Parma Things to Do

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The Cathedral was consecrated in 1109, destroyed by an earthquake in 1117, and quickly rebuilt. Additions continued to be made over several centuries.

The cupola has a fresco painted by Correggio. It took him 290 days to paint it, and it shows Mary rising to Heaven and her Son coming down to meet her.

A Romanesque carving by Antelemi that was part of the original altar hangs on a wall. Carvings over the outer door depict the months, starting with April, and illustrate the main activity for the month.

Hours: 9-12:30 and 3-7. Free

The Bishop's Palace (early 11th Century) is across the square from the Cathedral. Parma was on the pilgrimage route. Plates embedded in the outer walls of the Bishop’s Palace means that pilgrims could eat and rest there.

(If you got to Rome, you could put crossed keys on your cloak; a palm frond means you made it to Jerusalem.)

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The Baptistry, started in 1176 and finished in the early 14th Century, is a pink marble octagon. The marble is from Verona—the dark pink represents blood, and the light pink is for purity. Carvings on the door depict King Herod at a banquet, Christ being washed, and Salome getting John’s head. For about 2 centuries, between 1100 and1300, Baptistries were in a separate building from the church.

Open every day from 9.00am to 12.30pm and from 3.00pm to 6.45pm.
Closed during services.

ENTRANCE: 6,00 euro

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I wrote that there are several nice little things in this park: there is even a mock-ruin, built in those times when ruins were fashionable among aristocrats who pretended to live in Arcadia. In fact people call this "ruin" Tempio di Arcadia.

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There are several parks in Parma, but the nicest one is certainly the Parco Ducale (this is the official name, we locals call it "Giardino Pubblico").
It used to be the private garden of the Dukes, and it became a public park when the Duchy of Parma became part of Italy.
Along the centuries it has undergone several changes, so it is full of nice things such as statues, and a pond with a small island.
There is also a cafe, open only in the summer.

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A Benedictine abbey dedicated to St John, the Apostle and Evangelist, has been in the heart of the city since the year 980. However the buildings changed a lot during the centuries, and the existing Abbey Church of St John was built at the time of the Renaissance. The monks were a wealthy and cutlurally refined sponsor, so they were prompt to catch the new trend in arts and architecture in the XVI century. In fact, the fresco of the vault, painted by Correggio, was a very innovative piece of work in his time. It represents Jesus flying down from Heaven to meet the dying John and take him up, where the other Apostles are waiting for him.
Another jewel in this church is anothe painting by Correggio, above the door to the sacresty. It represents John as a young man, near him there is an eagle, because this bird was an emblem of St John.

This ancient pharmacy has been here since the beginning of the XVI Century, but the monks of San Giovanni Abbey had been running a pharmacy in this area for several centuries before.
The pharmacy that can be visited now still has furniture over 300 years old, and in its three rooms you can see jars that used to contain medicines, pharmacist's tools and portraits of the most illustrious medical doctors.

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People in Parma take their opera seriously, which is what you might expect from a city which bred both Verdi and Toscanini. The venue for the best of the best is the Teatro Regio, which began life as the Teatro Ducale in 1829. It is a palatial cream-and-gold space with plush red upholstery and draperies, but somehow seems intimate despite the 1200 seats. The boxes lining the auditorium are privately owned. (In reading "Opera News" I discovered that Parma society even includes the Club dei Ventisette, whose twenty-seven members are each known by their assigned name of one of Verdi's operas, every note of which they must commit to memory! The same article informed me that none of Verdi's operas premiered at the Teatro Regio.) Toscanini got the idea of creating an annual Verdi Festival in 1913, and it persists today -- though some of the productions take place at the Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia and Teatro Verdi in Busseto, closest to Verdi's birthplace in Roncole.

So whether it is to hear Verdi done correctly, or to listen to some other gloriously-produced operatic treasure, be certain to get tickets for Il Regio. The season generally runs from December through April, while the Verdi Festival is usually held in October. Tickets start at around 35 euros.

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“Under every circumstance she is never anything but the Duchess of Parma. All attempts which might be made to recall former souvenirs are completely warded off.”
— General Count Theobald Dillon, the French Minister at Florence

First known as Teatro Ducale, Parma’s Teatro Regio’s construction began in 1821. Designed by Nicola Bettoli, it was opened on 16.May.1829 with a performance of Vincenzo Bellini’s Zaira.

The theatre was built at the order Napoleon’s second wife, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma on the spot where the Monastery of St. Alexander once stood.

Each October the theatre presents Festival Verdi, who lived nearby in Busseto. The regular season runs from mid-December to mid-April; the company performs four operas during this time.