ThePalazzo della Pilotta is a complex of edifices located between Piazzale della Pace and the Lungoparma in the historical centre ofParma, region ofEmilia Romagna, Italy. Its name derives from the game ofpelota played at one time by Spanish soldiers stationed in Parma.
Built around 1583, during the last years of reign of DukeOttavio Farnese, it developed around the corridor (Corridore) which connected the keep (Rocchetta, traces of which can be seen next the river Parma) to theDucal Palace: the latter, begun in 1622 under DukeRanuccio I, was never completed. the façade on thePiazza della Ghiaia is missing and the annexedDominican church of St. Peter was demolished only in recent times.
The existing complex includes three courts: theCortile di San Pietro Martire (now best known asCortile della Pilotta),Cortile del Guazzatoio (originallydella pelota) and theCortile della Racchetta. The Pilotta was to house a large hall, later turned into theTeatro Farnese, the stables and the grooms' residences, the Academy Hall and other rooms.
After the end of theFarnese family rule of Parma, much of the movable assets of the palace were removed by thenDuke Charles I, later King of Spain, and taken toNaples in the 1730s. TheBiblioteca Palatina was established here by 1769.Elizabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain, was born here in 1692.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Reinach Theatre was built on the area of the previous church of San Pietro Martire, inaugurated in 1871. In 1939 it changed its name to Teatro Paganini and was almost completely destroyed, along with parts of the palace, by an aerial bombardment in May 1944, and then demolished. The old Doge's Palace was also severely damaged and then demolished.
Between 1986 and 2001, after a long and debated planning phase, the redevelopment of the Piazzale della Pace was completed on a project by the Swiss architect Mario Botta, creating the large garden and the fountain that follows the perimeter of the former church of San Pietro.
By 2015, the building spaces had been taken up by a number of cultural institutions and museums, including in addition to the library:
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44°48′17″N10°19′33″E / 44.804809°N 10.325929°E /44.804809; 10.325929
