Palazzo Farnese in Piacenza is the current seat of the Musei Civici (City Museums).
Theatre of the brutal murder of the Duke Pier Luigi Farnese, this historic building has become a huge box for masterpieces and precious objects like the Etruscan Liver, the very sweet Botticelli Tondo (rounded painting), the ducal frescoed apartments and much more.
Don’t miss the giant basement where you’ll discover the secret life of the court.
Right there you will find the Carriage Museum, second only to that of the Quirinale Palace in Rome. It takes us (this verb fits perfectly...) throughout the history of the European way of life from 18th century to the Modern Age.
The “Little Versailles of the Dukes of Parma” was the summer residence of the Farnese, Bourbons and Marie-Louise of Austria. Today we can visit the rooms of the noble floor, the private apartment of Duke Ferdinand, the Ducal Chapel of Saint Liborius and the park.
The complex, which is being restored, is of all castles that which is most related to the history of the duchy and the city of Parma. It is rich in histories and anecdotes fed by the personages who lived there, such as the Duchess Babette, the Duke Ferdinand de Bourbon, the Duchess Marie-Louise. Here is a curiosity: did you know that the great fountain of the Ducal Park of Parma used to be in the garden of the Palace of Colorno a century ago? And what destiny had the Palace after the Unity of Italy? Come and discover the reason for this curious move during a tour that will surely surprise you.