Parma: Romanesque sites
2
Art itineraries Parma: Romanesque sites The advent of the year one thousand saw the repopulation of European cities owing to reduced pressure from the barbarian populations, economic recovery and intensified trade. The result was considerable ferment in terms of innovation which was also to involve the artistic world. The renewal of the cities found expression through the revitalisation of pre-existing Roman structures as well as the creation of new urban centres. Romanesque art refers to works dating from the end of the tenth century, the result of a variety of experiences which spread throughout all European countries, with the respective differences dictated by aspects of culture, technique and form. The barbarian peoples from north-eastern Europe came into contact with Roman, late-Roman and early Christian culture, thereby giving rise to a new form of art which owed its name, Romanesque, to its distant roots. Romanesque art in Italy developed on the Po valley plains, a thoroughfare for those travelling to and from France and Spain, where the Romanesque style was gaining a foothold early on. One of the first great Romanesque traditions was that of the masters from the region of Como, for it was here that construction started to follow a new way of thinking assuming a rougher form and dedicating more attention to solidity than beauty. THE NEW STYLE The cross vaults inside the cloister of the Monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista. 2. THE BAPTISTERY The Baptistery is octagonal in shape and clad inpink Verona marble... A building that symbolises the passing from late Romanesque to Gothic, the Baptistery was started in 1196 and finished in 1260. The marble balustrade with stone columns, the spires and the capitals on eastern pillars, thus positioned to crown the construction, were added in 1307. Octagonal on the outside and sixteen-sided on the inside, the Baptistery faces west and features pink Verona marble cladding with unequal sides (not a chance “defect” but one that was thus designed owing to the symbolism of the times that viewed symmetry as a symbol of death). Its fusion of architecture and sculpture make it one of the highest expressions of the synthesis of the early Christian roots of the Baptistery’s shape and twelfth century architecture. Benedetto Antelami started its construction and executed the bas-reliefs on the three external doors as well as all the ornate interior of the building. The work then passed into the hands of the Campionesi, experts in completing and transforming existing buildings. Indeed the departure of the sculptures in the lower area from those in the upper part is considerable, as is the difference between the capitals low down and those which, for example, support the ribs of the cupola. At ground level, the Baptistery has three doors: the Redeemer’s door to the west; the Virgin’s door to the north and the southern door of Life. The other five sides are closed and rise up on a plinth from which two columns with capitals of varying shape support a round arch. In the corners of the octagon are eight piers which, arriving to the top of the building, support These expressions were later polished and became increasingly refined in the course of time. Features of this style can be found all around: one- nave churches with an apse, cathedrals with a Latin cross layout of three or five spans; a roof with cross vaults determined by the crossing of two arches of equal radius to form four webs; one or more apses, normally semi-circular, a portico façade with a lateral bell tower or occasionally one on each side. Romanesque architecture features simplified volumes and forms that are powerful and linear, with measured openings. Double lancet windows with two lights separated by a thin column became more frequent. Sculpture had a symbolic and ornamental function, and was conceived in close relation with the architectural structures. The decoration of sculptures was to see combinations of floral motifs with geometric ones. The figures tended to take on a volume which until then had been reduced to a stylistic code. A moderate amount of attention was paid to aspects of everyday life (particularly in the portrayal of the Labours of the Months). The themes that appear are often taken from both the Old and New Testament but favour the book of Genesis. The scenes are embellished with fantastical monsters and geometric decorations. The intention was one of transmitting messages that might otherwise have appeared somewhat obscure to the largely ignorant population. Romanesque architecture in the volumes and forms is very linear, without large openings. 