Perugia to Parma

Sunday, May 15, 2016

There was a mist in the air as we packed our car this morning, and by the time we were under way, it was pouring, with the skies promising no improvement. We knew we'd be in the car for the morning trip to Parma, so the rain didn't really matter.  However, in very short order, the clouds began to part and the blue sky that we were to have for the rest of the day began to peak through.  Putting much stock in weather forecasts here makes about as much sense here as it does anywhere else, so we just decide what we want to do and go with it.

We arrived in Parma early this afternoon, and spent a few hours in the centro storico.  The Piazza Duomo was large, lovely, and quiet when we arrived to admire the cathedral and the baptistry, both facades glowing with pink and white marble.  Once through yet another Jubilee Year Holy Door, we were wowed by the interior of the cathedral -- three naves, frescoed dome, ceiling, and side chapels, a high altar atop a staircase, and a beautiful lower church in the crypt.  Tom had said that he's pretty much given up on photographing church interiors, but he was snapping away this afternoon.







The nearby Piazza della Pace is dominated by the Palazzo della Pilotta, the massive(ly unattractive) former digs of the Farnese dynasty, which now houses several of the city's museums.  A wide bridge across the River Parma led to the lovely park which was once the grounds of yet another Farnese palace.  While there, we saw a gathering of children and their parents preparing for what looked like a bike parade -- more on that later.

After a stop in the church of Santa Maria della Steccata, which looks like a very truncated version of St. Peter's in Rome, on which it was modeled, we found ourselves in the nearby Piazza Garibaldi.  This was one very busy spot this afternoon, with music, wine tastings under an arcade, and lots of activities going on in every sector of the large square.

As we were leaving, the young bicyclists arrived with their parents and a police motorcycle escort for the start of their parade/race/event.  We expect that they were piggybacking on the Giro d'Italia, which is currently in progress.

Our stroll brought us back to the Duomo, and then we were on to check in to our apartment home for four nights.