given that it was both
new year's day & a sunday,
we surmised that little but churches
would be open, so we determined
to go into as many as would have us
we started near our usual stomping grounds
at Santa Maria della Steccata, revisited
& enjoyed the quiet, dark splendor
so much maintenance required by these spaces!
here's a ceiling (above)
that has been patched but not yet restored
this was quite a special candle
compared to the ones we usually saw
glowing at the side chapels
the next whose doors were open was
Church of San Rocco, nearby -
quite a stunningly white interior!
with walls filled with sacred hearts
a line of bishops & an angel sconce
in death we are saved
beautiful carved wooden double doors!
finding another interesting church closed,
we crossed the river to re-visit
we were not inclined to enter during active worship,
so we admired from the outside and continued on
walking in the Oltretorrente neighborhood
(where, apparently, Toscanini was born)
we were on a google map quest
of interesting, old churches
at one, we heard
beautiful harmonies
through the church doors
we hardly passed anyone as we wandered
the streets zig-zagging west
along the river wall
a fair number of the churches we located
were not in use -
some had clearly been in that state
for quite some time
but we saw signs of habitation
as we wandered back towards a main street
to (maybe...hopefully) find a bite of breakfast
we were pleasantly surprised to discover
a coffee shop actually open on new year's day!
we enjoyed the yummies
and watching the sweet little one
whose parents were behind
the counter
we soon continued on our westward trek -
finding yet another closed-up church
they either don't have enough priests
or not enough parishioners to support them
(likely the latter)
so we continued on towards
a larger target
enjoying how the bright house colors
POPPED
against the gray sky
this old church
has been converted to a house!
ah! we finally spied a church
that is clearly open!
(revisited!)
a very active parish,
with a flower seller who seemed
quite familiar to many
(the woman with the backpack,
in the photo below)
& lovely outdoor candle stands
(once again, we did not go in
as there was a service in progress -
you can see the priest illuminated
through the glass door below)
so, we continued to our ultimate destination
& found a service just concluding
this church was, for me, a highlight
built in the 12th century & consecrated in 1222
this church was absolutely exquisite
small, dark, and
oh so old!
perhaps we should not have entered as the service
ended and the parishioners dispersed
but i really wanted to see this church,
which we had seen only briefly in near darkness
on wanders a day or two earlier
so we respectfully prowled around
(perhaps an oxymoron...
but they didn't kick us out...)
the Nursing Madonna
these pillars and capitals
on the Baptistery
back out in the harsh light of day,
we passed old doors
with awesome door knockers,
door knobs, and key holes
& reminders that it was still the holidays!
i enjoyed the color pairings
& narrow, cobbled streets
rarely there was a reminder
that we are in the 21st century
& many opportunities to forget
oh, look!
santa claus is trying to get into the window!
Oltretorrente was the site of the Parma Barricades
in August 1922, with the neighborhood
(as well as others nearby)
protesting against the rise of Fascism in Italy
...this plaque memorializes several,
including Guido Picelli...
likely a bicycle shop
old letter boxes, out of reach
oh, yeah...21st century reminder...
we had circled back around to
Santa Maria del Quartiere,
and services were still a-go...
so we popped into a
surprisingly open cafe' on the square
called Caffetteria La Pulcinella
(Italian for The Puffin Cafe')
with the most divine café con chocolate
i have ever consumed
(& it was almost too pretty to do so)
services finally concluded,
so it was time for
Santa Maria del Quartiere, revisited
parishioners leaving
the amazing art of the cupola
we were able to briefly see these icons
before they were put away
beautiful wooden stands for more icons
some pretty cloth/paper flowers
near the front of the church
we finally wandered onwards,
back towards the bridge
passing, once again,
Church of St Mary of the Announcement
with many pigeons lining the ledge
of its lowest roof
more awesome doors, knockers,
& the like on our way back
again with the 'no bicycles!'
we took ourselves back across the bridge
& down some familiar streets
passing by the Duomo
& winding our way north
with the intention of heading
back to our place
everywhere your gaze lands
is artful
even the water stains
with some paint quite vigorous
& other in faded glory
as this was almost the end
of our time in Parma,
we decided to go around a block
we had not yet explored
(we always went south from our place)
& - lo & behold -
there was a significant old church
(really, the shell of a church),
whose interior is vast...and empty
we entered from the back
& exited via the front...
into a shared plaza with the
a statue of Verdi,
just waiting for a photo op
(he's gazing at me rather fondly,
don't you think?)
i have a feeling we went 'home'
& collapsed for awhile,
before heading out to a delightful
New Years' Day concert
at Parma's beautiful (restored) concert hall,
Capodanno Concert
it was a miniature La Scala!
but - this time - we had box seats!
piece feat. a typewriter - loved it!
featuring an amazing harmonica player!
Happy 2023!
& where else should we go
for our last dinner in Parma than...
the chef ^
sweet dreams of pretty Parma, for sure
one more day left, in which
we crammed in experiences
on our amazing sojourn!