1. THE CATHEDRAL Commonly considered one of the most outstanding Romanesque monuments in Italy, Parma Cathedral was inaugurated by Pope Pasquale II in 1106. It was built in the same part of the city which was once the site of the first early-Christian cathedral. The church, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, has a sandstone portico façade decorated with three orders of semi-circular arched loggias supported by small columns with bases and capitals in red marble from Verona. Two rows of horizontal loggias that open out onto the square and which are closed on the inside are composed of four groups of three small arches. The third row follows the line of the roof with continuous arches and small columns. The coping frame is formed by interweaving arches, a cord and a spiral as well as serrated edging. Overall, its calm and severe architectural lines give the building and those observing it a strong sensation of grace and elegance. Three doors on the façade open into the three corresponding internal naves. The main door is preceded by a pronaos with two large crouching lions in red Verona marble clutching animals in their grasp. On their backs rest two columns which support a sculpted arch portraying the months of the year, and a loggia above it. The brick bell tower is Romanesque as far up as the start of the triple lancet windows of the belfry. The external walls, the transept and the apses of the cathedral are decorated with small arches and long pilasters, whilst it is possible to enter the blind loggias that run along the walls and the apses. Inside, the church has a Basilica-type Latin cross layout, with three naves with apses and six chapels per side. The central nave is double the size of the lateral ones, and is formed with twelve pillars in different marbles on which semi-circular arches with ornate capitals rest; these feature a variety of finely-crafted animals, reptiles and leaves. A further theory of columns provides momentum inside, whilst the large windowless women’s galleries open onto the central nave. A large marble staircase leads up to the transept in the centre of which are the pillars that support the cupola. The transept finishes with two apses whilst the central nave stretches out to form a large choir stand with a final, curved apse. Above the lateral naves the women’s galleries look out onto the central nave from four small arches supported by short columns. The capitals of the women’s galleries are noteworthy masterpieces of Romanesque decorative sculpture. From the two lateral naves it is now possible to access the crypt, which is subdivided by a large number of small columns. Unlike other Romanesque buildings, virtually up until the end of the XV century the Cathedral did not have bare walls. There are still original paintings which are hidden by frescos and paintings carried out at a later date. The central nave of the Cathedral is double the size of the ones to the sides and is formed by twelve pillars in different marbles. the vault, serving the purpose of buttresses for the imposing structure. On the top floor are four orders of accessible loggias with architraves divided by four columns with sculpted capitals and walls that are also clad in marble. A fifth order of blind loggias with small columns that culminate in agile lancet arches crowns the construction. The windows are essential, simple and all are rectangular. Only the portals, capitals and bas-reliefs that adorn the lower part of the building find a wealth of details and decorations. The portals above the five steps reveal two wide splays. At the base, a pedestal supports eight small columns per side of differing diameters: the largest ones are at the ends of the corners, the smaller and thinner ones at the top. In the background the wall features a variety of bas-reliefs and decorations. Traces of Antelami are above all revealed in the door of the Virgin and the Redeemer in the admirable zoophore which surrounds the building. Of the northern door, the genealogy of Christ and the Virgin are of particular note. This door bears the year in which the work was executed and the name of Benedetto Anelami. At the western door it is possible to see the Misericordia, the parable of the vineyard and Christ the judge and redeemer. On the southern door is Christ, John the Evangelist and the legend of Barlaam. In the niches are statues of prophets, kings and archangels. Last of all is the zoophore with its squared tiles with full and prominent figures. These portray mermaids, dragons, peacocks, chickens, cats, dogs, donkeys and horses inserted into tondos. The difference between the sculptures in the lower part and the upper part is considerable. In the cupola, starting from the highest part, around the rose we find in decreasing order a red sky with stars, a light blue background with silver diamonds and stars... Antelami’s hand is chiefly revealed in the doors of the Virgin and the Redeemer, and in the admirable zoophore surrounding the buildings with its monstrous figures, symbol of vices and virtues. The Byzantine influence from the centre and south of Italy is particularly present in the crucifixes, as well as the image of Christ Pantocrator, usually depicted behind the altar, in the apsidal conch. Ecclesiastical dictates forbade free expression: painting had an educational rather than an artistic purpose. It was above all painting linked to the Byzantine painting tradition. In Lombardy, in accordance with the Carolingian and Ottonian artistic tradition, the fresco was developed. Venice and Sicily saw the prevalence of mosaic cycles in accordance with Byzantine tradition, whilst Tuscany and Umbria primarily favoured painting on wooden