Busseto
The itinerary begins in the hamlet of Roncole Verdi, with Verdi’s Birthplace – a modest building sublet to his family in 1781. In 1913, on the occasion of the centenary of Verdi’s birth, a bronze statue by Giuseppe Cantù was placed in the garden in front of the house. Nearby, you can visit "Casa Archivio Giovannino Guareschi" Museum, a place of study and documentation, to learn more about the author.
The Church of San Michele Arcangelo, where Verdi was baptized, is also located in the hamlet.
Moving to Piazza Verdi in Busseto, you can admire the monument dedicated to the homonymous composer, by sculptor Luigi Secchi, inaugurated in 1913. On the opposite side, the Rocca Pallavicino was the heart of the Pallavicino State, an imperial feud located between the papal possessions and the territory of Cremona of the Duchy of Milan. After the end of the dynasty, the building was annexed to the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, and eventually ceded to Busseto, in 1856. The right wing of the Rocca houses the Giuseppe Verdi Theatre, which attracts young talents and acclaimed performers of melodrama during the Verdi Festival in Parma and Busseto.
In via Roma, it is possible to visit the Giuseppe Verdi National Museum, where, under theatrical lights, listening to the immortal music of the Maestro, you may follow a suggestive itinerary created by the set designer and director Pier Luigi Pizzi.
On 7 June 2014, the Museum dedicated to the great opera singer Renata Tebaldi was inaugurated in the ancient stables of Villa Pallavicino. Through a fascinating itinerary on the heritage of the Italian opera, you will discover objects, clothes, jewelry that belonged to the one that Arturo Toscanini defined "Angel’s voice" as well as documents and images related to famous artists and colleagues of Tebaldi.
Do not miss a stop at the Monte di Pietà, a significant example of Farnesian architecture in the Baroque era, and Palazzo Orlandi, built in neoclassical style by the architect-painter Giuseppe Cavalli from Busseto and purchased by Verdi at the beginning of his economic fortune, where he composed the works Luisa Miller, Stiffelio and Rigoletto.
The tour continues with a visit to the Casa Barezzi Museum, where you can admire a piano; a portrait of Antonio Barezzi (a music enthusiast who noticed Giuseppe Verdi’s talent) and Giuseppe Verdi; some letters including the dedication of the opera Macbeth to his father-in-law (1847).
Eventually, the Collegiate Church of San Bartolomeo in Busseto was built in 1437 to replace a previous building by order of Orlando Pallavicino il Magnifico. Inside, the chapel on the left houses the original crucifix taken as a model for a famous scene in the renowned series of films created by Giovannino Guareschi.