Another daring Romanesque beauty? Well, yes and no. Consecrated in 1106, Parma has a classic Lombard-Romanesque facade, but inside, the gilded pulpit and ornate lamp-holders scream baroque. Take note: there are some genuine treasures here. Up in the dome, Antonio da Correggio's Assunzione della Vergine (Assumption of the Virgin) is a kaleidoscopic swirl of cherubs and whirling angels, while in the southern transept, Benedetto Antelami's Deposizione (Descent from the Cross; 1178) relief is considered a masterpiece of its type.
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Duomo
Top choice in Parma
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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The opening of the world's largest maze in 2015 fulfilled a lifetime dream of art publisher Franco Maria Ricci, who once published what many considered to…
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The Galleria Nazionale displays Parma’s main art collection in dark and ambiently affective environs. Alongside works by local artists Correggio and…
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This stately theatre on Busseto's aptly named Piazza Verdi was built in 1868, although Verdi himself initially pooh-poohed the idea. It opened with a…
27.29 MILES
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10.6 MILES
Magnifico Pier Maria Rossi's impressive Torrechiara Castle is one of the most important examples of Italian castle architecture and is considered one of…
27.31 MILES
Cremona's 111m-tall torrazzo (bell tower, although 'torrazzo' translates literally as ‘great, fat tower’) is the third tallest brick bell tower in the…
Nearby Parma attractions
0.03 MILES
Flanked by a harmonious trio of buildings – the duomo, campanile and baptistry – Parma's cathedral square is one of the city's most elegant public spaces.
0.04 MILES
Overshadowing even the cathedral, the octagonal pink-marble baptistery on the south side of the piazza is one of the most important such structures in…
0.04 MILES
On the other side of the square to the duomo, in the cellars of the former bishop's palace, this museum displays statuary. Highlights include a finely…
4. Chiesa & Monastero di San Giovanni Evangelista
0.08 MILES
Directly behind the duomo, this abbey church is noteworthy for its 16th-century mannerist facade and Correggio's magnificent frescoed dome, which was…
0.11 MILES
Giuseppe Stuard was a 19th-century Parmese art collector who amassed 600 years worth of epoch-defining art linking the Tuscan masters of the 1300s to…
0.13 MILES
Housed in the 17th-century Chiesa di Santa Elisabetta is this funky modern museum that focuses on the history of music technology. Review the 'ancient'…
0.18 MILES
With its dramatic tower and a giant sundial added in 1829, this 17th-century palazzo dominates the north side of Piazza Garibaldi, Parma's central square…
8. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Steccata
0.18 MILES
Behind the Palazzo del Governatore in the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Steccata, you’ll find some of Parmigianino’s most extraordinary work, notably the…