tablets, with crucifixes assuming primary importance. Miniatures executed by monks became widespread throughout all of Europe and featured a variety of representations including geometric friezes, imaginative interwoven animal and plant forms and historiated initials. Baptistery: the Months, June reaping. Benedetto Antelami hailed from the Como region and worked in Parma between 1178 and the first decades of the thirteenth century and was without a doubt one of the greatest exponents of Romanesque architecture and sculpture. His work in the cathedral included part of the restructuring of the vaulted ceiling and the execution of a pulpit which was originally supported by four lions which in turn supported columns with historiated capitals and sculpted slabs. The complex was destroyed in 1566 during Girolamo Bedoli Mazzola’s work to build the staircase. The Deposition, walled into the top right transept wall, reveals exact compositional geometry in which circles, squares and triangles all alternate. The representation is influenced by ancient statues although filtered through the sensibilities of the new century. The marble, sculpted in 1178, presents figures encircled by a crown or roses with intertwining stalks and a background worked with niellos. The people portrayed are dominated by the horizontal flight of two angels, the perfect continuation of the arms of the cross of Christ. Around, the soldiers fight for Christ’s tunic, whilst on the other side figures in tears complete the scene. The Deposition walled into the top right transept wall of the Cathedral. Once inside, it is possible to admire the sixteen niches separated by columns of various shapes and sizes from which the vaulting ribs that terminate in the splendid vault keystone rise up. Two orders of accessible galleries run between the apses and the cupola. The set of sculptures are extraordinary: the capital of the column to the left of the altar is worthy of note, with its portrayal of Daniel amidst the lions, as is the column to the right which portrays the symbols of the three Evangelists and the four lunettes. Inside, the quality of the sculptures is equal to that of the paintings, a noteworthy example of Romanesque art from the XIII century. We can now observe the decorations on the cupola: starting from the highest part around the rosette we find, in decreasing order, a red sky with stars, a pale blue background with silver diamonds and stars, the figures of the seated Apostles and the symbols of the Evangelists with a human body and the head of an animal. These are followed by the Saviour, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist, surrounded by prophets and other episodes of the life of Christ, the Fathers of the Church and scenes from the life of Abraham. Also of note as isolated sculptures are the portrayals of the months and the zodiac that perhaps originated in another monument: February hoeing, March blowing, April in a king’s robes, June reaping, October sowing, December pruning etc... The oldest baptism basin, executed on Antelami’s work site, features a stylophore lion grasping a hare, symbol of evil, between its claws. The round basin on top is adorned with intertwining flowers and doves. An octagonal basin in a central position which dates to the first decades of the thirteenth century was made from a single piece or red Verona marble and is intended for use for ablution at baptism. The outside walls, the transept and the apses of the cathedral are decorated with small arches and long pilaster stri ps. Celebrations for the nine centuries of the Cathedral of Parma 1106 - 2006
Transcript of Parma: Romanesque sites
Art itineraries
Parma: Romanesque sites
The advent of the year one thousand saw the repopulation of European cities owing to reduced pressure from the barbarian populations, economic recovery and intensified trade. The result was considerable ferment in terms of innovation which was also to involve the artistic world.
The renewal of the cities found expression through the revitalisation of pre-existing Roman structures as well as the creation of new urban centres.
Romanesque art refers to works dating from the end of the tenth century, the result of a variety of experiences which spread throughout all European countries, with the respective differences dictated by aspects of culture, technique and form.
The barbarian peoples from north-eastern Europe came into contact with Roman, late-Roman and early Christian culture, thereby giving rise to a new form of art which owed its name, Romanesque, to its distant roots.
Romanesque art in Italy developed on the Po valley plains, a thoroughfare for those travelling to and from France and Spain, where the Romanesque style was gaining a foothold early on.
One of the first great Romanesque traditions was that of the masters from the region of Como, for it was here that construction started to follow a new way of thinking assuming a rougher form and dedicating more attention to solidity than beauty.
The new sTyle
The cross vaults inside the cloister of the Monastery of San Giovanni Evangel ista.
2. The BAPTIsTeRy
The Baptistery is octagonal in shape and clad in pink Verona marble...
