Parma is a university city in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, famed for Parmesan cheese and Parma ham. Romanesque buildings, including the frescoed Parma Cathedral and the pink marble Baptistery, grace the city centre. Classical concerts take place at the Teatro Regio, a 19th-century opera house. The Galleria Nazionale, inside the imposing Palazzo della Pilotta, displays works by painters Correggio and Canaletto.
The city is probably not one of Italy’s foremost tourist magnets. And is all the better for that. We visited in April, on a holiday weekend, and there were just sufficient visitors to provide people watching interest. We were told that even in the height of summer it’s still a civilised place to visit.
Getting into the city is very easy. We used the southern park and ride car parks. Paid 2 euros each and hopped on the bus into town.
Our preferred method of appreciating a city is through a process of osmosis. Generally this means strolling, sitting, eating and drinking. We are “atmosphere hunters”. Crowded National Galleries and must see thronged churches are not usually on our itinery. Looking at art should be an emotional experience after all. Not an elbow fight with a selfie mad tourist.
However we did visit the Baptistry and were totally bowled over by the mass and internal decoration of this building. Designed by Benedetto Antelami, and built between 1196 and 1216, the Baptistery of Parma is one of the most important monuments of the transition from Romanesque to early Gothic architecture. The octagonal structure, in pink Verona marble, includes four tiers of open loggias with architraved portals.