Art and Culture

Her name was Marie Louise Habsburg and she was the daughter of the emperor of Austria.

She was beautiful, powerful, and had lived in the most glamorous cities and courts of Europe. In 1816 she was granted the grand duchy of Parma by the Congress of Vienna, and she fell in love with it immediately and never left it, leaving her mark everywhere. It was she that commissioned the Teatro Regio, a world-famous opera house that contributed to the transformation of Parma into a splendid capital city.

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She opened the huge park surrounding her residence and the frescoed Palazzo Ducale (ducal palace) to the public. This initiative made her even more popular among her subjects. For those interested in the era of Marie Louise, the historical events, everyday life, art and society of the duchy of Parma, a visit to the Museo Glauco Lombardi, which contains exhibits dating from 1748 to 1859, is suggested. But there’s so much else to see and taste in Parma.

The ideal starting point for a tour of the town is the medieval Piazza Duomo, dominated by one of the greatest Romanesque cathedrals in Italy (1059). It is noted for its classic gable facade, double loggia and its dome, representing angels and archangels floating up in dazzling light and swirling clouds, frescoed by Correggio between 1526 and 1530. The other eye-catching building in Piazza Duomo is the baptistery, the work of the most brilliant sculptor and architect of the Middle Ages, Benedetto Antelami.

This distinctive Romanesque octagonal building anticipates Gothic proportions as it is taller than it is large. But that’s not all! It’s difficult to miss the 16th-century Palazzo della Pilotta, a huge building commissioned by Ranuccio I Farnese and originally meant to be a service centre with stables, barns, barracks, a theatre and a library. Today this must-see houses the Galleria Nazionale, one of the first Italian galleries both for the number of pictures it contains and for their importance. It groups together paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Correggio, Tintoretto and Giulio Romano – all under one roof. It also houses the superb Teatro Farnese, one of the most charming historical theatres in the world.

It is built entirely of wood and still equipped with old stage machinery. Music is the very lifeblood of Parma: this is the home of Giuseppe Verdi, the Teatro Regio, and great opera performances, not to mention the birthplace of Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957), and the adopted home of Niccolò Paganini. Paganini has even lent his name to the new auditorium (a converted sugar mill) designed by Renzo Piano. Last but not least, the Casa della Musica (house of music) in Renaissance Palazzo Cusani is the only music museum in Italy and also a research centre.

INFO

IAT Parma
Tel. +39 0521 218 889, Fax +39 0521 234 735
http://turismo.comune.parma.it

Teatro Regio
Tel. +39 0521 039 399

Parco Ducale
Tel. +39 0521 282 868
http://servizi.comune.parma.it/giardinoducale

Parma Turismi
Tel. +39 0521 386 329, Fax +39 0521 223 161
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