A building that symbolises the passing from late Romanesque to Gothic, the Baptistery was started in 1196 and finished in 1260. The marble balustrade with stone columns, the spires and the capitals on eastern pillars, thus positioned to crown the construction, were added in 1307.
Octagonal on the outside and sixteen-sided on the inside, the Baptistery faces west and features pink Verona marble cladding with unequal sides (not a chance “defect” but one that was thus designed owing to the symbolism of the times that viewed symmetry as a symbol of death). Its fusion of architecture and sculpture make it one of the highest expressions of the synthesis of the early Christian roots of the Baptistery’s shape and twelfth century architecture.
Benedetto Antelami started its construction and executed the bas-reliefs on the three external doors as well as all the ornate interior of the building. The work then passed into the hands of the Campionesi, experts in completing and transforming existing buildings. Indeed the departure of the sculptures in the lower area from those in the upper part is considerable, as is the difference between the capitals low down and those which, for example, support the ribs of the cupola.
At ground level, the Baptistery has three doors: the Redeemer’s door to the west; the Virgin’s door to the north and the southern door of Life. The other five sides are closed and rise up on a plinth from which two columns with capitals of varying shape support a round arch. In the corners of the octagon are eight piers which, arriving to the top of the building, support
These expressions were later polished and became increasingly refined in the course of time. Features of this style can be found all around: one-nave churches with an apse, cathedrals with a Latin cross layout of three or five spans; a roof with cross vaults determined by the crossing of two arches of equal radius to form four webs; one or more apses, normally semi-circular, a portico façade with a lateral bell tower or occasionally one on each side.
Romanesque architecture features simplified volumes and forms that are powerful and linear, with measured openings. Double lancet windows with two lights separated by a thin column became more frequent. Sculpture had a symbolic and ornamental function, and was conceived in close relation with the architectural structures. The decoration of sculptures was to see combinations of floral motifs with geometric ones. The figures tended to take on a volume which until then had been reduced to a stylistic code.
A moderate amount of attention was paid to aspects of everyday life (particularly in the portrayal of the Labours of the Months). The themes that appear are often taken from both the Old and New Testament but favour the book of Genesis.
The scenes are embellished with fantastical monsters and geometric decorations. The intention was one of transmitting messages that might otherwise have appeared somewhat obscure to the largely ignorant population.
Romanesque architecture in the volumes and forms is very l inear, without large openings.
1. The CATheDRAl Commonly considered one of the most outstanding Romanesque monuments in Italy, Parma Cathedral was inaugurated by Pope Pasquale II in 1106. It was built in the same part of the city which was once the site of the first early-Christian cathedral. The church, dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, has a sandstone portico façade decorated with three orders of semi-circular arched loggias supported by small columns with bases and capitals in red marble from Verona.
Two rows of horizontal loggias that open out onto the square and which are closed on the inside are composed of four groups of three small arches. The third row follows the line of the roof with continuous arches and small columns. The coping frame is formed by interweaving arches, a cord and a spiral as well as serrated edging. Overall, its calm and severe architectural lines give the building and those observing it a strong sensation of grace and elegance.
Three doors on the façade open into the three corresponding internal naves. The main door is preceded by a pronaos with two large crouching lions in red Verona marble clutching animals in their grasp. On their backs rest two columns which support a sculpted arch portraying the months of the year, and a loggia above it.
The brick bell tower is Romanesque as far up as the start of the triple lancet windows of the belfry. The external walls, the transept and the apses of the cathedral are decorated with small arches and long pilasters, whilst it is possible to enter the blind loggias that run along the walls and the apses.
Inside, the church has a Basilica-type Latin cross layout, with three naves with apses and six chapels per side.
The central nave is double the size of the lateral ones, and is formed with twelve pillars in different marbles on which semi-circular arches with ornate capitals rest; these feature a variety of finely-crafted animals, reptiles and leaves.
A further theory of columns provides momentum inside, whilst the large windowless women’s galleries open onto the central nave.
A large marble staircase leads up to the transept in the centre of which are the pillars that support the cupola. The transept finishes with two apses whilst the central nave stretches out to form a large choir stand with a final, curved apse. Above the lateral naves the women’s galleries look out onto the central nave from four small arches supported by short columns.
