The city named 2020 Italian capital of culture is gearing up for the occasion, showcasing its monuments and its excellence in the fields of art, music and culture. What to visit in Parma and the surrounding area.
2020 Italian capital of culture, Parma is a small provincial city with great excellence: musical, with Verdi and Toscanini; artistic, with Correggio and Parmigianino; and culinary, with typical products such as Parmigiano Reggiano. But alongside these well-known wonders there are others that are perhaps less familiar yet equally important, and which we invite you to experience.
Read also: Parma is the 2020 Italian capital of culture – here's why
The Camera della Badessa, or Camera di San Paolo, is a room in the former Monastery of San Paolo in Parma, famous for having been frescoed by Correggio. The decoration covers the vault and the chimney hood and is centred on the theme of the goddess Diana. The ancient Benedictine convent was rebuilt at the end of the fifteenth century, and the approach, along a tree-lined path, leads into the rooms of Abbess Giovanna da Piacenza, a woman of wide learning who had gathered around her a close circle of scholars and humanists. For its use of optical illusion and the refinement of its decorative motifs, this room represents one of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. The two communicating chambers are the work, respectively, of Alessandro Araldi, who worked on one of them in 1514, and of Correggio, who completed the other in 1519.
In Parma, almost everyone gets around by bicycle: the flat terrain and the city's size mean you can reach any destination quickly and sustainably. Tourists too often make use of bike sharing on the many cycle lanes that run alongside a large number of the city's streets, allowing cyclists to ride in safety. The map of Parma's cycle paths is available to download here.
A wonderful experience is to explore by bike, beyond the city itself, the wider province through various routes along low-traffic roads or dedicated cycle paths. The three main cycle-tourism axes are:
• the Via Francigena, which runs from Fidenza to Fornovo (with a natural extension to Parma) and then to the Passo della Cisa;
• the Ciclo-Po, which runs from Piacenza across the entire province of Parma along the Po embankment to Guastalla;
• Route 16 of BicItalia Tirreno-Brennero (Ti-Bre "dolce"), which leads from the Po bridge at Casalmaggiore to Colorno, Parma, Sala Baganza, Calestano and Berceto, reaching the Passo della Cisa and continuing through Lunigiana to the sea.
Also of great interest are the Ciclo-Taro, which connects from Viarolo to the Ciclo-Po at Gramignazzo, and the cycle paths through the lands of Verdi and Guareschi.
Parma's most beautiful square — considered outright perfect by many — brings together, within just a few metres, the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Bishop's Palace and the Diocesan Museum. The overall atmosphere is one of beauty, order and harmony among all the structures. Inside the Cathedral — built from 1074 onwards — stands the dome frescoed by Correggio with the Assumption of the Virgin, characterised by a phenomenal perspectival effect, the work of a genius. The Baptistery, designed by Antelami, has an octagonal structure in pink Verona marble and is an example of the transition from the Romanesque to the early Gothic style. The Diocesan Museum is housed in the Bishop's Palace: here is kept what the people of Parma call "L'angiolen dal Dom" — a copper statue of the Archangel Gabriel that until last century stood at the apex of the Cathedral bell tower, where a copy can be seen today.
A must for art lovers is the Fondazione Magnani Rocca: also known as "la villa dei capolavori" (the villa of masterpieces), it is located in Mamiano di Traversetolo, in the province of Parma, twenty minutes from the city centre, and houses the prestigious collection of critic and collector Luigi Magnani, which includes, among others, works by Gentile da Fabriano, Filippo Lippi, Carpaccio, Dürer, Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, through to De Chirico, De Pisis, 50 works by Morandi, Burri, as well as sculptures by Canova and Bartolini. Housed here, for example, is the painting "Paysage de Cagnes" by Renoir, considered a testament to the French artist's masterpieces, but there are many priceless pieces on display in the rooms of the villa, which have retained their original atmosphere and great charm.
A wonderful setting within an age-old English-style park, the Parco romantico, which extends over twelve hectares and is also home to numerous animals. In addition to the permanent collection, the foundation hosts temporary exhibitions and has a restaurant on site serving delicious dishes from the Emilian tradition.
Some 25 kilometres from Parma, in Fontanellato, lies the largest maze in existence, made entirely of bamboo plants (around 200,000 in total), ranging in height from 30 centimetres to 15 metres and belonging to twenty different species. Seen from above, the entire surface of the maze has a star-shaped layout and covers a full seven hectares of land, bordered by the plants that frame a museum containing over 400 works (paintings, sculptures and art objects from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, including works by Bernini, Canova, Carracci, Ligabue, Savinio); a library with examples of graphic and typographic art, and an archive. The Labirinto della Masone — conceived by publisher Franco Maria Ricci — also hosts events throughout the year, and many people prefer to visit on these occasions, when the ticket price is lower than the usual 18 euros.