Parma – Arrivo

We seem to be digging deeper into Emilia-Romagna, After trips to Ravenna, Bologn, and Modena, we are in Parma. Our trip involves a three-hour flight and an hour and a half on the Marconi Express and Trenitalia.

These towns make different first impressions: Ravenna (pop 156,393) is brick and stone, with interiors of incredible mosaici; Bologna (pop 391,556) has a 'big city' feel and confirms its reputation as la rossa (and la grassa, la dotta); Modena (pop 184,351) offers a variety of bold, earthy tones and a stunning Cattedrale; but Parma (pop 199,598 in 2026) is covered in light, variegated bands in shades of citrus interspersed with plentiful green spaces.

The Strada Giuseppe Garibaldi is a prominent north-south shopping street, parallel to the Torrente Parma, and connects the stazione with the Piazzale della Pace. Along the way, we glimpse the colors of the cross streets and the numerous towers to the east.

The Chiesa di Santa Teresa del Bambin Gesù (17th century) is the first major edifice on our route. It has a deeply paneled, pastel yellow facade with a large, barbed quatrefoil window and a relief of the Santissima Trinità in the tympanum and the inscription, "TRIADI AUGUSTAE SACRUM".

Further down the Strada, we can see the large dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Steccata and the overhanging trees of the Piazzale. The roadway then expands out to an enormous lawn. The dark and theatrical Monumento a Giuseppe Verdi (20th century) sits awkwardly in the northwest corner, separated from the Piazzale by a long strip of pavement with indecipherable text.

 

 

 

 

The Palazzo della Pilotta (16th-17th centuries), a set of tall, thin courtyard blocks, commands the western half of the Piazzale. The ground level is perforated by a beautiful arcade and allows the park to flow into and around the Palazzo; the blocks appear to be a collage of older fragments and newer infill, with differing levels and styles of brickwork.

The Monumento al Partigiano (Marino Mazzacurati, 20th century) occupies the southeastern corner of the Piazzale, a counterpoint to the Monumento a Giuseppe Verdi. Similarly dramatic, the work contains two figures set a small distance apart: on standing tall on a rock with a weapon, and the other bound and prone (dead?). The Monumento commemorates the liberation of Parma from nazifascismo on April 25th, 1945 – so Parma shares that date with Portugal. The inscription reads, "coi prodi nella stessa pietra abita ora la gloria" [glory now dwells with the brave in the same stone].

The Teatro Regio (19th century), one of the city's major cultural centers, is on the Strada Giuseppe Garibaldi just south of the Piazzale della Pace. It has a clean Ionic entrance loggia. a large central finestra termale flanked by angels bearing wreaths, and 'le maschere tragica e comica' in the pediment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the next block, the Basilica di Santa Maria della Steccata (16th century) stands on the eastern side of the Strada. and unfortunately, is covered for renovation with scaffolding (the church is crowned with sculptural figures). However, the Corinthian entry portico is visible and shows two angels carrying an Cristogramma with the Chi-Rho, alfa e omega, and the initials 'IHS' – which in this case includes the 'V' (In hoc signo vinces – a symbol of the Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio).

The interior is a centralized floor plan (Greek cross): a central dome connecting four short barrel vaults, and each arm ending with an apse and half-dome. The fresco in the cupola principale is the "L'Assunzione di Maria" (Bernardino Gatti, 1560-72), and is rendered in cool, other-worldly tones in contrast to the warm, golden hues of the lower structures (top image). Facing the altare, God descends from Heaven and gestures to the left where Maria reaches up; within the swirl of clouds, images of martyrdom (decapitated head, the Cross) are to Her left, with the central figure raising a sword (?) toward Heaven. The drum is divided by twelve clerestory lights providing twelve panels for Gli Apostoli. In the pendentives are scenes from the life of Mary, including "L'Annunciazione" in the left-hand pair.

The barrel vault over the chancel includes the "Tre Vergini Savie e Tre Vergini Stolte" (Parmigianino, 1531-39) and the eastern apse's dome has "L'Incoronazione della Vergine" (Michelangelo Anselmi, 1541). All this frames the altare maggiore and the tiny icon of the "Madonna Allattante" (14th century) – whose miraculous powers required the Basilica to be secured from pilgrims by a fence ("della steccata").

 

 

The "Pentecoste e Figure Allegoriche Femminili" (Gerolamo Mazzola Bedoli, 1546-1553) is the fresco in the half dome of the north apse; the "Trinita e i Santi Basilio, Gregorio e Nicola da Bari" (Giambettino Cignaroli, 1765) is at the altare.

The "Adorazione dei Pastori e Figure Allegoriche Femminili" (Bedoli, 1553-1557) is in the dome of the south apse, with the "Sacra Famiglia in Gloria con San Giorgio e il Drago" (Marcantonio Franceschini, 1718) in the altare.

