This vast but unfinished complex, named after the game pelota that was played in one of the courtyards, was built in the second half of the 16th century at the order of Ranuccio I around the Visconti stronghold and alongside the existing church of San Pietro martire. This Farnese palace was designed not as a residence but as the headquarters for court and state services (stables, hay store, arms room, theatre and barracks).
It now houses some of the most important insitutions of the town: the Palatina Library, the Archaeological Museum, the National gallery, the Farnese theatre, the Art institute of the University of Parma and the headquarter of the National Art and cultural Heritage.
