Fontanellato

Fontanellato (Parmigiano: Funtanlè) is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the A1 autostrada, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Parma towards Piacenza. The town was built up in the 15th century around the moated and fortified house of the Sanvitale family, the Rocca Sanvitale, on the borders of the domain of the Dukes of Parma. The house was occupied by the family until 1951, when it was sold to the commune. One notable feature of the Rocca Sanvitale is a room which serves as a large camera obscura in which a small hole acts as a lens causing an image of an outside scene to be projected inside the room. The shrine to the Madonna del Rosario commemorates a succession of miracles beginning in 1628. One of the main attractions of the town is the Labirinto della Masone, once the largest maze in the world, built by native son Franco Maria Ricci totally from Bamboo.