Parma Things to Do

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There aren’t that many romanesque churches of similar size, so Parma’s cathedral can surely be seen as something special. Construction works started as early as 1106, but large alterations took place even several hundred years later. Still, the romanesque sandstone façade remained widely untouched. The church is richly decorated, you have to search for an empty place on the wall. The fresco in the vault by Antoniuo Allegri was the first to depict a heaven scene on the ceiling. Another artpiece worth to mention is a relief by Benedetto Antelami which is among the oldest of its kind (around 1180).

Parma’s baptistry is a famous monument in Italy and a perfect example for the transistion from romanesque to gothic style. Its construction started in 1196, but it was not finished until 1270. The reason was the pink marble from Verona, which – as you see – makes an essential part of the building. Between 1216 and 1257, Parma was in conflict with Verona so that it was almost impossible to get this material. The interior is richly decorated with frescoes, paintings and other artworks. Like many baptistries, this one has also a round ceiling painting showing Jesus and John the Baptist. The city of Parma is trying to get the UNESCO world cultural heritage status for this octagonal building together with the duomo.

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This huge palace was once a building of the Farnese family, used for as a kind of convention hall and guest house. It was built from 1583 on, with major additions finished between 1602 and 1611. During WWII, a bomb intended to destroy the train lines, hit the palace and damaged it severely. A part of it was not rebuilt anymore. Today, two museums and a theater are inside the palace. The name “Palazzo Pilotta” comes from a ball game practised here.
In front of the Palazzo, you will see a monument deidcated to the componist Giuseppe Verdi, who was born close to Parma in 1813.
The small park in front of it is a quite popular place, especially for students, to meet and hang around. So, it is not unsual to see people in this place, even late at night. Unfortunately, this also means that there also some people around trying to get some money from you. By this, I mean not only people trying to sell some small items, but also pickpockets and some tricky swindlers. But don’t care too much about them, all in all I can’t say that this park is an unsafe place. The history of the building, the museums, the theater and the park makes the Palazzo Pilotta the cultural center of the city.

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The Baptistery is one of the most famous works of art in Parma. Any Italian student who has taken classes of art history at high school has seen a picture of it in his/her textbook.
The style is a peculiar mixture of romanesque and gothic. It is made of pink marble from Verona.
The architect was Benedetto Antelami, who was also a sculptor. The construction started in 1196 but was interrupted for many years, from 1216 to 1257, because Parma and Verona had become enemies, so there was no supply of marble. After works were resumed, the Baptistery was completed in 1270.
Inside it is entirely covered with frescoes.
The first picture shows a general view the paintings in the vault.
The figures in the upper circle represent the Apostles, plus allegories of the Evangelists.
Under that there is another circle of paintings representing Jesus, the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist and the Prophets.
Under this there is a circle of scenes of John the Baptist's life.

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The Duomo is dedicated to the Assumption. One of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in the Po valley. The interior ceiliong is painted in a late Mannerist style. Be sure to visit the crypt below the transept and presbytery.

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The center of the center, so to say, in Parma, is the Piazza Garibaldi. Named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was one of the most important warriors/generals or whatever you prefer to call him, in the wars that united Italy into one country.
You'll find a Piazza Garibaldi in almost every bigger italian city.

The square has been rebuilt since it's original completation, which makes it look a bit strange maybe. The most impressive building is for sure the Palazzo del Governatore, which in the evening was nicely lit up by lamps (see photo).
On the wall of that palace you'll find this huge clock, although I found it most interesting to figure out which all the cities and countries, written in italian, really was.
Most of them were easy, but what about "Capo di buona Speranza"? :)

Around the piazza you'll find some nice restaurants, as La Ducessa (see my restaurant tip). In the middle is another restaurant that I never tried, but it looked both good and very expensive...

On the narrow streets you'll instead find a lot of shops and cafés.

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When the weather is nice and the temperatur is on a good level there are few things that can beat a walk. And walking with a very nice girl, along the river in Parma, was even more nice. :)

The river Torrente goes straight through Parma, with the city center on one side, and the Parco Ducale on the other side of it. In total five bridges connects the two sides, plus a train bridge. The next more beautiful than the last one you passed.

Not sure if I arrived in a bad moment, or if it's always so little water in the channel though... The water line was really thin, and it was grass growing on the sides, where it definitely had been water before.

Unfortunately, as opposite to the old central parts of the city, cars are allowed to drive on the street next to the river, so it doesn't get so peacefull as it could have been.

But still perfect for a nice walk in the sunshine.

Seen from the train bridge you'll then have the bridges in this order:
1. Ponte V Bottego
2. Ponte Giuseppe Verdi
3. Ponte di Mezzo
4. Ponte Caprazucca
5. Ponte Italia

Now, the Battistero in Parma is wellknown for it's beautiful painting in the inside of its cupol, and other fantastic frescoes inside the building.
So the tricky question is why I didn't enter...?
Well, you might think I'm a cheap bastard who don't want to spend 6-8 euro for entering the building, but you might also say that art doesn't interest me so much that I gladly put money, no matter of the amount, for seeing the same kind of art that I could see in the Duomo for free... ;)

I prefered to just watch the outside of the Battistero, built with pink marble from the Verona-area, which gives it the same feeling as the cathedral in Florence.

But if you really are into art you should pick up your wallet and pay the few euro it cost, and then spend an hour inside.

You can meet me at the bar right across the street afterwards, where I'll have some Parmegiani, a couple of beers or maybe a bottle of wine for the same money... ;)

For more info about the actual paintings, go visit "Mikebond's" excellent Parma-tips!