Luckily our rest day in Parma was a Sunday, which meant the streets were quiet when we ventured out and entrance to the Palazzo della Pilotta, a massive complex which houses a number of cultural highlights, was free.
First we visited the Farnese Theatre, a magnificent wooden theatre built in 1619 and reconstructed after it was almost destroyed by bombing in WWII. It used some revolutionary design techniques and reintroduced theatre after the church had repressed it.
Next we admired the statues and paintings in the National Gallery. We especially liked the huge Roman statue of Hercules, the Da Vinci portrait entitled La Scapigliata and the small, detailed panels in the Story of Saint Peter Martyr by Agnolo and Bartolomeo degli Erri.
Our third visit was the Palatine Library, housing books from 1761. The bookcases were eleven shelves high and could be accessed by rolling staircases... but not by the likes of us.
We revived ourselves with coffee and cake before wandering the streets in the old centre. We discovered small mosaics on the road outside shops which indicated the profession. We found more information related to the Festivale della Seria A, showcasing Italy's top football league, including big display boards and football challenges. We also photographed shutters with a music theme, as Parma is also known for classical music.
Lunch was pizza; then we visited the Glauco Lombardi museum, which is all about Marie Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. She became Duchess of Parma for 30 years after Napoleon went into exile. She made many improvements in the arts, public works and healthcare. On display were some of the gowns she wore, love letters from Napoleon and some of her personal items, including a travelling medical kit and fishing equipment.
Our final visit was to the birthplace of Toscanini, the great conductor. He studied music from the age of nine, wore a red poncho to honour Garibaldi's legacy and was fiercely anti-fascist and opposed to Nazi regimes in Italy.
After this we headed back to our apartment to have an afternoon nap, another rest day highlight.
 |
| Quiet streets as we set off this morning |
 |
| A dramatic statue |
 |
| Busts adorning the Palatine Library - Homer. Sappho, Sophocles, Cicero and Seneca |
 |
| Palatine Library |
 |
| National Gallery in the Palazzo della Pilotta |
 |
| Inlaid wooden cabinet in the National Gallery |
 |
| Colossal figures in the gallery |
 |
| A bit of a queue to see a small painting by Leonardo Da Vinci |
 |
| Some of the other works that caught our eye |
 |
| Next stop - coffee and cake |
 |
| Lots of history in the streets of Parma |
 |
| Gelato-coloured buildings |
 |
| The house where Giovannino Guareschi lived in Parma - now a horse butchers |
 |
| Small mosaics laid into the cobblestone streets |
 |
| We walked past some attractive garage door art |
 |
| Some attractive garage door art |
 |
| There were signs all over the city for the Serie A Football Festival |
 |
| Some of the football festival displays |
 |
| Some football festival activities |
 |
| Admiring a wedding present from Napoleon to Marie Louise, on display in the Glauco Lombardi museum |
 |
| Some of the rooms in the Glauco Lombardi museum |
 |
| A few of the Napoleon-related exhibits at the museum |
 |
| Marie Louise's fishing kit, on display at the Glauco Lombardi museum |
 |
| The Toscanini birthplace museum |
 |
| Exhibits at the Toscanini birthplace museum |
 |
| Back through the streets of Parma to our accommodation |
 |
| Bits and pieces |
 |
| Birds |
 |
| Day 48 - Map |
Day: 48
Distance: 0 km
Walking time: 0 hrs 0 mins
Elevation gain: 0 metres
Cumulative distance: 948.12 km
Today’s bird: Common Swift, Mallard
ReplyDeleteRe football. Have you heard that Australia will have an Italian player in its team for the World Cup (he jumped ship and chose to play for Australia because Italy didn’t qualify).
Thank you for the birds. We haven't talked about the World Cup much here, we suspect it's a sore point!
ReplyDelete