After our rough night with a broken train and a closed superstrada, we sleep in. We have all day and most of tomorrow to soak up Parma (pop 199,598 in 2026) and recover. We decide to skip our planned trip to Modena, find on a nice lunch spot on the Strada Farini, and embark at nice slow pace.
We revisit the Borgo Giacomo Tommasini, the "Strada degli Specchi" and enjoy the architecture, the mirrors, and an easy start to the day.
Returning from lunch, the Oratorio di San Tiburzio (1720) looks about as worn as we feel, but the 'triple' Ionic capitals are an intriguing detail. Making our way along the Torrente Parma, we also pass the Piazza Ghiaia (19th-20th centuries), a kind of sunken marketplace with stalls built under the adjacent walkway.
We decide to cross the Ponte Giuseppe Verdi (1902-03) and check out the Parco Ducale.
The Palazzo del Giardino (16th-17th centuries) occupies the center of the Parco, but is now an office or barracks for the Carabinieri. Somehow the statuary and the garden facade still look bright and inviting.
We stumble upon the "Gruppo del Sileno" (Jean-Baptiste Boudard, 1765); we saw the original in the courtyard from the Camera di San Paolo. The Gruppo looks sadly unappreciated on this sandy patch.
The Parco is uncomfortably empty; groups of idle, young men are day-drinking at the picnic tables. The Fontana del Trianon (1712-19) is closed and wrapped for repairs. All the energy of the past week seems to evaporate. And still we are happy to be in Parma.
The Monumento alla Vittoria looks particularly good in the sunshine. The energy level may be low, but the colors are eternally charming.
We have plenty of time to shop and wander around town. Our last meals in Parma are memorably delicious, even the focaccia and salame, we bought for the flight home. Regarding our train and monorail ride into Bologna's airport, we've got nothing to report.
No comments:
Post a Comment