Approximately two to two and a half hours away from our place in Turin is the city of Parma. Known for ham, cheese and other delicacies in the region, we had been wanting to go there for some time. Our recent visit was for us full of surprises, including the Pilotta Museum Complex, which was a pleasure for us and central to this post.

Parma

At first we were not too sure about the city. Our first impressions, and to some extent our lasting ones as well, is that it is laid out in a chaotic fashion, even for an Italian town. The mixture of new and old on the outskirts is not very pleasing to the eye and is kind of takes away from the central historic part of the city, which frankly is not very large.

The Parma river as well, suffers from drought and over-irrigation, a mere trickle of its former self. Called a torrente in Italian, or torrent, one can only wonder when the last time the river actually enjoyed that much water.

Torrente Parma – Ponte Caprazucca – Parma, Italy

The city does not suffer from tourism and we found the historic parts very pleasant to walk around. There is not much to see, hence our reason for visiting the museums, which we found different and interesting.

Bronze Statue of Niccolò Paganini – Piazzale Arrigo Boito – Parma, Italy

Getting There

We took the FrecciaRossa train from Turin to Milan, then the Regional from Milan to Parma. The regional trains make more stops than the high speed trains, taking an extra half hour to make the hour long trip by high speed rail. The good news is, there are options between Milan and Parma, from FrecciaRossa, Italo, TrenItalia FTP to TrenNord and perhaps more. Our selection was based on scheduling and nothing else.

Strada Cavour

The main street for shopping in the city. It was about a ten minute walk from our hotel and winds its way through the older part of the city, though all of the businesses are modern. You will find all the modern, trendy and chain-like stores here, along with their inflated prices.

Hotel Stendhal

We stayed at the Hotel Stendhal, a fifteen minute direct walk from the train station. Though we read some concerning reviews on some travel sites, we did not have any issues at all and had the most enjoyable stay. The staff was great and we never had to ask for anything. We had a large superior room on the side of the hotel which was very quiet and comfortable, along with a complimentary breakfast.

Outside Our Hotel – Cortile del Guazzatoio – Parma, Italy

Entrance – Hotel Stendhal – Parma, Italy

Pilotta Museum Complex

The Pilotta Museum Complex is the former Faranese Palace that now houses five or six museums, some of which were not open at the time of our visit.

Ponte Verdi – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Tickets For Two – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Entrance – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Parma

The archeological museum offers artifacts from the ancient history in and around Parma. Here are exhibits of the ancient civilizations of the Roman Empire, Greeks and Etruscans who inhabited the Po river valley and the surrounding area thousands of years ago.

Archaeological Museum – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

The museum also has a display of ancient Roman tombs, including sarcophogy and examples of mummified remains.

Farnese Theater

The Farnese Theater is actually a rather bizarre construction. Built within a very large room of the palace is a theater that was constructed quickly, in order to entertain some political majistrate of the Medici family. However, the event never took place and subsequent to it completion, it was only used eight or nine times.

Seating and Main Theater – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Patti – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Cherubs – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Diorama – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Parma_34_Pilotta_04_TeatroFarneseMuseum_18

Parma_34_Pilotta_04_TeatroFarneseMuseum_19

It eventually succumbed to allied bombings in the mid 1940s and was almost completely destroyed and then rebuilt later, for cultural reasons. Though none of the plaster exterior has never been replaced, as is evident by the missing ceiling, it still enjoys a woddy charm. Luckily, the old frescoes survived and can still be seen today.

Structure – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Stage Structure – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Seating Structure – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Backstage Elements – Farnese Theater – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Galleria Nazionale di Parma

The entrance to the National Gallery is flanked by two huge statues. One of Dionysus and the other or Hercules. They are both impressive in their own right, with the one of Hercules looking like it is right on the boundary of the human anatomy.

Hercules – National Gallery – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Dionysus – National Gallery – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

The rest of the gallery houses a myriad of large paintings in its large hall. Unfortunately there are no benches or seating to admire them, so one can only slowly walk by or stand in front of them for a bit, in order to admire them.

Main Room – National Gallery – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

As of this writing, the back of the gallery held the real prize for a visitor, a work by Leonardo da Vinci called the head of a woman, or “La Scapiliata”. One can see similarities with her face and that of the Mona Lisa, which was painted some time after and is now in the Louvre in Paris, France.

Head of a Woman “La Scapiliata” – Leonardo da Vinci, Vinci, 1452 – National Gallery – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Madonna of the Bowl, Rest after the Return from Egypt – Antonio Allegri detto il Correggio, 1489 – National Gallery – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Palatina Library

The Palatina Library is a large library that is still functioning, although for academic and research purposes only. However, the Petitot Gallery is still open to the public, where one can find a wide variety of topics, mostly in Italian of course.

Art Exhibits in Entrance – Palatina Library – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

One Hall – Palatina Library – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Old Books – Palatina Library – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Side Hall – Palatina Library – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

The Bodoni Museum

Anyone who has taken typesetting in school would enjoy the Bodoni Museum. The museum honors the famous Parma typesetter and printer, Giambattista Bodoni, and his eponymous typeface as well. The Bodoni typeface was a favorite of mine in high school, where I learned the intricacies of setting type. I loved its clean lines and serifs, using it to print a set of invitations for my mother at one time^[1]To use the museum’s own words, “The severe, neoclassical imprint of the letters, characterized by the stark contrast between the thickness of the strokes and the thinness of the lines and … Continue reading.

Bodoni Bust and Painting – Bodoni Museum – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Printing Press – Bodoni Museum – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Stories of Punching and Printing – Bodoni Museum – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Typesetting Examples – Bodoni Museum – Pillota Museum Complex – Parma, Italy

Restaurants

You will find most of the non-industrial restaurants away from the main shopping street of Strada Cavour. Reservations are recommended, even for lunch, for these are often used by locals and the business crowd. Most of the Osterias and Trattorias serve wine by the tap in quarter, half and full liter sizes, whereas the corporate restaurants on Cavour serve only by the glass, so they can up-charge for it, like in the United States.

Osteria dei Servi

The Osteria dei Servi is actually housed under the Viale Giovanni Mariotti and has a rather odd entrance. But don’t let that fool you. The restaurant is actually quite nice inside and comfortable. The food is excellent and typical for the area.

Entrance – Osteria die Servi – Parma, Italy

Inside – Osteria die Servi – Parma, Italy

Patti – Osteria die Servi – Parma, Italy

Bread and Patti’s Dinner – Osteria die Servi – Parma, Italy

Ravioli – Osteria die Servi – Parma, Italy

Trattoria Corrieri Parma

Another fine local restaurant is the Trattoria Corrieri Parma. Located further down in the city and by a Parma University building, it offers great food at even lower prices than die Servi. We found the service similar and the menu full of local dishes for us to try.

Krim Kram Inside – Trattoria Corrieri – Parma, Italy

Patti – Trattoria Corrieri – Parma, Italy

Pasta with Eggs and Chicken Livers – Trattoria Corrieri – Parma, Italy

Cappelletti al Ragu di Strolghina – Trattoria Corrieri – Parma, Italy

Torta Susanna – Trattoria Corrieri – Parma, Italy

Sorbetto – Trattoria Corrieri – Parma, Italy

References[+]

References
↑1	To use the museum’s own words, “The severe, neoclassical imprint of the letters, characterized by the stark contrast between the thickness of the strokes and the thinness of the lines and serifs; the stark, epigraphic composition of the title pages and dedications; the airy, correct relationship between text and images, between line and line, between light and dark make Bodoni’s page a prodigy of harmony and readability.“

Parma, Italy – Pilotta Pleasures