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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: PAI-PAS |
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PARMA , a town and episcopal see of Emilia, Italy, capital of the province of Parma, situated on the Parma, a tributary of the Po, 55 M. N.W. of Bologna by rail. Pop. (1906), 48,523. Parma, one of the finest cities of northern Italy, lies in a fertile tract of the Lombard plain, within view of the Alps and sheltered by the Apennines, 170 ft. above sea-level. From south to north it is traversed by the channel of the Parma, crossed here by three bridges; and from east to west runs the line of the Via Aemilia, by which ancient Parma was connected on the one hand with Ariminum (Rimini), and on the other with Placentia (Piacenza). The old ramparts and bastions (excluding the circuit of the citadel of 1591, now in great part demolished, in the south-east) make an enceinte of about 42 m., but the enclosed area is not all occupied by streets and houses.In the centre of the city the Via Aemilia widens out into the Piazza Garibaldi, a large square which contains the Palazzo del Governo and the Palazzo Municipale, both dating from 1627. The cathedral of the Assumption (originally S. Herculanus), erected between ro64 and 1074, and consecrated in rro6 by Pope Paschal II., is a Lombardo-Romanesque building in the form of a Latin cross. The severe west front is relieved by three rows of semicircular arches, and has a central porch (there were at one time three) supported by huge red marble lions, sculptured no doubt with the rest of the facade by Giovanni Bono da Bissone in 1281. On the south side of the facade is a large brick campanile, and the foundations of another may be seen on the north. The walls and ceiling of the fine Romanesque interior are covered with frescoes of 1570, subdued in colour and well suited to the character of the building; those of the octagonal cupola representing the Assumption of the Virgin are by Correggio, but much restored. The crypt contains the shrine of the bishop S. Bernardino degli Uberti and the tomb of Bartolommeo Pratothe former by Prospero Clementi of Reggio. In the sacristy are fine intarsias. To the south-west of the cathedral stands the baptistery, designed by Benedetto Antelami; it was begun in 1196 and not completed till 1281. The whole structure is composed of red and grey Verona marble. Externally it is an irregular octagon, each face consisting of a lower storey with a semicircular arch (in three cases occupied by a portal), with sculptures by Antelami, four tiers of small columns supporting as many continuous architraves, and forming open galleries, and above these (an addition of the Gothic period) a row of five engaged columns supporting a series of pointed arches and a cornice. Internally it is a polygon of sixteen unequal sides, and the cupola is supported by sixteen ribs, springing from the same number of columns. The frescoes are interesting works of the early 13th century. In the centre is an octagonal font bearing date 1294. The episcopal palace shows traces of the building of 1232. To the east of the cathedral, and at no great distance, stands the church of S. Giovanni Evangelista, which was founded along with the Benedictine
Benedictine
district
From archaeological discoveries it would appear that the ancient town was preceded by a prehistoric settlement of the Bronze Age, the dwellings of which rested upon pilesone, indeed, of the so-called terremare, which are especially frequent in the neighbourhood of Parma. Parma became a Roman colony of 2000 colonists in 183 B.C., four years after the construction of the Via Aemilia, on which it lay. The bridge by which the Via Aemilia crossed the river Parma, from which it probably takes its name, is still preserved, but has been much altered. A bishop , of Parma is mentioned in the acts of the council of Rome of A.D. 378. It fell into the power of Alboin in 569 and became the seat of a Lombard duchy; it was still one of the wealthiest cities of Aemilia in the Lombard period. During the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries Parma had its full share of the Guelph
in this siege are preserved. In 1307 the city became a lordship for Giberto da Correggio, who laid the basis of its territorial power by conquering Reggio, Brescello and Gaustalla, and was made commander
chief
interest
Napoleon
1905). End of Article: PARMA If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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