Italy – Parma (En)

Parma is a university city in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, famed for Parmesan cheese and Parma ham, and Romanesque buildings such as Parma Cathedral in the city centre.

We stayed at Area Sosta Camper de Parma (44.8088, 10.2844 lat, long) which is the motorhome area of the city. It is really good, the manager of the area is very friendly and nice and explains how to arrive to the city centre and all that you need. 20 euros per day including electricity, good wifi, toilets, showers and an area for washing dishes, you also can put your table and chairs outside. There is a Lidl supermarket on the door which is really good. We recommend it if you want to visit Parma.

Following the instructions of the camper area manager we went to the city centre on our motorbike, all straight. The first thing we saw was the Church and Convent of Santísima Annunziata which was founded on May 9, 1566. Then you cross a bridge and you arrive in the city centre at Garibaldi Square which is one of the liveliest places in Parma. The most significant building in this square is the Governor’s Palace, whose construction began at the beginning of the 13th century, with a sundial in the tower.

Then we saw the Cathedral of Parma which is the most important religious building in the city. It is a Romanesque building built in the 11th century. The western facade is from the 12th century, although the two large marble lions at the main entrance date from the late 13th century. Both its dome and its vault are ornamented.

Afterwards, we went to see the Pilotta Palace, it seems that it has this name because when the city was defended by Spanish soldiers, it was here where they played ball. This huge complex was built by the second Duke of Parma, at the end of the 16th century. Inside is the National Gallery which exhibits works by the painters Correggio and Canaletto. It is surrounded by parks with fountains where university students gather and has a monument dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi. It is also the seat of the Farnese Theatre built in 1618 by the fourth Duke of Parma and built entirely of Friuli fir wood.

From here we went to Duomo Square which is the historical and medieval centre of the city and the most beautiful of Parma. In the square, in addition to the Cathedral with its bell tower, there is the wonderful Baptistery, the Episcopal Palace, and the Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati, now a hotel. The Baptistery is separate from the Cathedral and is octagonal, built with pink Verona marble from the end of the 12th century.

In a square behind the cathedral is the Church of St John the Evangelist and its Benedictine monastery.

We wandered back where we had left the motorbike taking photos of the illuminated buildings and we had dinner a pizza with parmesan cheese and Parma ham that was delicious.

We decided to leave Italy because of the heat and go to the Alpes region of southeastern France, known for its museums, universities and spherical cable cars, which you can see in the next post!