TURIN
FLORENCE 117 174 [PIACENZA], pop. 36,000, on the Po. Hotels: S. Marco; Italia; Croce Bianca. Cabs—the course, 1 horse, 70 c.; 2 horses, 1 fr. For the first hour, 1 horse, 1 fr. 50 c.; 2 horses, 1 fr. 80 c.
In the middle of the town is the square called the Piazza de’ Cavalli, from the two bronze equestrian statues of Duke Alexander Farnese and his son Duke Ranuccio. On one side is the church of S. Francesco, and on the other the Palazzo del Governo, and opposite it the picturesque Palazzo del Comune, begun in 1281. The portico underneath is used as a market. The upper part of the building is of red brick with handsome windows. The principal street, the Strada Diritta, leads to the [Cathedral] (1122-1233), containing some admirable paintings. In the interior the arches are round, but the ribs of the roof meet at an angle. At the 3d altar is a picture, by A. Sirani, of the Ten Thousand Martyrs; at the 4th a painting of the Death of a Saint. In the right transept is an altar-piece, Three Saints, by Calisto di Lodi, and on the ceiling frescoes by Agostino and Lodovico Carracci, in Correggio’s style. The Coronation of the Virgin is by Procaccini. The Cupola is divided into eight compartments; six of them were painted by Guercino, with figures of prophets and sybils; the other two figures were by Morazzone. Below are four allegorical paintings by Franceschini. The roof of the crypt under the church rests on 100 columns. S. Antonino (the former cathedral) was commenced in the 10th cent., and restored in 1562. The curious vestibule and the massive columns bearing the tower are relics of the earlier edifice. At the W. end of the town is Sa. Maria di Campagna, famous for paintings by Pordenone. On
the left of the chief entrance is a fresco by him of St. Augustine and five Angels; in the 1st chapel left are two large frescoes, the Nativity of the Virgin and the Adoration of the Magi. Crossing the transept we have on the left the “Marriage of St. Catharine,” the faces being portraits of the Pordenone family, and a fine fresco also by him, representing the dispute of St. Catharine. By him are likewise the frescoes in the eight compartments of the cupola; those in the pendentives are by B. Gatti. The most highly decorated church is S. Sisto (built in the 16th cent.), with an Ionic atrium. Raphael’s Madonna, now at Dresden, was taken from S. Sisto.
The Palazzo Farnese is a great, unfinished, building, begun in 1558 by Margaret of Austria, now used as barracks. The Mandelli palace, now the Prefettura, has a handsome façade. 24 miles to the south of Piacenza is the site of Velleia, a town which was overwhelmed by a landslip in the 3d cent. Many interesting objects have been obtained there; which have been deposited in the museum of Parma. In the vicinity are emanations from the ground of carburetted hydrogen gas, which takes fire on the application of a flame.
Parma. Museum.
TURIN
FLORENCE 153 138 [PARMA], pop. 46,000, on the Parma. Hotels: Albergo Centrale; Croce Bianca; Leone d’Oro. Parma, although founded by the Boii, and conquered by the Romans 183 B.C., is a neat clean town of modern appearance, surrounded by bastioned walls. The most important of the edifices is the Palazzo Ducale, forming, with the Palazzo Farnese, a large unsymmetrical assemblage of buildings in the Piazza del Corte behind the Piazza Grande. In the Ducal Palace is a collection of paintings belonging to the French school. In the Farnese are the Museum of Antiquities, the Picture-Gallery, the Library, and the Farnese Theatre, now in a ruinous condition. It was built in 1620, in the time of Duke Ranuccio, and for many years was the scene of splendid spectacles and grand public entertainments.
[The Museum of Antiquities] embraces a small collection, in four rooms, of Roman altars, bronzes, busts, and mosaics, principally from Velleia and Rome. Among the most remarkable, are “The Theft of the Tripoid,” in 1st room. In the 2d room, a statuette of Hercules intoxicated, and the “Tabula alimentaria,” a rescript of the Emperor Trajan, relating to the support of certain poor children. In 4th room, a bust of Maria Louisa, the first Napoleon’s second wife, by Canova. Higher up on the same staircase is the Library, with 150,000 volumes, and some thousands of MSS., in several large galleries and halls, at the end of one of which is Correggio’s fresco of the Coronation of the Virgin.
Parma: Picture-Gallery—Correggio.
[The Pinacoteca] is on the same floor of the palace as the library, and is open daily during the same hours. The collection is not large, but is remarkable for the number and value of Correggio’s pictures. In selecting the best pictures, we shall arrange the names of the painters alphabetically to facilitate reference.
Annibal Caracci.—Pietá. Lodovico Caracci.—Funeral of the Virgin; the Apostles at the tomb of the Virgin (two large pictures). Cima da Conegliano.—Two very good pictures. (Correggio.)—1. The Madonna della Scala, a fresco. 2. The Flight into Egypt, known as the Madonna della Scodella, from the dish in the Virgin’s hand. 3. The Madonna with St. Jerome, sometimes called Il Giorno, from its bright daylight effect and in contrast with La Notte at Dresden—this is Correggio’s best picture here, perhaps it is the best picture he ever painted on canvas, and it is universally considered one of the marvels of art. The letters A. A. (Antonio Allegri) are worked into the silk that covers the walls of the cabinet. 4. The Martyrdom of St. Placidus and St. Flavia (such subjects are not agreeable, however skilfully treated). 5. The Entombment. 6. Christ carrying his Cross (some critics think this to be a work of Anselmi, others that it is an early production of Correggio). 7. A Portrait attributed to him. (On the walls of some of the rooms are the drawings that were made for Toschi the engraver from Correggio’s frescoes at Parma.) Albert Durer.—Man with a Skull. Francesco Francia.—Descent from the Cross; the Virgin enthroned with Saints; the Virgin with the Infant and St. John (most charming). Garofalo.—Virgin and Child in the clouds, with a landscape below. Giovanni di San Giovanni.—A Singing party. Murillo.—St. Jerome. Parmegianino.—The Marriage of St. Catharine (an exquisite picture); Marriage of the Virgin; Portrait of a Man with a music book (marked “incerto” on the frame). Fra Paola da Pistoia.—Adoration of Magi. Pordenone.—Portrait of a Man with an open book. Raffaello(?).—Christ in the clouds with the Virgin and St. John, and Saints below (it is by no means certain that this is a work of Raffaello). Giuseppe Rosa.—Landscape with Cattle. Lionello Spada.—Fortune-telling, three figures; Marriage of St. Catharine. Spagnoletto.—Twelve pictures of Saints. B. Schidone.—The Entombment; the Maries at the Sepulchre; Virgin, Child, and St. John. Vandyck.—Virgin and Child; Portrait of an Old Lady. Velasquez.—Portrait of a Man in a black dress (there are other portraits ascribed to him). L. da Vinci.—Sketch of a Female Head. Zuccarelli.—River Scene.