Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Guided visit (in Italian) to the Rocca di Soragna and to the Meli Lupi Chapel

MORNING
Guided visit (in Italian) of the Rocca di Soragna, the splendid and richly appointed residence of the princes Meli Lupi who still live there. The rooms are decorated with Early Baroque furniture and furnishings, and are further embellished with fresco decorations by Nicola dell’Abate, Cesare Baglione, and Ferdinando and Francesco Galli Bibiena.

The visit proceeds to Fontanellato to see the biggest labyrinth in the world, born of an idea by Franco Maria Ricci, editor, designer, art collector and book lover, as well as of a promise he had made in 1977 to the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, who had always been fascinated by the symbol of the labyrinth as a metaphor of the human condition: “there are labyrinths with minotaurs, and gardens full of delights. An Eden in which it is beautiful just to wander, mental labyrinths in which one can lose and then find oneself.”  The visit also will include the art collections of Franco Maria Ricci.

LUNCH: Bistrò of the Labyrinth, specialties of the area produced by the Spigaroil brothers

AFTERNOON
The afternoon will be dedicated to a visit (in Italian) of the antique court of the Pallavicina of Polesine Parmense, famous for its cellars that were used already in the 14th century to age salami and cheese and to refine their wines and store the products of their area.