Here popes and princes stayed and always here in 1111 Matilde received Henry V and was proclaimed by him imperial vicar (vice-queen) of Italy.Īfter Matilde’s death, the castle underwent numerous transformations, which made it a stately home with frescoes, ballrooms and reception rooms. Here Matilde lived almost habitually and here she hosted Henry IV penitent, before the humiliation that took place in Canossa in 1077. The area is located within a 160-hectare protected natural oasis. Starting from the castle closest to the city of Reggio Emilia, the first stop on our itinerary is the Castle of Bianello, in the municipality of Quattro Castella.īuilt on a natural balcony in the first hills of the Reggio Emilia Apennines, from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view, this castle is the only survivor of the four located on the hills that give the municipal territory its name (Quattro Castella means “four castles”).
What we propose is therefore an itinerary of 5 castles perched on the hills of Reggio Emilia that witnessed these important historical events: places that preserve the memory of an ancient time and which are still able to surprise the visitor today thanks to the spectacular landscapes from which they are surrounded. In these places some of the most important historical episodes of the time took place, such as the humiliation of Enrico IV in 1077 at the Canossa Castle (from which the phrase “go to Canossa” was born in reference to those who humiliate themselves or admit a mistake), the victory against the imperial army of the same Enrico IV in 1092, victory due also to the strategic network of castles, fortresses and fortified villages present in the Val d’Enza affiliated to Matilde, and her coronation as vice-queen of Italy by Enrico V at the Bianello Castle in 1111. Right here, in fact, around the year 1000 the famous Countess Matilde di Canossa placed the political and military center of her fiefdom, a territory extended from Lombardy to Tuscany, up to the borders with the Papal States. Perhaps not everyone knows that the Apennines of Reggio Emilia in the central centuries of the Middle Ages lived an era of great splendor.
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