What to see at Parma, a city that has just under 200 inhabitants. The city of Parma ranks among those "livable" thanks to the excellent cuisine, the artistic beauties and the musical tradition. It's the second city after that Bologna, by number of inhabitants in Emilia Romagna.
The history of the city has left clear memories thanks to the numerous art monuments also left by great artists such as parmigianino and the Correggio. It was the capital of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (1545-1859). In December 2015 it received the recognition of “Creative City UNESCO for Gastronomy”. Parma is full of museums and in 2020 it was the "Italian capital of culture".
Parma city places of interest
Let's take a tour of the city to learn about visiting Parma in one day by following the points in this guide, or use the various points of interest to get to know the things to see in Parma, monuments and points of interest of the Emilian city.
1 The Cathedral, the Baptistery and Piazza Duomo
Il Parma Cathedral it is in Romanesque-Lombard style and represents the most popular place of worship in the city. It was built in the year 1000 and next to it shows a bell tower from the end of the 1200s. The Cathedral of Parma is dedicated to the Madonna Assunta and features frescoes by Correggio including the note "Assumption of the Virgin“. The nave presents works by Correggio's students.
Next to the Duomo is the Baptistery which was built on an octagonal plan. The Baptistery is certainly among the things to visit in Parma and is composed of a series of overlapping loggias and features Byzantine style frescoes in various points, including the lunettes and the dome. A double immersion pool and a fountain are placed in the center. In the Baptistery there are reliefs representing the months of the year.
La Piazza del Duomo it is of medieval origin. Here, in addition to the Cathedral and the Baptistery, stands the Bishop's Palace. It is among the first attractions of Parma to see.
Parma things to see
2 Church of the Madonna della Steccata
In Via Dante you will find the Church of the Madonna della Steccata which contains frescoes by parmigianino, pupil of Correggio. The church is Renaissance and owes its name to the fence that was erected to protect an image of the Madonna, much venerated by the faithful. The church has a Greek cross plan (nave and transept have the same length and intersect halfway along their length) and features sixteenth-century frescoes from the Parma school. The sacristy, dating back to the seventeenth century, is the access point to the chapel where the Dukes of Parma are buried.
3 Church of San Giovanni Evangelista
The Church of Saint John the Evangelist in Parma is located on the right of the Duomo. The Church we see today was rebuilt during the Renaissance. The façade is later and dates back to the seventeenth century. The Church of San Giovanni contains important frescoes from Correggio such as Transit of St. John placed on the dome. The parmigianino, pupil of Correggio, is the author of several frescoes on Saints placed on the arches of some domes located on the left of the church. The church of San Giovanni undoubtedly represents a place of tourist interest in Parma worth visiting.
Parma places of interest not to be missed
4 Apothecary of San Giovanni Evangelista
In Parma, visiting the Spezieria di San Giovanni is a must. It is an ancient pharmacy of the Benedictine monks open from 1201 until 1766. Inside the Spezieria di San Giovanni in Parma the sixteenth century furniture containing the utensils, vases and jugs of the apothecary are still intact. The entrance is in Via Borgo Pipa, 1 from 9,00 to 14,00.
5 Camera del Correggio or Camera di San Paolo
La Correggio's room in Parma it is also called St. Paul's Chamber. Commissioned by the abbess Giovanna da Piacenza, of the Benedictine nuns of San Paolo, the current one Correggio Chamber it was his private apartment. Most of it frescoed by Correggio at the beginning of the 1500s there are true masterpieces of the painter. The current museum itinerary of St. Paul's Chamber reconstructs the rooms of the abbess's private apartment Joanna of Piacenza, inside the ancient Benedictine female monastery of San Paolo, which at the beginning of the sixteenth century was one of the most significant cultural centers of the city. After crossing some spaces you reach an almost perfectly square room, whose ceiling was frescoed in 1514 by the Parma painter Alessandro Araldi with a rich ornamentation of grotesques and painted candelabras, in which sacred scenes and profane images are inserted. The room frescoed by is instead updated on a now fully Renaissance language Antonio Allegri said il Correggio in 1519 with an illusionistic decoration of vegetal shoots in which fake ovals with cherubs open, completed in the lower part by a series of fake monochrome niches with mythological subjects. It is represented on the fireplace Diana, evident reference to Abbess Giovanna of Piacenza, who commissioned the work, whose heraldic insignia is located in the center of the ceiling. Hours: from Tuesday to Friday 8.30-14.00; Saturday 8.30am – 18pm; every first Sunday of the month 00-8.30; the other Sundays it is closed. Ticket: €14.00.
Parma tourism what to see
6 Cell of Santa Caterina
La Cell of Santa Caterina, in Parma, is a small room located on the edge of the garden of the former convent of the Benedictine nuns of San Paolo. On the two walls Alessandro Araldi (circa 1460 – 1528), one of the most active masters in Parma between the 1514th and XNUMXth centuries, before the success of the great Correggio, frescoed around XNUMX two scenes from the Life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and, precisely, “Catherine's dispute before Emperor Maximin"and "Saint Catherine and Saint Jerome”. Araldi's style here seems to betray in a particular way the knowledge of central Italian models, in particular the works of Perugino e Pinturicchio, to which the classic composure of the figures and the atmosphere of elegant sobriety that characterizes both frescoes refer. Opening on request during visiting hours St. Paul's Chamber.
Free visit to St. Paul's Garden.
7 Joseph Stuard Art Gallery
La Joseph Stuard Art Gallery collects over 270 private works. It bears the name of the collector, belonging to the congregation of San Filippo Neri. There are paintings, relics, tapestries and testimonies that document the history of the city of Parma and family Stuart, together with medieval archaeological finds discovered during the restoration work on the building. The collection includes over three hundred pictorial and graphic works, a considerable number of furnishings from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century and some art and craft objects. Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday from 10,00 to 15,00.