Throughout the church, the pilasters are adorned with figures in grisaille, while the bases contain images from the Via Crucis. And each transept joins a pair of octagonal cappelle. At the northwest is the Cappella della Madonna del Rosario, encrusted with votive offerings. At the northeast is the Cappella del Crocifisso, which includes the "Monumento Funebre a Octavio Farnesio". 

While in the north transept, service begins, and we cannot complete our tour of the south transept; we miss the Cappella dei Santi Ilario e Giovanni Battista and the Cappella di Sant'Antonio.

 

 

 

 

 

We cross the block to the east onto the Strada Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour, another pedestrian shopping street full of eateries and shops. The Torre di San Paolo (Monumento ai Caduti, 18th century) anchors the north end of the Strada.

The Chiesa Santa Lucia (17th century) sits on the cross street, the Via Dante; Santa Lucia is the figure in the left niche with her eyes in a bowl. The Strada al Duomo is two blocks north, with views of the torre campanaria (13th century) of the Cattedrale.

The Battistero di Parma (12th-13th centuries) peeks around the corner; a neighboring building obscures its porta principale (west). The Battistero is a distinctly pink octagonal tower with three Romanesque porte (arched doors with semi-circular lunettes and carved archivotls) facing west, south and north; the altare maggiore is behind the east wall. The upper levels consist of four stacked, five-bay logge, then a false Gothic arcade of six or seven-bays at the top; small turrets cap the corners.

The sculptural cycles are the works of Benedetto Antelami. In addition to the geometry of the architecture, the works a tied together by a running belt course of square reliefs depicting chimeras and grotesques.

The porta principale is called the "Portale del Redentore" and its lunette contains the "Giudizio Universale": Christ is enthroned in judgement with archangels and San Paolo (in vision) to His right, and the Croce and Corona di Thorns on His left symbolize His sacrifice. In the lintel, the Dodici Apostoli are in the arch above, and in the lintel, the trombe call the dead from their tombs.

 

 

 

To the south, the "Portale della Battista" tells the "Leggenda di Barlaam" from the "Legenda Aurea" – a story of Christian conversion for those entering for baptism. The scene involves a boy in a tree trying to get honey from a hive while a dragon (representing sin and death) snarls below. On the left is the sun and a horse-drawn chariot and on the right is the moon and an oxen-drawn cart.

The "Portale della Vergine" faces north towards the Piazza and the Cattedrale and thus serves as the public entrance. It features the "Adorazione dei Magi": The "Vergine Incoronata" sits at the center of the composition, the Magi are on Her right, and L'Arcangelo Gabriele ("GABRIEL 10 SEP") is on Her left foretelling the birth of San Giovanni to Zechriah. In the arch above, the Dodici Apostoli are repeated, and in the lintel are scenes from the "Storie di San Giovanni Battista": the "Battesmo di Gesù", the "Il Banchetto di Erode", and the "Decapitazione di Giovanni Battista".

 

 

 

 

The Battistero forms the south side of the Piazza Duomo, while the Cattedrale di Parma (12th century) is on the eastern side and the the Vescovado (Palazzo Vescovile, 11th century) is on the west. The palazzo block known as the Casa di Giuseppe Micheli is on the north side. This may be a seasonal quality, but the pebbled pavement is tinted a lovely green by the residual moss and grass.

The Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista (15th-16th centuries) is just behind the Cattedrale to the east, crowned by an enormous roundel with an eagle (symbol of San Giovanni) and the copper-patina of the cupola atop its campanile.

In any case, the Piazza is just deep enough to give us a wonderfully composed view of all three main structures, and the late afternoon sun strikes the facades with an excellent level of contrast. However, it's too late to enter and enjoy the interiors, so we'll come back tomorrow.

 

Our walk to dinner takes us past the Chiesa di San Francesco del Prato (13th-15th centuries) and the Chiesa di Santa Elisabetta (Casa del Suono, 17th century) across the street. These churches are just north of the Cattedrale and have an intimate scale and presence. Beyond the busier streets, our sense of the city shrinks and the crowds melt away.

But finishing our walk after dinner, we cross the Piazza Garibaldi with the Monumento a Giuseppe Garibaldi (Davide Calandra, 19th century) in front of the Palazzo del Governatore (17th century). On the other side of the Piazza are the Palazzo del Comune (17th century), the Palazzo del Podesta (13th century), and the Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Pietro Apostolo (18th century).

A large tent occupies the corner in front of the Chiesa, and officials are giving presentations for 'Greenweek'. The Piazza and the Strada Farini to the south are packed with loud, happy people and the city is buzzing.