Parma
PARMA is considered to be the city with the highest standard of living in all of Italy. The leisurely pace of life, the number of restaurants and the overall atmosphere of the provincial abundance make it pleasant, though a bit bland atmosphere, which is easier to appreciate, if you came from the south. However, this is not a dream destination for a thrifty tourist - cheap hotels are usually full, and gastronomy can break the money. After all, it is a nice city, offering a lot to watch. A visit to the opera house can be a real experience - the audience is considered one of the most demanding after La Scala and it does not hide its feelings towards inept performers. And among the works of art in the city is the legacy of two key Renaissance artists - Correggia and Parmigianina.
Access and accommodation
The Parma train station is a 15-minute walk from Piazza Garibaldi, the main square of the city; you can also take bus no 1,8,9 or 12. The local bus station is on the river, near the intersection of viale IV Novembre and viale P. Toschi. EPT is in Piazza Duomo (pn.-pt. 9.00-12.30 i 15.00-18.00, sb. 9.00-12.30). Finding accommodation can be troublesome. W Hostel Cittadella IYHF na via Passo Buole (w 0521/581546; open April-October) the price is around 9000 L (without breakfast) and reception is open all day, but from 10.00 do 17.00 it is forbidden to stay in the rooms; the night silence begins at 23.00. Access by bus no 2 (20.00-0.00 night bus E). There are some hotels around Piazza Garibaldi and across the river on the university side (bus no 3 z Piazza Garibaldi). Another possibility is Concari on Piazzale Santa Croce 9 (• 0521/295865), with doubles after 27 000 L, and also hotels on via Gramsci, main exit road, e.g.. cupids, no 37 (* 0521/93239), two after 32000 L, or II Sole, no 15 (w 0521/995107) - two after 26000 L. There are two more possibilities closer to the center: flours, via Salina 3 (» 0521/34440), the Fountains in Piazza Le Carbone 1 (* 0521/282563) - in both rooms after 25000-31 000 L. Closer to the station, the least gloomy hotel is Brozzi, via Trent 11 (0521/771157) - twos 28 500 L.
City
The core of Parma is Piazza Garibaldi with lots of cafes: here and among narrow streets and alleys, departing to the west and south of the square, the city's nightlife is focused. The Palazzo del Govematore adjoins the square, behind which stands the Renaissance church of Madonna della Steccata, for the construction of which the project of the Basilica of St.. Peter Bramante. Inside are frescoes by many 16th-century painters, Parmigianin's paintings stand out among them, who devoted the last ten years of his life to this work, until he was fired by dissatisfied church authorities for failing to meet the terms of his contract. A year later he died, at the age of 37 years, and according to Vasari, before his death he turned to alchemy and became "a man almost barbarian or wild".
It takes only five minutes, to go left from Strada Garibaldi to Piazza Duomo, forming part of the old centro episcopale, away from the shopping streets of the center. Beautiful Duomo in Lombard-Romanesque style (close.
12.00-15.00), dating from the 11th century, houses Parmigianin's earlier works in the southern transept, made during apprenticeship with Correggio - who in turn painted the Assumption on the central dome. It completed in 1534 r. the work is one of the most famous in Correggio's legacy: The Blessed Virgin is floating above the sea of limbs, face and wavy draperies, which in its time caused complete astonishment in the comments. One of the contemporaries compared the image to "chopped frog legs", and Dickens took it, that something similar would not be invented by a "mad surgeon in a state of the wildest delirium". The payment for the fresco was maliciously paid with a bag of small coins, for Correggio was known to be avaricious. Fama is, that when he carried the sack home in the heat, he got a fever and died at the age of 40 years. Actually, the artist died four years later, w 1530 r., in his hometown.
Another work by Correggio can be seen on the dome of the Church of San Giovanni Evangclis-ta behind the duomo fresco depicting the Vision and. Eat on Patmos. Camera di San Paolo in a former Benedictine monastery near via Melloni, a few minutes walk north, was painted in frescoes by Correggia 1518 r.; the artist presents here the abbess, who ordered the artwork, as goddess Diana (above the fireplace).
