Art and Culture
The best way to see Reggio Emilia is to rent a bicycle and pedal idly along its streets, savouring the slow pace of this well-off town, which tops all Italian lists in terms of income levels and quality of life.
Renowned for having the best kindergartens in the world, Reggio Emilia (Roman Regium Lepidi) is also a beautiful old town full of art and history. The main sight is the evocative 17th-century Basilica della Ghiara, at the heart of the old town centre. It is a sumptuously baroque church, richly decorated with frescoes by some of the best painters of its time (including a Crucifixion by Guercino).
Legend has it that in 1596 a young deaf and dumb boy regained his voice and sense of hearing after looking at an icon of the Virgin Mary painted on a low wall. The Basilica was built on the spot where the miracle had taken place, which had already become a destination for masses of pilgrims. For a relaxing walk, choose the ancient Via Emilia, that cuts neatly through the town and out onto the plain.
In town, the Via Emilia is almost entirely lined with porticoes, with a number of nice shops and old workshops, and is usually swarming with people chatting and strolling around.
see that Reggio Emilia is a lively and friendly place, the perfect place to unwind a bit and feel at home. Follow the Via Emilia to Piazza Prampolini (aka Piazza Grande), dominated by the 15th-century town hall (Palazzo del Comune) and the cathedral, which was originally built in the 9th century but reconstructed several times. Several of its chapels contain precious canvases, such as the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with Saints Peter and Jerome (1626) by Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino; the Visitation by Mary to Saint Elizabeth (1604) by Giuseppe Cesari known as Cavalier d’Arpino; and the marble tomb of Valerio Malaguzzi, by the 16thcentury sculptor and goldsmith Bartolomeo Spani from Reggio.
In Piazza Grande, to the right of the cathedral, an arch marks the half-hidden passage called the Broletto. It is a covered alleyway in a vaguely Oriental style, crammed with tiny shops and usually quite busy since it links Piazza Grande with the lively and picturesque Piazza San Prospero, or Piazza Piccola. Piazza San Prospero comes alive on market days (Tuesday and Friday), its stalls bustling in the shadow of the imposing Basilica of San Prospero.
The 18th-century facade of the church contrasts sharply with the bell tower next to it (1536-70), an original octagonal campanile (the project was approved by Giulio Romano) and an outstanding example of Renaissance architecture in Reggio. Another must-see is the Teatro Municipale "Romolo Valli", opened in 1857.
INFO
IAT Reggio Emilia
Tel. +39 0522 451 152
www.municipio.re.it/turismo - www.girareggio.it
Basilica della Beata Vergine della Ghiara
Tel. +39 0522 439 707
www.municipio.re.turismo
Basilica di San Prospero
Tel. +39 0522 434 667
www.municipio.re.it/turismo
Duomo
Tel. +39 0522 433 783
www.municipio.re.it/turismo
Sala del Tricolore
Tel. +39 0522 456 111
www.tricolore.it
Teatro Municipale Romolo Valli
Tel. +39 0522 458 811
www.iteatri.re.it
CURIOSITY
A GLIMPSE OF ANCIENT ROME
At the crossroads of Via Emilia San Pietro and Via Roma a portion of street is covered over in glass, to reveal large stone blocks lying some 2 metres below. These stones are fragments of the Roman Via Emilia and mark the very spot where the Roman settlement of Forum Lepidi was founded – the junction between the two main streets, the cardus and the decumanus maximus. The settlement then grew in to a wealthy town of entrepreneurs, tradesmen and talented craftsmen.
