Monday May 8, 2023
Today is one of those rare days that we get to sleep in a little. Mostly, the getting up early is our own doing as we like to see things early in the day when the crowds or tours or school kids are not active. We also like to travel a bit early so when we get to a new place we have at least a half day or more to sightsee on the day we arrive. Today is a little different as we do not have a ton of big sights or museums to see. Even so we are still out the door a little after 1000.
Our first stop is the Parma Cathedral which is literally less than a block away. The cathedral was built in the 11th century and is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is one of the finest examples of a Romanesque Cathedral in Italy. The walls and ceilings are covered in frescos and the paintings are in incredible condition.The frescos are the works of Correggio whose works are also displayed in the National Gallery. Even though the building of the cathedral started in 1027, it wasn’t until 1530 that Correggio painted the dome with a fresco. It was worth the wait. There is also a sculptured work from 1178 of the Deposition of Christ. Engraved on the top of the carving it reads “ In the year of one thousand and seventy eight in the month of April, the sculptor created the work. This sculptor was Benedetto Antelami. This pretty much definitively dates the piece. You can see Joseph of Arimathea holding the body of Christ. The arm which is already freed from the nail is supported by the Archangel Gabriel who leads the hand of Jesus to his mothers face. Nicodemus is on a ladder to free the other hand of Christ. It is an amazing piece of stonework. The stained glass is beautiful and the side chapels all are frescoed with the stories of the Saints that are represented within them.
Carol spots a red hat (called a Galero) hanging above another area which signifies that a Cardinal is buried here. The Pope used to place a scarlet galero on the new cardinal’s head during the papal consistories. Only Cardinals received the red Galero, although other colors were received by different ranks of the clergy. The whole Cathedral is amazing. Everywhere you look a beautiful piece of art catches your eye. The many stories told in the frescos are intriguing and you could easily spend hours trying to decipher them if you knew or wanted to learn the history of the various saints. Some chapels have descriptions to get you started. All in all. It is one of the most beautiful churches we have been in.
Right up the street from the Cathedral is the Church of St John the Evangelist. There is a mass going on so we step inside the attached monastery instead. The Benedictine complex and cloisters was founded between 980 and 988. There is an open door inside the cloisters that says library and goes up some stairs, so curious me has to see what is there. While there are some books, what is more interesting is a large painting of the Battle of Lepanto, an important naval battle in 1571 for the Christian states as they defeated the Ottoman navy. Even more intriguing is a bunch of old maps of Italy from different dates that are interesting to look at and see quite a few towns that we have been to. It is also a very beautifully decorated pillared room.
We go back to the church and find that the mass is over so we can go in to check it out. It is a Baroque style church and the facade is made of the same pink marble as the Cathedral. It is very nice and has the dome painting by Correggio and another by a young Parmigianino. The current church was built between 1490 and 1519. We are on a bit of a church roll now and they all seem to be fairly close to each other. We find the Sanctuary of Santa Maria Della Steccata nearby. It is a Greek Cross design Renaissance Church. The church was started in 1521 and consecrated in 1539. It has frescos and a beautiful cupola. In fact it was built for the veneration of a fresco, The Nursing Madonna, which was an object of great devotion of the citizenship. The main dome fresco features a scene of the ascension and was partly painted by local artist, Bernardino Gatti. There is a beautiful altar which holds the venerated Madonna.
After this church, we walk across the river just because we have nothing better to do. We just stroll along a fairly main street check out a few places but mostly just walk until we hit the much more busy and modern part of the city. There is a traffic circle that is very busy so we turn around here and walk back across the river to old Parma and begin to head back to our place. Along the way we find a specialty grocery store that also serves food. Dave and Gwen grab a snack while Carol and I look around. They have a huge tower of Parmegiano Reggiano cheese so we take a picture of that. On the way back we stop in to a free puppet museum. It is just ok but there are some freaky looking Italian puppets here. Before we head back we check out a restaurant on our list and all of us seem to like the menu so we make a reservation for dinner later tonight. We get back to our apartment to relax a bit before we go out later for dinner. It truly has been a wander around with no particular place to go day.
After a bit, we get a text from Gwenn saying her and Dave are going out to have some wine. It is a bit early for us so we tell them to let us know where they end up and we will join them a little later. When we finally go to join them, they are quite a few glasses in. The small cafe they found has reasonable glasses of wine and gives you some very nice appetizers with it. On top of that, the very friendly waitress speaks very good English. When she finishes her shift, she actually sits and has a drink with us. We learn all about her life here in Italy and Parma. She is Romanian, had opened a restaurant here but did not make it, went to work for a wealthy family and after their father died, they let her go a now she is working here. She says the owner is young and has much to learn but pays her very well for the area. We talk for over an hour with her before she finally has to leave to go home. It is now almost time for dinner so we head over to the restaurant. Dinner is at a place called La Greppia. Carol and I get an antipasto of, you guessed it, prosciutto di Parma and a side of Gnocco Fritto with it. Our main meal is lasagna and we go for something different with a homemade pasta with a duck ragu with orange. It is the clear winner tonight and really wows us with its flavor. A very good meal with good friends and a nice end to our stay in Parma
Expenses Panini Lunch 5.5E Dinner and Wine and La Greppia 56E Luigi at Palazzo Bianca 80.54E Walked 5.3 Miles
No Comments Yet