Sept 10 - Bologna (Day trip to Parma)

 Sept 10 - Bologna (Day trip to Parma)

Another day trip today this time to the town of Parma (of prosciutto fame).  


Not far from the train station our first stop was to the National Gallery of Parma, an art gallery housed in the Palazzo della Pelota.  This enormous brick palace, named after the game of pelota and built in 1583, is also home to the ‘Teatro Farnese, and the ‘Palatine Library’. 

Although the gallery has an over abundance of ‘Madonnas’, ‘Crucifixions’, and other religious artworks, the beautiful Leonardo Da Vinci pencil sketch 'La Scapiliata' alone was worth the visit.  In addition there’s also a couple of Canaletto’s that, as far as I’m concerned, make any visit, anywhere, worthwhile!  

Another place really worth visiting was the Teatro Farnese.  This is an amazing 17th theatre that was, unfortunately, bombed during WWII. It has, however, since been reconstructed matching the original design and using some of the original wood and fittings.  With a seating capacity of over 5000, in circular wooden stalls, apparently it was the first theatre in the world to have a Proscenium Arch (their stages are deep and sometimes raked) and the floor could be flooded to hold mock navel battle.  All very impressive. 

After the ‘Palace’ we moved on to ‘Piazza Duomo’, Cathedral Square, and home to the ‘Baptistry of Parma’, and the ‘Cattedrale do Santa Maria Assunta’.  Both these are sites well known for their spectacular frescoes and paintings and they didn’t fail to impress, with both providing the ‘wow!’ factor when entering. 




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