What is "busseto"

Busseto (Büsé in Emilian) is a comune in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with a population of about 7,100. Its history has very ancient roots which date back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred years it was the capital of Stato Pallavicino.

The first written sources the name "Busseto" were in the form of "Buxetum", which dates from the early twelfth century. However, it is believed that the town's name derives from "buxus" (meaning boxwood) or, in another form, as "busetum" (an enclosure for oxen).

The "Rocca", the fortress was built in the time of Adalberto Pallavicini, founder of the family, in the eleventh century. In the first half of the thirteenth century, it was completely rebuilt and surrounded by a moat and a drawbridge linking it to the square. In time, however, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times and then lost the drawbridge and part of the walls. In 1857 it was again rebuilt almost entirely in the neo-Gothic style by architect Pier Luigi Montecchini. The present-day Rocca has preserved the original keep and the main tower. La Rocca, within which lies the Teatro Verdi, it is now the Municipal Palace, the seat of the municipality of Busseto.