Piacenza - stormed and destroyed the castle.
On March 19, 1257, the fiefdom was acquired by Ubertino Landi dei
Landi di Piacenza - Ghibelline counts - who remained lords of Bardi
between ups and downs for the next four centuries. Ubertino Landi
rebuilt and fortified the castle making it an almost impregnable
bulwark. In the struggle between the papacy and the empire (Guelphs
and Ghibellines) Bardi always remained tied to the empire. In 1269
the Guelphs besieged the castle which surrendered after months for
lack of food. The castle passed to the city of Piacenza until
October 1307, when Ubertino II Landi obtained the castle of Bardi,
Borgo Val di Taro and Compiano from the emperor Arrigo VII of
Luxembourg. On 29 November 1321, in the locality of "La giostra"
near the oratory of the Graces, a violent battle was fought between
the Guelfe militias led by Giacomo Cavalcabò, head of Cremona, and
the Ghibelline troops commanded by Galeazzo I Visconti. The Guelphs
had the worst and Cavalcabò himself was killed and buried in the
nearby oratory. In 1381 Gian Galeazzo Visconti recognized the Landi
lordship who obtained complete autonomy in 1415. The castle,
initially designed as a military garrison, was later enlarged and
modified to adapt to the function of capital of a small free state
extended to a large part of the upper Val Ceno and the upper Val
Taro (corresponding to the territory of the municipalities of
Albareto, Bardi , Bedonia, Borgo Val di Taro, Compiano, Tornolo and
Varsi). In 1429 Filippo Maria Visconti conquered the castle,
subsequently entrusted to the mercenary leader Niccolò Piccinino who
kept it from 1438 to 1448. In 1448 the Landi family returned. In
1551 the emperor Charles V erected the fiefdom as a marquisate and
the Landi family obtained the right to mint coins with their own
mint. Agostino Landi was appointed Marquis of Bardi and Prince of
Borgotaro. Agostino was succeeded by Manfredo, who died suddenly in
Spain before his wedding with Giovanna di Aragona, to whom we owe
the current layout of the castle. After the Marquis Claudio in 1589
the castle passed to Don Federico, who established a college of
notaries in Bardi in 1616 with the diploma of Emperor Mattia with
the faculty of granting the qualification degree and the ring. The
college was abolished with the Napoleonic Laws in 1805. The castle
owes an overall rearrangement of the courtyard to Don Federico and
his daughter Polissena, the construction of the portico of the
oratory, the large Armory Room, the collection of paintings and the
library. Polissena was succeeded by his son Andrea III Doria-Landi,
who in 1682, thanks to the mediation of the ambassador Count Fabio
Perletti at the imperial court, ceded Bardi to Ranuccio II Farnese,
Duke of Parma. The history of Bardi followed from that moment the
history of the Duchy of Parma and from 1861 that of the Kingdom of
Italy and the Italian Republic.
Always part of the territory
of the Province of Piacenza, it passed to the province of Parma in
1923. In 1926 the municipality of Boccolo de 'Tassi was aggregated
for the most part to the municipality of Bardi, Farini d'Olmo, now
Farini (PC), and Ferriere (PC), partly constituted the former
municipality of Pione then always aggregated to Bardi the following
year.
From the end of the nineteenth century to the whole of
the twentieth century, the history of Bardi is characterized by the
phenomenon of emigration to Great Britain, France, Switzerland,
Belgium and the United States.
During the Second World War
and after the Armistice Bardi and the surrounding mountains were the
scene of clashes between the German troops and the partisan brigades
of the Val Ceno and Val Taro. On 17 July 1944 at dawn Bardi was
bombed by 12 "Stukas" bombers which caused considerable damage,
while German troops in retreat from Bedonia and Borgo Val di Taro
carried out numerous roundups: the Wallenstein operation.
1 Rocca dei Landi, ☎ +39 0521 821139, +39 334 5746926. Adults
€5.50; groups (minimum 20 people) €5; reduced €4.50; children 6/14
years €3 (2013). April/May Mon-Fri 2pm-5pm; Sat, holidays and long
weekends 10am-7pm. June Mon-Fri 2.00pm-7.00pm; Sat, holidays and
long weekends 10am-7pm. July: Mon-Sun 10am-7pm. August: Mon-Fri
10:00-19:00; holidays 10:00-20:00. September: Mon-Fri 2.00pm-7.00pm;
Sat, holidays and long weekends 10am-7pm. October: Thu-Fri 2pm-5pm;
Sat, holidays and long weekends 10am-6pm. November: Sat, holidays
and long weekends 10am-6pm. Last entry 45 minutes before closing.
Other periods by reservation. The formidable fortress was built on a
spur of red jasper, in a dominant position over the confluence of
the Noveglia stream with the Ceno. Its origins date back to between
the 9th and 10th centuries, when Bishop Everard of Piacenza
purchased half of the rocky outcrop on which a first fortification
stood. The place had to serve as a shelter against the raids of the
Hungarians. The Lombards had already built military garrisons there
during the fights against the Byzantines for control of the Apennine
passes.
