Parma the Colourful

 

I am getting a little behind in my reporting. The days are full of sights and delights requiring a good night's sleep -- which limits time spent on the computer. To catch up with the travel tale, a visit to Parma's Duomo and Baptistery was the focus of our day yesterday. I had in fact, set out to see the private rooms of the abbess of the Benedictine Convent of San Paolo; but, alas, they are closed on Tuesdays. This only means I shall keep Parma on my bucket list. ;-)

The Baptistery is a delightful pink-and-white layer cake with fascinating frescos from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Deciphering the symbolism in Benedetto Antelami's sculptures of the months was fun. For example, Libra appears on the righthand sculpture along with the grapes being harvested in bare feet to denote October. In the centre, Scorpio appears in the tree branches and now the figure wears a heavier cloak and shoes against November's cool temperatures.

The focal point of the Duomo is Correggio's whirling painting of the Assumption of the Madonna, capturing the event's vortex of energy.

While Correggio's work, painted in the early sixteenth century is the star of the show, the Duomo has been graced with frescos through time, including this late nineteenth century ceiling and a chapel dedicated to the fallen from World War I.

Around the corner, their modern counterparts were hard at work in the mid-day sun. This may in fact turn out to be our only warm, sunny day of the trip. Time will tell.

For now, buonanotte and sweet dreams.