Festival of Torrechiara Renata Tebaldi: the castle of Torrechiara is undoubtedly the most spectacular, structured and also the most popular in the province of Parma and for this reason it has often been used as a movie set for films such as Lady Donke by Richard Donner, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Broderick and Rutger Hauer and it is home to summer shows including, of course, the Torrechiara Renata Tebaldi Festival. The manor is located at 278 meters on the level of the sea on a walled platform placed at the top of a terraced hill and cultivated to the left of the Parma stream along the road to Langhirano. The first certain news of the existence of a fortified structure in Torrechiara came only in 1259, when the mayor of Parma ordered its demolition, prohibiting its rebuilding two years later. The current castle was built in 1448-60 by Pier Maria Rossi with the aim of providing a defensive and residential structure that, nowadays, makes one of the most pleasing aesthetic experience in the area.

The splendid setting of the Courtyard of Honor of the castle hosts a Festival that combines classical music, jazz, dance, theater and sonorities that are variously linked to tradition. The reason for this combination lies in the belief that the Castle of Torrechiara (and the Courtyard of the castle with its perfect acoustics) is not only a monument of the past, but a space that for five centuries has been experienced, in its own way at every epoch, from the following generations, an ideal bridge between past and present.

A festival dedicated to Renata Tebaldi as the organizer said: “she has been a friend and godmother of our Festival since the beginning. For many years she has followed our work with interest and has never failed to make suggestions and observations. When the Torrechiara Festival was born we immediately thought of dedicating it to her, in the belief that our land should be grateful to her in a permanent way and in places from which her exceptional artistic journey started through music. ”

For further information, please visit the website: www.festivalditorrechiara.it