The original construction expanded with the passage
of time, until in the 16th century the Landi, a family of Piacenza
origins, deprived of their residence in Piacenza, transformed it
into a noble residence of the State of the Landi, the set of their
possessions, which he resisted the supremacy of the Duke of Parma.
With the extinction of the Landi dynasty, the fortress and the
territory were purchased by the Farnese dukes of Parma. The castle
thus becomes peripheral within the Duchy and its importance as a
control point for crossings and trade also disappears.
With the
Unification it was used as a military prison, to then be handed over
to the Municipality of Bardi in 1868. Worthy of note are the patrol
walkways, the towers, the Princes' hall, the parade ground, the
porticoed honor courtyard , the well, the icehouse, the granaries,
the prisons and the torture rooms, which house a collection of
torture instruments from different eras, from the period of the
Inquisition to the 18th century.
The legend
The Rocca di Bardi
still hosts the ghost of Moroello, Commander of the Guards in the
15th century. He was believed dead in combat by his beloved, who
threw herself from the cliff. Unable to bear such pain, he also
threw himself into the precipice.
And this is how the ghost of
him without peace periodically reappears. A team of researchers of
paranormal phenomena from the Center for Parapsychological Studies
in Bologna believe they have managed to photograph a manifestation
of Moroello's ghost. The images are visible in a room of the castle.
2 Church of San Francesco. The wife of Claudio II Landi was
responsible for purchasing the land for the construction of a
palatine chapel, right at the foot of the Rocca, in 1571; the intent
was to create a palace oratory, a pantheon for the family and a
hospital. The work was completed in 1589, and was consecrated by the
Bishop of Piacenza. Chaplains of princely appointment ran the
church. Claudio II and his wife Giovanna Hernandez of Cordoba and
Aragon were buried there.
At the beginning of the seventeenth
century Federico Landi designed an expansion of the building with an
apse and side chapels, as well as the construction of a convent, to
accommodate the Franciscan Friars Minor. Recovery and restoration
works carried out in the twentieth century after the nineties
brought to light some burials under the apse area and along the
eastern perimeter wall, in rectangular ossuaries with barrel vaults,
and in wooden coffins along the eastern side .
From surveys it
seems that the only surviving structure of the previous construction
is a part of the wall on the south-east side, where a child's burial
was found.
After the restoration, the church is used as a
cultural container for artistic events, exhibitions, concerts.
3 Parish Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. The façade is inspired
by the neo-Romanesque style, with a gable roof and lateral wings
underlined by brick pilasters. The upper part is enlivened by five
small arches with paired columns that surmount the large portal with
a round arch. The building has the classic east-west orientation,
with entrance to the west and apse to the east.
The current
construction is probably the result of the expansion of a
pre-existing church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of Consolation,
which was rebuilt to provide a convent church for the Servite
monastic complex. annexed to the adjacent monastery. The Order of
the Servites was then suppressed in 1805 during the Napoleonic era;
the church remained open, and the convent was given to the
Municipality of Bardi which placed the public schools and the
Dragoon Command there. Finally, in 1844 the convent became a girls'
school for Benedictine nuns.
The function of parish church was
attributed to it at the end of the nineteenth century and in the
following century it was completely rebuilt; it was consecrated in
1934.
The interior responds to the criteria of the basilica
style, with three naves with cross vaults and ribs, semicircular
apse, round arches that divide the side naves. The church houses two
precious pictorial works. The Marriage of Saint Catherine is the
work of Francesco Mazzola known as Parmigianino (Parma 1503 -
Casalmaggiore 1540), who painted it at the age of 18 while he was a
guest of relatives in Viadana. It is believed that the work may have
arrived here through the Servites also present in Viadana. The
fulcrum of the representation is the trunk of a column on which the
Madonna is sitting with the Baby Jesus in her arm; on the right
Saint John the Baptist, on the left Saint John the Evangelist; Saint
Catherine of Alexandria holds out her hand to Jesus to receive the
wedding ring of the mystical marriage. In the lower part of her
painting, her palm and the cogwheel are depicted, symbols of
martyrdom.
The other important work is the Bust of the Virgin by
Francesco Nuvolone known as Panfilo, a seventeenth-century Cremonese
painter.
4 Church of San Giovanni Battista. The era of
foundation of the church is believed to be the sixteenth century.
Also known as the Church of the Predella, it was consecrated in
1589, only to be subjected to various restoration and reconstruction
interventions in the following centuries. The bell tower was also
rebuilt in 1830, following the demolition of the existing one which
had become unsafe. In 1756 it replaced the ancient parish church of
Saints Gervaso and Protaso which was located outside the urban
perimeter. It was in turn replaced by the church of the Beata Maria
Vergine Addolorata, the current parish church.
The facade is in
beautiful perspective on one side of the main square of the town.
Six trabeated pilasters divide and enliven the lower part of the
façade. Just as many pilaster strips branch off from the
stringcourse to reach the upper part with a salient undulation which
from the sides ends in the central gabled part, supporting a statue,
as well as each of the two pairs of lateral pilaster strips. The
building has a north-south orientation.
