Highlights
Highlights
Lift your gaze to the vault of the presbytery and let yourself be enchanted by Parmigianino's Wise and Foolish Virgins: female figures of extraordinary Mannerist elegance that seem to float in the golden space.
Then descend into the crypt, where the atmosphere becomes solemn and contemplative: here lie the powerful Farnese dukes and the Bourbon-Parma sovereigns in monumental tombs that recount centuries of Italian history.
It is a journey through time between Renaissance art and dynastic memory.
From the Marian miracle to Renaissance splendour
The story of the Steccata begins in 1392, when an image of the Madonna painted on the wall of an oratory near Porta San Barnaba began performing miracles.
The image, called "della Steccata" because it was protected by a wooden fence (steccato), quickly became a destination for pilgrimages and popular devotion throughout Emilia.
In 1521 the foundation stone was laid for the new monumental sanctuary, designed by architects Bernardino and Giovanni Francesco Zaccagni in the canons of the High Renaissance.
Parmigianino and the artistic masterpieces
Between 1531 and 1539 Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, worked on the decoration of the presbytery vault, creating the celebrated cycle of the "Wise and Foolish Virgins", considered one of his absolute masterpieces.
However, the work was interrupted several times due to the artist's difficult character and his constant delays, so much so that he was briefly imprisoned by his patrons!
The Farnese crypt and the Constantinian Order
In 1718 Duke Francesco Farnese donated the Steccata to the Constantinian Order of Saint George, which moved its headquarters there, enriching the basilica with chivalric symbols and funerary monuments.
In 1823 Maria Luigia of Austria, Duchess of Parma, had the underground crypt built to house the remains of the Farnese dukes and create a dynastic mausoleum for the Bourbon-Parma family.
The Marian shrine that became a ducal pantheon
The Basilica of Santa Maria della Steccata is one of the most important Marian shrines in Emilia-Romagna and a jewel of Italian Renaissance architecture. Built between 1521 and 1539 with its magnificent Bramantesque Greek-cross plan, it guards one of Parmigianino's absolute masterpieces: the cycle of the Wise and Foolish Virgins that decorates the vault of the presbytery. Since 1718 it has been the seat of the Constantinian Order of Saint George, one of the oldest Christian orders of chivalry, and in 2008 it was raised to the rank of minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI. The name 'Steccata' derives from a miraculous 14th-century image of the Virgin, protected by a wooden palisade (steccato), that began to perform miracles in 1392. The underground crypt, commissioned by Marie Louise of Austria in 1823, houses the monumental tombs of the Farnese dukes (including Alessandro Farnese and Ranuccio I) and of the Bourbon-Parma sovereigns, turning the Steccata into a true pantheon of the dynasties that ruled the Duchy of Parma.
Related experiences
From the miraculous image to the Renaissance shrine
The story of the Steccata begins in 1392, when an image of the Virgin painted on the wall of an oratory near Porta San Barnaba began to perform miracles. The image, called 'della Steccata' because it was protected by a wooden palisade, soon became a place of pilgrimage and popular devotion across Emilia. In 1521 the foundation stone of the new monumental shrine was laid, designed by the architects Bernardino and Giovanni Francesco Zaccagni in the canons of the High Renaissance. The magnificent Greek-cross plan with central dome by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger expresses the Renaissance ideal of symmetry and classical harmony. Construction proceeded swiftly and by 1539 the church was substantially complete.
Parmigianino and the great frescoes
Between 1531 and 1539 Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino, worked on the decoration of the vault of the presbytery, creating the celebrated cycle of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, considered one of his absolute masterpieces. The work, however, was repeatedly interrupted because of the artist's difficult character and continual delays, to the point that he was briefly imprisoned by his patrons. The basilica also guards remarkable frescoes by Michelangelo Anselmi, Bernardino Gatti and Francesco Maria Rondani in the side chapels, as well as a magnificent monumental Serassi organ of 1820. The interior is shaped by gilded stuccoed vaults, coffered ceilings and floors of polychrome marble.
The Constantinian Order and the ducal crypt
In 1718 Duke Francesco Farnese gave the Steccata to the Constantinian Order of Saint George, which moved its seat here, enriching the basilica with chivalric symbols and funerary monuments. In 1823 Marie Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma, had the underground crypt built to receive the remains of the Farnese dukes and to create a dynastic mausoleum for the Bourbon-Parma. The neoclassical crypt with cross vaults houses the monumental tombs of Alessandro Farnese, Ranuccio I and other members of the dynasties, alongside several Bonaparte connected by marriage to the Bourbons. The annexed Constantinian Museum preserves precious sacred vestments, silverware and reliquaries of the Order.