2015 Italy Trip, Day Three and Four – in Parma, Italy

Before exploring the city, day three commenced with a lovely mid morning breakfast at a restaurant a block down from our apartment. Breakfast consisted of sampling various cakes, pastries, cheeses, Prosciutto and the lightest scrambled eggs I’ve ever enjoyed. 

We found ourselves at the Palazzo della Pilotta, a three minute walk from the Duomo, and less than ten from our apartment. Each of the buildings in the Palazzo were damaged in the spring of 1944 by Allied bombing (the Allies were bombing the rail yards a little more than a half a mile away and some bombers dropped their loads short of the rail yards). The bombs destroyed the Church of St. Peters, severely damaged the Teatro Farnese that was built in 1618 and destroyed one of the wings of the city’s grand library the Biblioteca Palatina. It took decades to raise the necessary funds to restore and rebuild the grand Baroque theatre, it is was rebuilt and opened in 1962. Since the wooden Teatro Farnese has been hosting concerts and plays since.

Our first stop was the Biblioteca Palatina, a rare book library still in use today. Walking through the collection of books, many going back 500 to 1,000 years, was a special moment for both Evie and I. Due to the bombing, a portion of the collection was lost. When looking at the outside of the library one can see the damaged wall. The wall in its damaged state has been preserved as a reminder of what history can be destroyed by a war.

After looking at the collection in the one wing, I sat in the reading room taking in the atmosphere, wishing I could gain permission to open some of the books and spend more time in the library. Alas after sitting in the reading room surrounded by shelves of ancient books the librarian’s throaty grunt informed us that it was time for us to leave.

From the library we visited the Archeological Museum and then Teatro Farnese. The Farnese is open to the public only for a few hours each morning. When they rebuilt it they followed the original plans as they carefully restored to help preserve their history and culture. Along with one other couple we were given freedom to wonder around…the only thing that we were prohibited from doing was climbing up to the top of the theater.           

Early afternoon found us in Piazza Garibaldi and watching the various neighborhoods parade in for the Medieval Festival. Behind their banners, each neighborhood paraded into the heart of the city with their musicians and flag wavers dressed in colors. Behind each musical group followed a parade of people attired in their medieval attire.

After taking in the festivities in the Piazza Garibaldi (the city hall square) we returned to the Duomo for another visit followed by going into the Baptistery next to the Duomo. Through to modern times you could not go into the church unless first you had been baptized…hence the separate building and its primary focus and function. I found the artwork and the Baptistery as a whole was intriguing.      

For the last full day in Parma we wondered the city, exploring the neighborhoods and parks. One of the stops was the Parco Ducal and the Ducal Palace. The large park is located across the river from the medieval city and contains the grand palace built in the late 1500s and today is the home of the military police. The park is vast, with a large pond and a lovely reasonably priced snack bar.

We were not impressed with the river...it was mostly dry and weedy. Having an apartment with a river view would not be a premium view in our minds.

Also, we spent 15 minutes or so visiting a grocery store to check out the selection and the prices. On the whole the prices were comparable to those we see in Fairfax. Rent for a one bedroom furnished apartment in the old town is in the E550 – 680.

On our final evening as we enjoyed dining all’aperto, Evie and I agreed that we liked the city, found it to be as affordable as many average size towns in the USA, and we could see ourselves more than content as a home base for a year or two.