The side elevations are
in exposed stone, as is the bell tower behind the apse. The bell
tower has round arch openings with trabeated pilasters. The interior
has a single nave with three chapels.
San Siro Oratory. An
interesting rustic Romanesque building is the church of S. Siro,
whose wall structure can be dated to the 12th - 13th century. From
the church you can enjoy a beautiful view of Bardi and its castle.
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces. The Sanctuary was built from
1774 to 1779. It is in Baroque style, with a central rose window and
three entrance portals. Inside, with a central plan with a square
presbytery, it preserves eighteenth-century paintings and frescoes.
Next to the presbytery there is a wooden statue of the Madonna del
Rosario.
Its holidays are May 26th and March 25th, the day of the
Annunciation.
The legend
The story of a mysterious story is
passed down. An ancient stone basin is located in front of the
Sanctuary; it served to quench the thirst of the numerous pilgrims
who came from far away. Several times some farmers moved it to their
fields, but the tub always reappeared in its place in front of the
Sanctuary.
Fair. the first Thursday after Easter.
Fair. the first Thursday
after Pentecost.
Feast of the Madonna delle Grazie Sanctuary, May
26th.
Patronal feast of San Giovanni Battista. on June 24th.
Fair
- Rondinara Festival. the third Thursday of July.
San Bartolomeo
Fair. on August 24th.
Emigrant's Day. on August 13th.
Feast of the
Parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Sorrows. the third Sunday of
September.
Festival of Sant'Anna (in Gravago). the last Saturday and
Sunday of July.
Bardi horse exhibition (Lagomonti area). the first
Saturday and first Sunday of August. The first news on the origins of
the Bardigiano dates back to 1864 with a description from a historical
source of a sufficiently homogeneous variety of horses that extended
from the Apennines of western Emilia to Lunigiana. The Herd Book of the
Bardigiana breed horse was established by Ministerial Decree on 2 August
1977.
Nearby there is the WWF Ghirardi Oasis which can be reached from
Porcigatone on the road that connects Bardi to Borgotaro. The Ghirardi
Regional Nature Reserve is one of the protected natural areas of the
Emilia-Romagna region. It was established in 2010 and occupies an area
of 370 hectares in the province of Parma.
Monte Pelpi can be reached
by car or on foot along the CAI paths, and is also an excellent starting
base for hang gliding enthusiasts.
Average prices
1 Antica Osteria del Pellicano, Via P. Cella, 31
(300 meters from the castle), ☎ +39 0525 71008, +39 339 1491680.
2 La
Corte delle Due Spade Restaurant, via Giordani 9 (30 meters from the
castle), ☎ +39 0525 72038, +39 333 7389831,
giovannilliwalter@libero.it
Modest prices
1 Affittacamere da Rita, Via Predella, 1, ☎ +39 0525
72238.
2 Albergo Bue Rosso, Piazza Martiri d'Unità, 10 (300 meters
from the castle), ☎ +39 0525 72260, fax: +39 0525 733007. Two-star
hotel.
3 Albergo Sole, Località Pione, 5, ☎ +39 0525757100. Two-star
hotel.
Bardi is located 625 meters above sea level in the upper Ceno valley, at the confluence between the Ceno stream and the Noveglia stream, about 60 km from the provincial capital of Parma and about 40 km from the Fornovo motorway toll booth of the Cisa A15.
Fractions
Assirati, Bazzini, Bergazzi, Berlini, Bertonazzi,
Boccolo, Bosini, Bre, Brugnoli, Caberra di Costageminiana, Cacrovoli,
Caneto, Cantiga di Costageminiana, Caprile, Carpana, Casanova, Case Ini,
Case Soprane, Cavallare, Cerreto, Chiesabianca, Cogno di Gazzo, Cogno di
Grezzo, Comune Soprano, Costa, Credarola, Cremadasca, Diamanti, Dorbora,
Faccini, Faggio di Pione, Fantoni, Ferrari, Filippini, Franchini,
Frassineto, Gabriellini, Gazzo, Geminiano, Granelli, Granere, Gravago,
Grezzo, Lezzara , Lobbie, Wife, Monastery of Gravago, Noveglia, Osacca,
Panigaro, Pareto, Piana Gazzo, Pianelletto, Pieve di Gravago, Pione,
Ponteceno di sopra, Romei, Roncole, Rossi, Rugarlo, Saliceto, Santa
Giustina, Segarati, Sidolo, Tanugola , Taverna, Tiglio, Vicanini,
Vischetto di Là, Vosina (ghost town), Noceto, Venice, Lame, Cansanldi,
Arcisa, Boriani, Molino Castelletto, Monticelli, Ghiaia, Tra Rio, Belli,
Prato Femmine, Bazzini, Mazzaron, Poggiolo, Bellagamba, Orsara,
Franchini, Chiastre, Centoni, Linguadà, Madonna del Monte, Pietra Nera,
Casermure, Guselli, Lubbia, Sorba, Landino.