The Journeys of the Romanesque

2006 represents for the city of Parma the year of the ninth centennial of the Dedication of the Duomo (11th-12th cent.), surely one of the most excellent expressions of Po Valley Roman architecture. The Piazza Duomo, indeed, closed between the cathedral, the Baptistery and the Bishop's Palace, creates a marvelous vista, and the cathedral, with its splendid cabin-esque façade and Latin-cross plant, creates a medieval scene of rare suggestion. The interior of the Duomo is also worth a visit, rich as it is with masterpieces: the most celebrated are without question the cupola frescoed by Correggio (Antonio Allegri) with the Assumption of the Virgin (1526-1539) and the Deposition, the first dated sculpture work of Benedetto Antelami (1178).

Nearby the Parma Cathedral in the Parmesan territory, one may recognize other proofs of Roman art. In the great courtyard, which for many years remained open for the completion of the stately structure of the Cathedral erected by many highly qualified workmen, who received and adopted the teachings and techniques of Benedetto Antelami, the innovative master-builder of the sculpture cycles of the Duomo of Parma and Fidenza.

Many of these anonymous artists had been called to decorate and enrich the parishes and churches of the territory, leaving signs and testimonies visible to this day.
The Romanesque however has been maintained in Parma also by other methods that have permitted the transmission of the artistic taste of the area: the paths of pilgrimage, journeys by the faithful of Northern Europe directly to Rome, and the great abbeys installed in the area of the plains through reclaiming.

Today the Province of Parma, seizing the occasion of the ninth centennial of the Cathedral, presents again the testimonies of that distant epoch still present in the territory, with the object of celebrating the heritage that the Church of Parma has left under the guise of the noblest vestiges of Roman art and medieval culture.


Among the advised stopping places:

• Church of Santa Croce in Parma
• Duomo of Fidenza
• Church of San Geminiano in Vicofertile
• Parish of Talignano
• Parish of Gaione
• Church of Sant'llario Baganza