The capitals of the women’s galleries are noteworthy masterpieces of Romanesque decorative sculpture. From the two lateral naves it is now possible to access the crypt, which is subdivided by a large number of small columns.
Unlike other Romanesque buildings, virtually up until the end of the XV century the Cathedral did not have bare walls. There are still original paintings which are hidden by frescos and paintings carried out at a later date.
The central nave of the Cathedral is double the size of the ones to the sides and is formed by twelve pillars in different marbles.
the vault, serving the purpose of buttresses for the imposing structure. On the top floor are four orders of accessible loggias with architraves divided by four columns with sculpted capitals and walls that are also clad in marble. A fifth order of blind loggias with small columns that culminate in agile lancet arches crowns the construction.
The windows are essential, simple and all are rectangular. Only the portals, capitals and bas-reliefs that adorn the lower part of the building find a wealth of details and decorations. The portals above the five steps reveal two wide splays. At the base, a pedestal supports eight small columns per side of differing diameters: the largest ones are at the ends of the corners, the smaller and thinner ones at the top. In the background the wall features a variety of bas-reliefs and decorations.
Traces of Antelami are above all revealed in the door of the Virgin and the Redeemer in the admirable zoophore which surrounds the building. Of the northern door, the genealogy of Christ and the Virgin are of particular note. This door bears the year in which the work was executed and the name of Benedetto Anelami. At the western door it is possible to see the Misericordia, the parable of the vineyard and Christ the judge and redeemer. On the southern door is Christ, John the Evangelist and the legend of Barlaam. In the niches are statues of prophets, kings and archangels. Last of all is the zoophore with its squared tiles with full and prominent figures. These portray mermaids, dragons, peacocks, chickens, cats, dogs, donkeys and horses inserted into tondos.
The difference between the sculptures in the lower part and the upper part is considerable.
In the cupola, starting from the highest part, around the rose we find in decreasing order a red sky with stars, a l ight blue background with silver diamonds and stars...
Antelami’s hand is chiefly revealed in the doors of the Virgin and the Redeemer, and in the admirable zoophore surrounding the buildings with its monstrous figures, symbol of vices and virtues.
The Byzantine influence from the centre and south of Italy is particularly present in the crucifixes, as well as the image of Christ Pantocrator, usually depicted behind the altar, in the apsidal conch. Ecclesiastical dictates forbade free expression: painting had an educational rather than an artistic purpose. It was above all painting linked to the Byzantine painting tradition.
In Lombardy, in accordance with the Carolingian and Ottonian artistic tradition, the fresco was developed. Venice and Sicily saw the prevalence of mosaic cycles in accordance with Byzantine tradition, whilst Tuscany and Umbria primarily favoured painting on wooden tablets, with crucifixes assuming primary importance.
Miniatures executed by monks became widespread throughout all of Europe and featured a variety of representations including geometric friezes, imaginative interwoven animal and plant forms and historiated initials.
Baptistery: the Months, June reaping.
Benedetto Antelami hailed from the Como region and worked in Parma between 1178 and the first decades of the thirteenth century and was without a doubt one of the greatest exponents of Romanesque architecture and sculpture.
His work in the cathedral included part of the restructuring of the vaulted ceiling and the execution of a pulpit which was originally supported by four lions which in turn supported columns with historiated capitals and sculpted slabs. The complex was destroyed in 1566 during Girolamo Bedoli Mazzola’s work to build the staircase.
The Deposition, walled into the top right transept wall, reveals exact compositional geometry in which circles, squares and triangles all alternate. The representation is influenced by ancient statues although filtered through the sensibilities of the new century.
The marble, sculpted in 1178, presents figures encircled by a crown or roses with intertwining stalks and a background worked with niellos. The people portrayed are dominated by the horizontal flight of two angels, the perfect continuation of the arms of the cross of Christ. Around, the soldiers fight for Christ’s tunic, whilst on the other side figures in tears complete the scene.
The Deposition walled into the top right transept wall of the Cathedral.