8 Piazza Garibaldi Parma
Piazza Garibaldi of Parma is one of the best known in the city. Over the centuries it has undergone a considerable number of transformations and today's square has a neoclassical layout. In the square there is the Governor's Palace, which dates back to the 1700th century, renovated during XNUMX. On the same square but on the opposite side, there is the city Hall (sixteenth century) and the Palace of the Captain of the People, from the XNUMXth century. In the square stands the statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi which is among the major monuments of Parma to be seen in the open air.
Visiting Parma
9 Pilotta Palace
Il Pilotta Palace it was erected for the family Farnese in the 500th century and subsequently rebuilt following the bombings of Second World War. The name pilot derives from the game of "Basque pelota" played at the time of construction. Inside is the Teatro Farnese, National archeologic museum, the National Gallery , Library Palatina. For a few years now it has been possible to visit everything Pilotta complex with a single ticket.
10 National Archaeological Museum of Parma
Il National archeologic museum of Parma dates back to 1760. Wanted by Philip I of Bourbon was born with the aim of collecting the Roman finds found in the surrounding area. On the ground floor there are finds from the Etruscan necropolis Velleia and the prehistoric sites in the surrounding area. The lower floor houses finds dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Museum is open every day except Monday. It is possible to purchase a Single cumulative ticket for all the museums of the Pilotta Monumental Complex and allows you to visit with a single ticket Teatro Farnese, National Gallery e archaeological Museum. The single ticket office for all the museums of the pilot is located at the ticket office of the National Gallery.
What to visit in Parma
11 National Gallery Parma
La National Gallery of Parma collects works by Beato Angelico, Parmigianino, Correggio, El Greco and Bronzino. The Gallery is accessed from the Farnese Theatre. It is a true treasure chest containing works of art from different parts. The seventeenth-century section dedicated to Emilian painting is interesting. The visit to National Gallery of Parma takes place according to two distinct itineraries, which begin from the Farnese Theatre, including works by Benedetto Antelami, Agnolo Gaddi, Beato Angelico, Cima da Conegliano, Francesco Francia, Leonardo, Correggio, Parmigianino, Dosso Dossi, Holbein, El Greco, Annibale, Ludovico and Agostino Carracci, Schedoni, Guercino, Nuvolone, GMCrespi, Tiepolo, Piazzetta, Pittoni, Canaletto, Bellotto and Sebastiano Ricci. The path of National Gallery of Parma continues in the nineteenth-century halls with the exhibition of works of the Academy and portraits of the Bourbon era and of Maria Luigia and ends in the rooms of the ancient Rocchetta, where the works of the Sixteenth-century Parma School and in particular of Correggio and Parmigianino are housed protagonists in Parma of the Renaissance season.
Parma cultural monuments
12 Teatro Farnese
Il Teatro Farnese, located on the first floor of Pilotta Palace, was built in the ancient "Arms Room" of the court between 1617 and 1618, designed by the Ferrara architect Giovan Battista Aleotti, known as l'Argenta. Made with materials typical of ephemeral apparatus, such as wood and stucco painted to simulate marble and precious metals, the theater was created by will of the Duke of Parma and Piacenza Ranuccio I Farnese (1593-1622), who intended to celebrate with pomp the stop in Parma of Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo II de' Medici, traveling to Milan to conclude a marriage agreement between the two families. Once Cosimo's journey was over, the inauguration took place only in 1628, for the wedding between Margherita de' Medici and Duke Odoardo, with the tournament opera “Mercury and Mars” (text by Claudio Achillini and music by Claudio Monteverdi) culminating in a spectacular naumachia. Due to the complexity of the stage settings and their very high costs, the theater was used only nine times, for ducal weddings or important state visits. Almost completely destroyed by an Allied air raid in May 1944, the theatre, rebuilt starting in 1956 according to the original design, has been the spectacular access to the museum's exhibition areas since 1986.
13 Theatre Royal
Il Teatro Regio di Parma it was wanted by Marie Louise of Austria and was built between 1821 and 1829. The New Theatre it was later named Region and still represents a significant example of the numerous and impressive public interventions carried out by Duchess in Parma.
14 Museum of Mineralogy of Parma
The mineralogical and petrographic collection of the University includes approximately 5.000 samples, of which a thousand are on display, mostly coming from the It said, pegs, Cavezzali e Guidotti donated at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The minerals of the four collections are listed in a manuscript catalog compiled by the professor Girolamo Cocconi in 1866-67. To these were added others donated by Cassa di Risparmio di Parma and Piacenza and the result of recent acquisitions. Numerous samples of great historical, scientific and systematic interest can be observed originating from locations all over the world. Among the pieces displayed in the vast entrance of the Department of Earth Sciences the collection of barites from Vernasca, in the province of Piacenza, the ilvaite samples ofElba island, quartz from the Western Alps and sulphides from Romania. Viale GPUsberti, 157/a (c/o Dept. of Earth Sciences). Tel. 0521 905326.
What to do in Parma
15 Where to eat in Parma
In the heart of Emilia there is aexcellent cuisine with equally succulent ingredients. We are in the homeland of Parmigiano Reggiano but also of the Parma ham, ingredients used by local, national and international restaurants. Therefore the typical tractors, the taverns but also the places with starred chefs are all to be taken into consideration, depending on your budget. Your itinerary in Parma cannot miss an excellent dinner with typical traditional products.
16 Where to sleep in Parma
- hotels in Parma they have fluctuating prices depending on the type and category. They range from cheap B&Bs to 5-star luxury hotels. Again it all depends on your pockets. If you intend to visit Parma and its surroundings and stay in the area but not in the centre, you are more likely to find cheap accommodation.
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