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Information about Gualtieri in the Province of Reggio Emilia

Gualtieri is one of the small towns on the plains south of the Po River that sprang up during the age of the seignories, the glories of which were connected to the imposing land reclamation operations and monumental urban constructions ordered by the Bentivoglio family.

Gualtieri is the ancient "Castrum Walterii" of the 11th century, which belonged in turn to the Bishop of Parma, the Este family, and the Da Correggio family, only to be taken over again by the Este and finally given in fief by them to the Bentivoglio family. In 1567 Alfonso I gave Gualtieri to Cornelio Bentivoglio, investing him with the title of "marquis". Cornelio and his son Ippolito began the imposing land reclamation project that redeemed the wetlands on the plains of Reggio. The basic structures underlying the operation are still in efficient working order today. Ippolito began construction on the Gualtieri Castle, of which the current Palazzo is only a part. He commissioned G. B. Aleotti, better known as "Argenta", to design the beautiful town square that is still standing to this day, and had the Collegiate Church built. The town suffered the disastrous effects of the War of Succession, flooding by the Po River, and abandon by the new feudal lords. Gualtieri still preserves the tangible memory of its past:

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