How does Portrait of Galeazzo Sanvitale elucidate its History?
Parmigianino worked for a short period at the Sanvitale family court in their "Rocca" (palace-fortress) in Fontanellato (in what is now the province of Parma). The work, dated 1524 on the rear, was executed during his stay there, before he moved to Rome the following year. He also executed the Stufetta of Diana and Actaeon and a cycle of frescoes in the private room of Paola Gonzaga, wife of  Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale.
The work was part of the Farnese collections in 1587, when it is mentioned for the first time in an inventory. The work had been perhaps acquired by duke Ottavio Farnese in 1561 when he acquired from bishop Eucherio Sanvitale the casino (mansion) of Codiponte, in the Ducal Park of Parma. Eucherio was the son of Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale, and had inherited the family's possessions in 1550.The portrait, together with the whole Farnese collection, was moved from Parma to Naples in 1784. The French removed it in 1799, and it was later at Palermo until 1816, before returning to Naples. During the various changes of hands the painting lost its original identification, and was considered a portrait of Christopher Columbus (likely due to the presence, in the hat, of a representation of the Pillars of Hercules) from Raphael's school. A descendant of Galeazzo Sanvitale, Luigi, recognized his ancestor based on some documents, in 1857. The re-attribution to Parmigianino occurred in 1894.There are some preparatory drawings at the Cabinet des Dessins of the Louvre (6472 recto and verso) and in the Tobley Collection.
Raphael Parmigianino Gian Galeazzo Sanvitale Naples "Rocca" Farnese collections Ottavio Farnese Pillars of Hercules Christopher Columbus Louvre province of Parma Fontanellato Sanvitale