The rebuilt neo-Gothic village
A few kilometres south of Piacenza, in the plain at the foot of the hills, Grazzano Visconti looks like a perfectly preserved medieval village, with towers, battlements, arcades, wrought-iron lanterns, frescoed houses and craftsmen's workshops. In reality, it is a neo-medieval village built at the beginning of the twentieth century, a sort of dream of the Middle Ages made real. Its creator was Count Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone, a Milanese nobleman and father of the famous film director Luchino Visconti, who from 1905 decided to transform the poor hamlet that had grown around the family castle into an ideal village in the style of the fifteenth century, rebuilding houses, squares and streets.
The castle, which really dates back to the fourteenth century, when it was built by the Visconti, is surrounded by a large park with an Italian garden, labyrinth and woods, which can be visited. The village was also conceived as a centre of craftsmanship, with schools of wrought iron, wood carving and furniture-making, to give work to the local population, and still today there are many shops of crafts, antiques and souvenirs, as well as taverns and restaurants. A legend says that the castle and the village are haunted by the ghost of Aloisa, a young woman who died of a broken heart because of her unfaithful husband, and who has become the protector of lovers; her statue stands in a courtyard of the village. In spring, the village hosts a great medieval parade with costumes, flag-wavers and knights.
Tip: the village is pedestrian and easy to visit in a couple of hours; in December it hosts a charming Christmas market.
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