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Interior full of colorful frescos, from floor to ceiling. The crypt is also interesting, theoretically reserved for praying only, but large groups went down, breaking a bit the atmosphere. Worth to have the audioguide, that you get included with the ticket for the baptistere and diocesan museum: all the painted scenes are well described in it. …
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Date of experience: February 2020
1 Helpful vote
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the church is so grand that it has three storeys, with lots of paintings on every chamber wall and the ceilings. You can feel peaceful when you are inside.
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Date of experience: February 2020
1 Helpful vote
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The outside square is quite pretty. The interior is stunning, as a local friend told me, the colours and painting style is very Parmense. Highly recommend visiting, and it’s free to visit.
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Date of experience: January 2020
1 Helpful vote
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+1
The cathedral is a must-see and was one of the highlights of our day trip to Parma. It is right next door to the Baptistery, so you can see both together. An added bonus is that entry is free. The only drawback is that there is not a lot of information inside - there are some English and Italian signs but not much. We didn't do a tour and in hindsight, it would have been helpful to have at least read something about it beforehand. MAIN FEATURES • The walls of the entire nave are painted with colourful scenes from the Bible, telling the story of Jesus’ life and Old Testament stories. • The Cupola is painted with a 3D perspective by Correggio (1526). The 3D effect is quite incredible. Mary is ascending to Heaven in a whirlpool of clouds and angels. It amused us that the artist had discreetly painted Mary with her dress and robes tucked modestly in around her legs and her feet dangling - not very dignified way. I guess it was a bit of a problem to paint a realistic 3D image and not have Mary with her dress billowing out above the heads of the congregation below. • The Deposition by Benedetto Antelami – this one is easy to miss because it is tucked away on the right hand side of the church. It is a large stone plaque fixed to the side wall so it’s much plainer than the frescoed walls or cupola and doesn't grab your attention. It is dated from 1178 and was most likely part of an altar. Jesus is at the centre, his lifeless body being supported by John as he is taken down from the cross. On the right, Roman soldiers are gambling between themselves for Jesus’ clothes. We puzzled at first over a lot of small holes punched across the stonework. It turns out that each of the holes would have been studded with a precious jewel which made us realise that the sculpture would have looked quite different in its's day and definitely didn't always look this plain. • I particularly liked the 2 stylised stone lions flanking the outside doors – they made a great photo.…
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Date of experience: May 2019
2 Helpful votes
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We had a guided tour and we learned a lot about the place. Really nice paintings and lots of interesting stories.
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Date of experience: November 2019
1 Helpful vote
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