Once inside, it is possible to admire the sixteen niches separated by columns of various shapes and sizes from which the vaulting ribs that terminate in the splendid vault keystone rise up. Two orders of accessible galleries run between the apses and the cupola.The set of sculptures are extraordinary: the capital of the column to the left of the altar is worthy of note, with its portrayal of Daniel amidst the lions, as is the column to the right which portrays the symbols of the three Evangelists and the four lunettes. Inside, the quality of the sculptures is equal to that of the paintings, a noteworthy example of Romanesque art from the XIII century.
We can now observe the decorations on the cupola: starting from the highest part around the rosette we find, in decreasing order, a red sky with stars, a pale blue background with silver diamonds and stars, the figures of the seated Apostles and the symbols of the Evangelists with a human body and the head of an animal. These are followed by the Saviour, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist, surrounded by prophets and other episodes of the life of Christ, the Fathers of the Church and scenes from the life of Abraham. Also of note as isolated sculptures are the portrayals of the months and the zodiac that perhaps originated in another monument: February hoeing, March blowing, April in a king’s robes, June reaping, October sowing, December pruning etc...
The oldest baptism basin, executed on Antelami’s work site, features a stylophore lion grasping a hare, symbol of evil, between its claws. The round basin on top is adorned with intertwining flowers and doves. An octagonal basin in a central position which dates to the first decades of the thirteenth century was made from a single piece or red Verona marble and is intended for use for ablution at baptism.
The outside walls, the transept and the apses of the cathedral are decorated with small arches and long pilaster strips.
C e l e b r a t i o n s f o r t h e n i n e c e n t u r i e so f t h e C a t h e d r a l o f P a r m a 1 1 0 6 - 2 0 0 6
IATTOURIST INFORMATIONAND WELCOME CENTER
Via Melloni, 1/a - 43100 ParmaTel. 0521218889 Fax 0521234735www.turismo.comune.parma.it
From Tuesday to Saturday, 9.00 to 19.00Mondays from 9.00 to 13.00 and 15.00 to 19.00
Sundays and holidays, 9.00 to 13.00
1
2
3
6
8
7 5
The Church of Santa Croce: sculpted capital.
The Church of Santa Croce: sculpted capital. In all probability the church was built around 1210 and is located at the end of Via D’Azeglio.
It was consecrated in 1222. The building, which in the course of time was subjected to extensive changes and reworkings, was reduced to its present day form in 1415 by Giorgio da Erba.
Nonetheless, the church presents traces that date back to the period of its construction: the unfinished tower, part of the façade which underwent great changes and the portal with a perceptible splay and residues of plastic decorations from the Romanesque period.
Inside, the church of Santa Croce has three naves surmounted by a cupola, a presbytery and five chapels. The walls above the arches are all painted with works by later artists and date to
3. The ChURCh OF sAnTA CROCe
The Church of Santa Croce seen from the front of the homonymous square.
BIBlIOGRAPhy
M. Pellegri, Sculture romaniche a Parma, La Nazionale, 1965Felice da Mareto, Chiese e conventi di Parma,
Deputazione di storia patria per le province parmensi, 1978A. C. Quintavalle, Il battistero di Parma, Artegrafica Silva, 1988
M. Milli, Parma: monumenti, storia, strade, Edizioni dell’IndicatoreA. O. Quintavalle, I capitelli di Santa Croce a Parma, in “Crisopoli”,
trimestrale del Comune di ParmaAa.Vv., Per antichi cammini: il medioevo a Parma e provincia,
Silvana editoriale, 2003F. Barocelli, “La cattedrale, il battistero, Santa Croce” in A. C. Quintavalle,
La cattedrale di Parma e il Romanico europeo, Università di Parma, 1974 P. P. Mendogni, Il Medioevo a Parma, Proposte Editrice, 2003
A. Bianchi, M. Catarsi Dall’Aglio (a cura di),Il Museo Diocesano di Parma, Parma 2004
6. The ChURCh OF sAn TOMMAsO
The first reports of the church of San Quintino date back to 833.
Towards the XII century, the church was reconstructed. From this period remain a fragment of a capital in the sacristy corridor and a stone door with Romanesque decorations and figures in the capitals of the doorposts and the archivolt.
