South-west of Parma, the village is build up around the beautiful entrenched castle on a promontory at the top of Enza.
It is located along the Strada del Prosciutto e dei Vini dei Colli (one of the three "roads" of flavours promoted by the Emilia Romagna Region which, together with that of the Porcino Mushroom of Borgotaro and that of the Culatello di Zibello cross the province of Parma) and played a leading role in its creation.
The undisputed protagonist of the local economy and gastronomy is the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, invented right along the middle valley of Enza and it had a leading role in its development.
Montechiarugolo is also part of the production area of Prosciutto di Parma DOP (Parma Ham PDO) and is also famous for the production of canned tomatoes; in Piazza of Basilicanova there is the headquarters of the canning industry MUTTI SPA, of historical tradition and famous all over the world for its production.
It is worth visiting the beautiful 12th century Castle owned by the Marchi Family since 1870, around which the village was built and which is open to visitors.
Montechiarugolo is a popular tourist town due to the 12th century fortress as well as being close to the Monticelli spa centre (about 3km).
