Booking choice: The Labirinto entry ticket, from $25 per person. Check dates Compare the options below
Fontanellato sits in the Bassa Parmense, the low plain between Parma and the Po, a land of fog, poplars and cured meats. Within a short drive of the Labirinto are castles, food makers and small towns with big histories.
Below: a sample day, Rocca Sanvitale, where to taste culatello, the Bassa, Soragna's castle, Verdi's Busseto, Fidenza Village and Salsomaggiore, and Parma's food and art, with the hours and prices we could verify. Most of it needs a car.
The quick answer
Start with the Labirinto and Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato, 5 km apart, and add a curing-room tasting at nearby Sanguinaro ($25, 1 hour). With a second day, go north for culatello country and Soragna's castle (guided tours only), west for Verdi's Busseto, or south-west for Fidenza Village and the Salsomaggiore spa. In Parma, the Parmigiano and Parma ham tour is rated 4.9 from 954 reviews. Avoid Tuesdays, when the Labirinto and usually the Rocca are closed.
What can you combine with the Labirinto in one day?
Rocca Sanvitale and a tasting of cured meats fit easily around the maze; add a spa evening in Salsomaggiore if you have the energy.
A sample day in summer, on any day but Tuesday. Check each place's hours for your date.
| When | What | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Rocca Sanvitale, Fontanellato | Weekday guided visit of the noble floor at 10:15 |
| 12:00 | Lunch in Fontanellato or at the Labirinto | The Labirinto's restaurant serves lunch Wednesday to Sunday, 12:00 to 14:30 |
| 13:30 | Labirinto della Masone | About 45 minutes in the maze and 45 in the collection; last entry 17:30 |
| 16:30 | Curing-room tasting at Sanguinaro | About 1 hour; check the listing's start times |
| Evening | QC Terme spa, Salsomaggiore | Open to 23:00 Sunday to Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday |
| Day two | Parma, or the Bassa with Soragna and Busseto | Food tours start from Parma; Soragna's castle is by guided tour only |
Should you visit Rocca Sanvitale?
Yes, if you like art: the moated castle in Fontanellato holds Parmigianino's frescoes of Diana and Actaeon (1523 to 1524) and a working 19th-century camera obscura.
It is about 5 km from the Labirinto, and a Labirinto ticket bought on GetYourGuide brings a discount on entry. Hours, guided visit times and prices are in our Rocca Sanvitale guide.
Where can you taste culatello near the Labirinto?
Closest is the one-hour tasting at La Fattoria di Parma in Sanguinaro, a village of Fontanellato: Parma ham, culatello and culatta side by side for $25. It has only 2 reviews so far.
Both reviews are 5 stars; one guest in September 2026 wrote 'We really enjoyed the factory tour and tasting!' You make your own way there, which is easy with a car. For a longer, private version in the heart of culatello country, see the next section. The curing-room tasting cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Parma ham, culatello and culatta tasted side by side in a curing room near the maze, in about an hour.
Explore the curing-room tastingWhat is the Bassa, the culatello country?
The low, foggy plain between Fontanellato and the Po, around Zibello, Polesine Parmense and Roccabianca, where Culatello di Zibello is made and aged in cellars.
The culatello country half day ($262 per person, rated 5.0 from 6 reviews) is private, with pickup within 15 km of central Parma. The listing passes San Secondo Parmense, Roccabianca castle and Zibello, then spends about 2 hours 45 minutes at a farm at Polesine Parmense with animals, vineyards and curing rooms, with a meal of homemade pasta, culatello and local wine. It cancels free up to 24 hours before.
A private half day where culatello is made, with a farm visit and lunch, from Parma.
Check dates for the culatello country half dayIs Soragna castle worth a visit?
If you like grand interiors, yes: the Rocca Meli Lupi at Soragna is visited by guided tour only, for EUR 15, or EUR 20 with the park.