The orientation was the opposite to that of the present day, as can be seen from the façade which remains behind the building today. The inside has four chapels per side. Above the entrance, an
The Church of Sant’Andrea: rear façade and wall.The Church of San Quintino: detail.
The Church of San Tommaso: details of the north side.
7. The ChURCh OF sAnT’AnDReA
The church of San Tommaso was already in existence in 1128, and of the primitive construction remains the northern side that runs along Borgo Antini, with a small round stone arched door and terracotta decorations. The masonry features alternate layers of stone and brick up to a certain height, then continues in terracotta only and with coping arches.
In 1786 the church was modified according to a design by Carlo Bettoli. In all probability, the primitive church was decorated with statues and sculptures that were then lost. The inside is a nave with four lateral chapels per side. The apse finds the “Nativity of Our Lord with San Tommaso” by Alessandro Mazzola.
The left wall features an attractive painting from the Emilian school dating back to the seventeenth century with the “Beheading of Battista” and it is possible to identify the primitive level of the church.
8. The ChURCh OF sAn QUInTInO
the first half of the seventeenth century. The central nave is marked by two cruciform pilasters that support three round arches. The numerous capitals of the original church onto which monstrous or fantastic animals have been sculpted along with human masks, hippogriffs, armed cavaliers and mermaids are worthy of note.
Here we find particularly unpolished art, without cultural pretences, characterised by thick and incisive volumes. Twelve capitals in all that are particularly evocative, datable between the XII and XIII centuries.
These are the years of Antelami’s great sculpture, sculpture that is very different to the one expressed in the capitals of Santa Croce. Nonetheless, these rustic portrayals appeared in this period in cities and throughout the province, leaving its traces in Collecchio, the Via Francigena pilgrimage route and other churches in the area of Parma.
Whilst at times they betray the inexperience of its creator, these fantastical masks and figures also highlight an attempt to break free from the dictates of the times and give greater prominence
to architectural forms. These sculptures reveal the highly architectural style of the sculpture of the region of Emilia, a trait that is perhaps due to Lombard influences.
Observing the style, it is possible to distinguish three hands or groups of different hands: one for the lower capitals, one for the lower IV to the left, and finally that of the upper capitals which are no longer Romanesque.
These works are the direct result of Antelami’s school of art for plasticity and the strength of sculpture and form, although they should not only be evaluated from this viewpoint, but in terms of the effort of little-known artists in translating the noble language of the Master and the complicated and Gothic language of France.
This sculpture, the sculpture of this region, undoubtedly has the merit of having triggered a great movement and of having provided a plastic translation of the Christian faith, its stories, its sacred texts and, as a whole, the civilisations that formed a part of it.
5. The MUnICIPAl PAlAZZO 4. The BIshOP’s PAlACe
The solid brick building features a large loggia on the ground floor and occupies the south-eastern side of Piazza Garibaldi. Of the building, erected in 1221, only a few parts of the masonry, three triple lancet windows and a small loggia can still be seen.
The current building, designed by Parma architect G. B. Magnani in 1623 and completed in 1673, has a pilaster motif that recalls the late-Renaissance architecture of Palazzo Farnese in Piacenza and buildings erected by the Farnese family in Parma.
Other buildings of medieval origins are part of the municipal complex: on the south side of the square is Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, erected around 1240, with crenellation and double lancet windows restored in the restoration work carried out from 1904-10.
At the start of Strada della Repubblica is the former Palazzo dei Notai, embellished with large Gothic triple lancet windows.
The Municipal Palazzo: detail of the triple lancet window.
This palazzo appears to have been built on the remains of the ancient palazzo in existence during the same period as the early-Christian cathedral. Today the oldest visible part is inside the north-western sector with the large portal, arches and a number of traces of coping still remain from this period. Towards the end of the XII century, the Bishop’s palace was then enlarged until it reached double the size of its original structure and modified the square shape.
The start of the XIII century saw the last extension to the north, with two arches and the grandiose facade. Originally, the stone portico was open, and at the right end, a large staircase led up to a great hall, which occupied five of the eleven triple lancet windows running along the noble floor of the façade. Above the triple lancet windows, coping arches and traces of an external ambo still remain. The building was, in the course of time, subjected to modifications and alterations.
