Castell'Arquato (; Piacentino: or ) is an Italian town located on the first hills of Val D’Arda in the province of Piacenza, in Emilia-Romagna, approximately from Piacenza and from Parma. Places nearby include Bacedasco, Vigolo Marchese, Fiorenzuola d'Arda, Lugagnano Val d'Arda, and Vernasca. A medieval town of traditional structure which has maintained its appearance as it was in the early 10th century, the Old Town of Castell'Arquato is a high rock which in other times was strategically important for dominating the valley, now surrounded by the village. Its picturesque medieval features have led to the burg's appearances in movies such as Ladyhawke. Opera librettist Luigi Illica, known for his long collaboration with composer Giacomo Puccini, but also with Alfredo Catalani and Umberto Giordano and author of the libretti of such operas as Tosca, La bohème, Madama Butterfly, La Wally and Andrea Chénier, was born in the borough in 1857 and is here buried. Castell'Arquato is also in the area of the Colli Piacentini (Piacenza Hills), an important area for wine production. The most important wines produced in the Colli Piacentini are Gutturnio, Bonarda, Ortrugo, Malvasia, and Monterosso Val d'Arda. History The origins of Castell'Arquato are uncertain. It is believed that it originated as a Roman military settlement (castrum). During the Roman Imperial Era it developed into a small rural town, thanks to its position commanding the routes from Piacenza and Parma toward the Ligurian Sea (Liguria is at the end of the Piacenza valley). The first historical news concerning Castell’Arquato (known as la Pieve) appear in the 8th century. Castell'Arquato seems to have been constructed by a "noble and powerful lord named Magnus". Magnus built the squared based castle and a church "In honor Mater Dei" (756–758). At that time Castell’Arquato had a military (Castrum) and an agricultural organisation (Curtis), the Justice Administration (Curia) and the Religious Administration (Pieve). Before dying in 789 Magnus gave the town, the church of Santa Maria and its goods to the bishop of Piacenza, and Castell’Arquato acquired an important freedom as a Pieve (pleban church). The Bishop had the right of direct taxation (fodro) throughout the territory of Castell'Arquato on all the men, nobiles, burgenses, lords with houses and lands in the area and on the clerics of Santa Maria. From 1204 to 1207 the Bishop of Piacenza Grimerio chose Castell’Arquato as his home. The hamlet became even more independent from Piacenza. The grant