We spent five lovely nights in Parma, in a studio apartment on the fourth floor of a building with a bakery on the ground level. Our noses woke us up briefly most mornings around 3:15 a.m. as the ovens cranked up and the most delicious smells of bread and cinnamon wafted up to our abode. Four or five hours later, Joe would venture downstairs to choose something yummy for our breakfast!
On our first night, we were delighted to stumble across a free outdoor concert in Piazzale della Pace (Peace Square) near the Verdi Monument. Parma hosts a month-long festival each year dedicated to the 19th century composer and dozens of free events are co-currently running during the festival under the flag “Verdi Off.” We danced to this jazz-rock-opera ensemble as they interpreted operas, arias, movie themes, rhumbas, blues, and tangos. La Toscanini Next is comprised of nine musicians and they not only played together well, but they all looked like they were having fun, too!
After the concert, we roamed around, peeking in old buildings, shops, and restaurants. Eventually, we chose an outdoor cafe for a sumptuous dinner, before walking back across the river to our side of town.
On Sunday, we went to Mass at Chiesa di Santa Croce and then walked through the gardens of Palazzo Ducale. We took a spritz break at the small cafe in the park, before wandering on our way.
View from our balcony.
On Monday, we walked the city on a food tour and on Tuesday, we took an excursion with Virginia to her village (population 800) where we learned to make tagliatelle using her granny’s recipe and techniques. We lunched together on their balcony before she drove us back to the city.
On our last full day in Parma, we visited Teatro Farnese, Galleria nazionale di Parma and Biblioteca Palatina, all located in Palazzo della Pilotta. Unfortunately, the Bodoni exhibition was closed.
Teatro Farnese is an incredible wooden theatre built originally in the early 17th century. Our guide told us only nine productions took place over the course of its first one hundred years, due to the complexities of 600 stagehands needed for each epic show.
Theatre major Sarah has never seen such a steeply sloped stage in person. OSHA regulations prevent this sharp of an incline on modern stages. Hard to convey in my amateur photo!
Have you ever seen 800,000 volumes gathered in one private library hall? The silence and the scent of books was unlike anything Sarah had previously experienced. The collection was commissioned in 1761, and includes a greek Codex written on 220 tiny pages of parchment in 1009 A.D.
On our final night in Parma, we dined on saffron risotto with veal ossobuco alla Beppe. For twenty-five years, the owner of Hosteria da Beppe has been cooking typical Emilian fare with local ingredients. Beppe also hosts, bartends, takes orders, serves, and busses. We assume he does the dishes, too. As far as we could learn, he is a one-man show. And cooks ah-mazing food! And he gets great reviews from everyone! We were super impressed with his friendly and efficient service and we highly recommend all visitors to Parma to eat at Beppe’s restaurant.
Where in the world are the Gills? 