The current version dates back to the start of the twentieth century. The operation it underwent restored the medieval appearance of the building with the lower portico with round arches walled and dominated by two orders of triple lancet windows with arches. Along Vicolo del Vescovado, it is possible to see the medieval parts such as the tower and the monumental entrance in square stones. Inside, it houses works of art belonging to the Bishop’s see and the Diocesan Museum.
The Bishop’s Palace: façade and to the side the tower.
The church is one of the oldest in Parma and was restored in 1260.Its masonry comprises alternate layers of bricks and river stones that are sculpted and squared. In the apse and the top part of façade, terracotta prevails.
The sides are marked out by pilaster strips and stone arches, whilst the front is crowned with a cornice of inter-crossing arches and a geometric design with terracotta triangles. The original parts were disfigured in refurbishments carried out in the XVIII and XIX centuries.
4
ROMAnesQUe lOCATIOnsPRACTICAl InFORMATIOn
9. The ChURCh OF sAnTI IPPOlITO e CAssIAnO
The building in Vicofertile has a simple pilastered façade with an arched frieze and was extended in the thirteenth century. It has three naves with apses subdivided by pilasters with capitals featuring stylised leaves, geometric decorations, human figures and fantastical animals that date back to 1220-30.
10. The ChURCh OF sAn GIMInIAnO
The old structure of the parish church of Gaione is limited to a run of naves with Romanesque columns and vaults built between the XVI and XVII centuries, whilst the present-day presbytery is the result of restoration work carried out after the Second World War.
Recent digs have made it possible to reconstruct the apse sequence of the church which has been modified on a number of occasions. The original construction, which in all probability dates back to the XI century, makes it possible to trace construction of the parish church back to early Romanesque times.
Furthermore, the remains of a small rectangular altar in reused Roman bricks aligned with the Romanesque one would seem to bear witness to the existence of an older place of worship.
The Church of San Giminiano: baptism font.
1. CATheDRAlPiazza DuomoTel. 0521235886Visiting hours: everyday from 9.00 to 12.30 and from 15.00 to 19.00. Entry: free
5. The MUnICIPAl PAlAZZO
2. BAPTIsTeRyPiazza DuomoTel. 0521235886Visiting hours: everyday from 9.00 to 12.30 and from 15.00 to 18.30. Entry: Euro 4.00
3. ChURCh OF sAnTA CROCePiazzale Santa CroceTel. 0521237610Visiting hours: everyday from 8.00 to 12.30 and from 15.30 to 19.00. Entry: free
4. The BIshOP’s PAlACePiazza DuomoTel. 0521208699Visiting hours: diocesan museum everyday from 9.00 to 12.30 and from 15.00to 18.30. Entry: diocesan museum Euro 3.00
Piazza GaribaldiTel. 05212181Visits by pre-booking.Entry: free
6. ChURCh OF sAn TOMMAsOStrada Farini, 38/40Tel. 0521207935Visiting hours: Monday to Saturday 15.00 to 17.00; Sundays and holidays 16.00 to 18.00.Entry: free
7. ChURCh OF sAnT’AnDReAVia Cavestro, 6Tel. 0521218889Visiting hours: the church is only openfor visits during exhibitions. Entry: free
8. ChURCh OF sAn QUInTInOStrada XXII Luglio, 34Tel. 0521233088Visiting hours: everyday from 8.00 to 12.00 and from 16.30 to 19.30. Entry: free
9. ChURCh OF sAnTI IPPOlITO e CAssIAnOGaioneTel. 0521648161Visiting hours: Saturday from 15.30 to 19.30, Sundays and holidays from 8.00 to 12.00. Entry: free
10. ChURCh OF sAn GIMInIAnO
VicofertileTel. 0521672759Visiting hours: everyday from 9.00 to 19.00. Entry: free
9
10
eighteenth century painting portrays San Giovanni di Dio.The choir stalls were commissioned by Abbess Giovanna Sanvitale from Marco Antonio Zucchi in 1512. The door between the sacristy and the corridor is also the work of Zucchi.