In summer 2026 (1 July to 31 August), tours ran Tuesday to Friday at 15:00 and 16:30, and at weekends and on holidays at 10:30, 12:00, 15:00 and 16:30; the castle is closed on Mondays. Children aged 6 to 16 pay EUR 13, or EUR 18 with the park, and under 6s go free. We could not confirm the off-season timetable, so call +39 0524 597964 before you go.
What is there to see in Busseto?
Verdi's world: he was born at nearby Le Roncole on 10 October 1813, and Busseto has the small Teatro Verdi and Casa Barezzi, home of his patron and father-in-law.
Verdi gave his first public performance at Casa Barezzi in 1830, and since 2001 it has held a permanent exhibition on Verdi and the Barezzi family. Nearby, at Sant'Agata in the province of Piacenza, is Villa Verdi, the house he commissioned in 1848. We could not verify current hours and prices for the Verdi sites, so check before you go.
Base yourself in Parma for a Verdi day? Start with a Parmigiano dairy and a Parma ham maker in one morning.
Check dates for the Parmigiano and Parma ham tourCan you add Fidenza Village or the Salsomaggiore spa?
Yes: Fidenza Village is an outlet village at Fidenza, and the official site puts the Labirinto under 10 minutes by car from Fidenza; Salsomaggiore Terme's spa is open late, which suits an evening after the maze.
Fidenza Village has its own Shopping Express coach from Milan ($11, rated 4.6 from 60 reviews); our sister site FidenzaVillage.Parma.it covers brands, tax free and transport. In Salsomaggiore, the QC Terme spa ticket ($77) gives day entry to pools and saunas in the Liberty Palazzo delle Terme Berzieri, with towel, bathrobe and flip-flops; it is not for under 15s, and it has only 1 review so far, rated 5.0.
Warm pools and saunas in a Liberty palace, open until late: a slow end to a day in the countryside.
Explore the Salsomaggiore spa ticketWhat should you see in Parma?
Food and art: the Parmigiano and Parma ham tour ($154, rated 4.9 from 954 reviews) for a morning, and the Pilotta's National Gallery, Correggio's domes and the Teatro Farnese for the rest of the day.
The private Parma art day ($279 per person, rated 5.0 from 8 reviews) meets at the Palazzo della Pilotta at 9:00 and visits the Camera di San Paolo, the Baptistery, the Cathedral, the Steccata, the National Gallery and the Teatro Farnese, with entrance tickets included. For more, see our sister sites FoodTour.Parma.it, comparing Parma's food tours, and Pilotta.Parma.it, on the Pilotta museums.
Correggio, the Pilotta and the Teatro Farnese with a private guide, all tickets included, from 9:00 in Parma.
Explore the private Parma art dayFrequently asked questions
What is there to do near the Labirinto della Masone?
Rocca Sanvitale in Fontanellato, cured-meat tastings at Sanguinaro and in the Bassa, Soragna's castle, Verdi's Busseto, Fidenza Village, the Salsomaggiore spa and Parma.
Can you visit the Labirinto and Rocca Sanvitale on the same day?
Yes: they are about 5 km apart and the Labirinto ticket allows re-entry all day. Both are closed on Tuesdays, except the Rocca in April and May.
Where can you taste culatello near Fontanellato?
At La Fattoria di Parma in Sanguinaro, a one-hour tasting, or on a private half day in the Bassa with pickup from Parma.
Do you need a car around Fontanellato?
Mostly yes. Without one, base yourself in Parma and use tours with pickup, plus a taxi to the Labirinto.
Ready to book
Choose your visit
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Prosciutto, Culatello and Culatta Tasting
- Guided visit of a curing room at La Fattoria di Parma, Sanguinaro (Fontanellato)
- Tasting of Prosciutto di Parma, Culatello and culatta side by side
- About one hour; make your own way there
Culatello Country: Po Lowlands Half Day
Culatello where it is made, privately
