The land of Fontanellato had already been inhabited since the Bronze Age as demostrated by wooden pile dwellings of the Terramare culture which have been found in the estate of the Castellazzo found by Luigi Pigorini, from 1888 to 1895. Born in Fontanellato, Prof. Pigorini is considered the father of the Prehistoric Italian Studies.
In the Castellazzo were found remains of furnishings which are now exposed in the Archaeological Museum of Parma.
Certainly Fontanellato was inhabited during the Roman age and then it was abandoned after the Decay of the Empire and the Barbaric invasion. An ancient tradition tells us that Fontanellato was founded by a “Longobarda” family, who dominated the area in the X^th century and elevated the first guardian tower in a place rich in water. Thus the area was called “Fontana Lata”,(“ large fountain”).
Certainly before 1386 it became property of the Sanvitale family and they created the real urban centre still existing today.