The Scipione Castle, of the Marquises Pallavicino, is the oldest in the district of Parma. It was built before 1025 by Adalberto Pallavicino, founder of the millennial family and warlord who was praised by Torquato Tasso in his Gerusalemme Liberata and Ludovico Ariosto in his Orlando Furioso. The castle is still inhabited today by the direct descendants of the ancient family. The legend tells that the Castle got its name from a Roman villa, that stood on the same site, built by the family of the famous General Publio Cornelio Scipione, who in 146 BC destroyed Carthage. In the Middle Age, Scipione with its many domains including lands and castles, was the most florid feud of Pallavicino State, and the Castle was the main fortress to protect the salt wells under its jurisdiction, in the villages of Scipione, Salsomaggiore, Salsominore and Tabiano. The Castle saw its height in 1200 at the time of Manfredo Pallavicino, the Lord of the salt, described as a rich and powerful man, and his brother Uberto called: “the Great”, an ally of Emperor Federico II, Imperial Vicar of Lombardy and Lord of Milan. The two brothers were united by an alliance, and in those years the Emperor granted the feud of Scipione important privileges, to emphasize its strategic role in the Imperial structure. The Pallavicino State, controlled by the Holy Roman Empire, had the first capital city in Busseto and then in Cortemaggiore, and extended its dominion, between the year 1000 and the 16th Century, over a large area between Parma and Piacenza to the North, and Liguria and Tuscany to the South. The salt production landscapes were protected by a system of other fortifications too: Bargone, Contignaco and Tabiano, with the task of defending both the salt wells and the wood needed for the timber production, which was necessary for the manufacturing of salt. From an architectural point of view, the castle has the peculiarity of keeping its original external and inner structure, with the ancient entrance to the fortress, once protected by a drawbridge. Important changes took place in 1400th to adapt the castle to the new defensive needs, while in 1600th additional works gave the castle the new configuration of a noble residence. In its furnished rooms, we may appreciate the frescoes, the wonderful fireplaces enriched with the family coat of arms, and the precious decorated panelled ceiling, dating back to the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The sixteenth century loggia gallery, unique in the area, opens onto an unmissable hilly landscape that still enchants the visitors.