More interesting, however, is the octagonal baptistery of the cathedral (codz. 9.00-13.20 i 15.00-19.00; 3000 L), inlaid with pink Verona marble, a building with a height of four storeys, surrounded by a ring of sculptures and topped with slender towers. Three richly carved portals are a frequent meeting place in the evenings. This building represents a transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic and is considered the most beautiful work of Benedetto Antelami, who made her in 1196 r. Antelami carved a frieze surrounding the building, he also made reliefs inside, including fourteen figures representing the months and seasons. After going up the spiral staircase, you can take a closer look at the frescoes on the ribbed vault, painted by an unknown 13th-century artist. The interior is currently being carefully cleaned and restored, so it can be closed, but the maintenance should be completed soon.
Going east of the cathedral square, you will come to the Museo Glauco-Lombardi in via Garibaldi 15 (wt.-sb. 9.30-12.00; 16.00-18.00; 15.00-17.00 winter; nd. 9.30-13.00; 2000 L), which revives old times by displaying mementoes of Maria Ludwika of Austria, ruling here after her husband's defeat, Napoleon, pod Waterloo. The Empress settled in Parma in 1816 r., when the Congress of Vienna granted her the Duchy of Parma. As tradition says, Maria Ludwika increased the production of violet Parma perfumes.
After walking through Piazza Marconi from here, it is impossible not to notice the greatest monument in Parma, Pilotta Palace, surrounded by a huge parking lot. Construction began in the 16th century. Alessandro Famese, the bombing of the last war reduced the palace to a crust, but it was later rebuilt and now houses a number of Parma museums. As Paul III, Alessandro Famese was one of the most cunning popes of the Renaissance, and during his pontificate he incorporated Parma and Piacenza into the papal states for his dissolute son Pierluigi. The palace was built just for Pierluigi, but he was murdered before the construction was completed.
Inside is Parma's main art gallery, National Gallery (wt.-nd.
9.00-19.30; 5000 L, the ticket also allows access to the Teatro Farnese), a modern exhibition featuring subsequent works by Correggio and Parmigianin, as well as outstanding canvases by Carracci - the Apostles at the Tomb and the Burial of the Virgin - suspended on overhead cranes at the top of the building, overwhelming by its magnitude. Farnese Theater, through which you pass on the way to the gallery, located in the former armory of the palace; during the bombing in 1944 r. was almost completely destroyed, and then rebuilt. The semicircular rows of wooden seats on three levels are modeled on the Teatro Olimpico Palladia in Vicenza, the first revolving stage in Italy was also installed here. National Museum of Antiquities piętro wyżej (wt.-sb.
9.00-14.00, nd. 9.00-13.00; 2000 L) it is not such an important monument, but it is worth having a look both at the finds from the Etruscan city of Velleia and the prehistoric towns on the lakes around Parma, and on the table top, on which Emperor Trajan has scribbled a list of his gifts for the poor.
On the other side of the river, naprzeciw Pilotta Palace, extends to the Parco Ducale, complex of gardens established in the 18th century. around a 16th-century palace built for Ottavian Farnese. Toscanini's house, just south on Borgo R.. Tanzi (codz. 8.30-12.00 and Wed. i sb. 15.00-18.00), this is just one of the monuments, which commemorate the strong musical traditions in the city. The composer was born in this house, and made his debut at the local Teatro Regio. Even further south, on the same side of the river, is the Villetta cemetery, where the embalmed body of Niccolo Paganini rests under the canopy.
Gastronomy, Nightlife… and some music news
Parma is not famous for its nightlife, as the locals prefer to have long sessions in a variety of places (and perfect) restaurants or go to the theater or opera. You can try local cuisine at Ristorante Aurora at vicolo Sant'Alessandro. Cafe Escandalo on via della Repubblica is also good 86. Opera lovers come to Cannon d'Oro, via N. Mosquito 3, expensive, but an interesting restaurant. You can eat cheaper on the other side of Ponte di Mezzo in pizzerias on via Massimo d'Aseglio, and vicolo Grossardi is a student mensa.
One of the best theater companies in Europe is located on the riverside viale Basetti, Colletivo of Parma, which performs from October to June at Teatro Due, viale Basetti 12a (0521/208088) and in his performances he draws from the tradition of comedy and political theater; one of its creators was Dario Fo. The opera also plays an important role in Parma, located in the Teatro Regio on via Garibaldi (0521/795690) and famous for its educated audience.